Selling knick·knack in neighborhood fair

[tbruno603]

A friend of mine sews aprons and potholders, and she gave me a box of them to sell in a neighborhood fair. Each item goes for $6 and I paid $40 for the spot in the fair.

The reason I want to do this is that my son is Autistic, and he wants to experience selling "stuff" in a fair. And I want him to experience talking with people, discussing prices and so forth in a safe environment.

I am not a business though, I'm actually unemployed right now after a layoff. 

How do I make sure this is done legally?

[rjs]

Who gets the money that people pay for the items you sell?

Are you doing this just once, or do you intend to do it from time to time?

[Anonymous]

any other sources of income?  about how much and source..    what do you net after paying the $40 both fee.  

it is entirely possible you don't earn enough to be required to file.  but since yo provided no amounts, no one can say for sure.   

if you respond use this same thread o the info and responses are kept together

[Carl]

If the total amount if income you will earn for the entire tax year will be less than $12K, then no tax return needs to be filed at all and no taxes are paid.

Otherwise, if your son runs this like a business and he keeps the money, (with you as a trustee of course), I have no doubt that your son's total business earnings will be less than $400 for the entire tax year, and he will not need to file a tax return at all. Here's how this works.

If your taxable income from all sources does not exceed $12K (24K if married filing joint) then you are not required to file a tax return.

If your taxable "business" income (i.e.; self-employment income) exceeds $400 for the tax year, then you are required to file a tax return. So if you have $500 of self-employment income you will not pay "regular" tax on that money. But you will pay the 15.3% self-employment tax on the business income that exceeds $400.

So in a nutshell, let this be your son's "business" where he earns the money, and so long as it's less than $400 and he has no other sources of income, nothing needs to be reported and you'll be fine.

[mdescawoo19]

What state are you in? And how much money per year do you expect you or your son to make? That annual income amount will determine if you have to file taxes or not. In state of CA if you make less than $600 annually, you do not have to file taxes.  If you meet that threshold you will file a 1099 as a self employed person