If you sell stuff on ebay do you have to pay taxes on the money you make?

Question

Well I was thinking about starting to sell some electronics and stuff on ebay.

Answer 1

Go to IRS.GOV and type "ONLINE AUCTIONS" in the search box.

If you are buying items for resale on eBay, you will have a tax liability as soon as you $400 or more of net earnings--that's when Self-employment taxes kick in.

Keep in mind that you MUST keep receipts. There's a guy on the eBay message boards desperately trying to get auction information from several years ago. He's being audited and a) all money received to his paypal and/or bank account is being counted as revenue and b) without receipts, all of it is taxable income.

Answer 2

Selling On Ebay Taxes

Answer 3

If you are just selling off some of your stuff for less than you paid for it, there are no taxes due.

If you are starting a business then of course you are subject to the income tax laws. You are considered self-employed and therefore must report your income and pay any tax due if you earn more than $400 in any tax year assuming that that is your only income. If you already have taxable income you must report ALL of the self-employment income.

If your state levies a sales tax you'll need to register for that with the state and collect and render sales tax on any in-state sales.

(Damn glad that that business prof with the PhD wasn't mine! I'd be eating Alpo now. What a rube!)

Answer 4

You write in your question that you are going to buy something and then sell it to earn some money. BANG!! that is the definition of trading and any profits that you make are taxable, subject to other income and personal allowances. You must even register if it turns out that you make a loss, it is the intention that counts. A fine for not registering can be levied by HMRC. HMRC also claim to have a computer "tool" which can identify traders on ebay!! Also watch out for National Insurance!!!

Answer 5

Are you asking if you have to pay taxes or if you have to report the earnings?

Yes, you have to report the earnings. Whether you have to pay taxes depends on how much you make.

If you're serious about getting into online business, then you need to get educated about finances ahead of time. Otherwise, you may find yourself in a situation where you can't pay your taxes because you didn't plan ahead.

You can get free tax help at http://tinyurl.com/2xg78o

Answer 6

If you sell for a profit, yes it's taxable income. If you just sell some of your old stuff, and the amount you sell it for is less than you paid for it, then you don't have to since there's no gain so no income.

Answer 7

put it this way, if you earn $3000 a year or more working a job be it part time or full, you must report it to the IRS. so if you are making that much or more from ebay, you should report it even if you are not a registered business owner or have an ebay store setup. I would report all of it anyway, better to be safe than sorry since our government loves to screw people over.

Answer 8

It depends on how much you make. If you're only getting a couple hundred a month, I doubt you would. But if you make say $3000 a month (I just pulled that number out of my ***), then yes, you would have to pay taxes.

Answer 9

of course what kind of insane question is this??? You have to report all of your income. Whether you pay tax is a differnt story..you might not make enough to put you into the tax paying threshold.

Answer 10

All income is taxable from earnings or selling stuff.