Reporting ebay sales on taxes... Is this something we have to do if we are not a business?

Question

I've sold a handful of things around the house over the last year over ebay and am looking for actual evidence on the web that says we have to report it, if we are not a business.

I don't really do this as a hobby either... its just a once in a while thing.

If I have to report it, then fine, but I am looking for any SPECIFIC info you can find that says we HAVE to report it.

I read an article that Ebay does not report sales to the IRS and really has no way of tracking if payments are made and how much money is actually changing hands... so... what do we do?

So, lets say I bought somehting for $50 and sold it for $90 on ebay. (And already paid my state taxes when I bought it)


Then I would have to pay taxes on the additional $40?

Answer 1

A sale of personal property, where the sales price is less than the purchase price of the item, is not a taxable event.

However if you sold an item for more than its original price, then the difference would be a Capital Gain, reported on Schedule D.

see page 3 of the following:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p544.pdf

Answer 2

Have you already paid sales tax on those handful of things, when you first obtained them? Then you've already paid the appropriate taxes on them. You do not need to charge them again.

Same thing on the totals. If you purchased something originally for $50 and sold it for $30 on ebay, you have made no profit, and therefore owe no income tax.

Answer 3

It's something you're expected to do. It's called vonuntary compliance. Even though the sales might not be reported, you are expected to report the income even though you are not a business. You would probably get away with not reporting it, but if you get audited, you will have problems.