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I have had the little box on the top page of my Amazon Seller account that says I need to provide my tax information. Now, I disregarded it because I never thought I would hit either the $2000 in sales, or 200 transactions. Well I have passed $2000 and am about 40 transactions away from 200. Do I still need to register? Is this something that is really only said by Amazon due to the law and they don't enforce it, or...?

$20,000 ... not $2,000

Oh shit. Good call. Guess someone can't read. Thanks.

You're still supposed to be paying income tax on everything you sell. Laws and what not.

It's not just the dollar amount; if you hit 200 transactions they will ask you for your SSN and send you a 1099 form at the end of the year. The amount on the 1099 will be your total sales revenue including shipping. (You could refuse to give a SSN but then your account will get banned and any money in it will be frozen).

If you don't have good records of your costs then watch out as the IRS will try to tax you on the total amount on the 1099 rather than just the profits.

I was just thinking the other day - is there a way to see how much you've sold on ebay for the year or for a lifetime? I was curious since I've been selling stuff on eBay for like 8 years and was wondering how each year stacks up to the next. I know I'm not near the 20K limit, but was curious.

Originally Posted by Cmosfm You're still supposed to be paying income tax on everything you sell. Laws and what not.

You pay income tax on the net increase. For most folks, they'll take enough of a hit selling some items that any profit from other sales is moot.

Originally Posted by Cmosfm You're still supposed to be paying income tax on everything you sell. Laws and what not.

That's not true. If you buy a game at $60, and sell it for $50, you don't have to report the $50. Plus, you can factor in gas, shipping materials, etc.

Originally Posted by elessar123 That's not true. If you buy a game at $60, and sell it for $50, you don't have to report the $50. Plus, you can factor in gas, shipping materials, etc.

Yeah, but keeping track of all that shit sucks. Sure there's a low chance of you being audited but having to keep all those record for 7 years is a PITA. Still, it's better to pay taxes on $10 than $60, as you said.

Originally Posted by Dokstarr I was just thinking the other day - is there a way to see how much you've sold on ebay for the year or for a lifetime? I was curious since I've been selling stuff on eBay for like 8 years and was wondering how each year stacks up to the next. I know I'm not near the 20K limit, but was curious.

If you go to your Seller Dashboard (click on your Feedback Score, and then near the top right next to your star rating), scroll down to the second set of gray boxes and there you should see your Lifetime Transactions total. Not sure if it goes back 8 years, but mine goes back the 2+ I've been on eBay.

Originally Posted by Vinny Yeah, but keeping track of all that shit sucks. Sure there's a low chance of you being audited but having to keep all those record for 7 years is a PITA. Still, it's better to pay taxes on $10 than $60, as you said.

Yes, obviously, you do need to keep all of your records and such but if you do it regularly it's not THAT hard/ I've been doing it and properly paying my taxes for so long that it's all second nature now.

Don't do it, and you run the risk of getting audited, which is slim, but if you do you'll be paying taxes on your sales and not your profits. Have fun with that.