Get your taxes done using TurboTax

If you group all of your personal items together, be careful that you do not 'mix' gains with losses and misstate income.

Consider this example.

If you were to report one group of three personal items with a selling price of $1,000 and cost basis of $2,400, Schedule D would report $0 gain.

However, if you report each individual personal item, Schedule D would report $100 gain.

Personal items sold for less than their basis (most likely, the original purchase price) report $0 capital gain on line 7 of the Federal 1040 tax return.

Personal items sold for more than their basis report the gain on line 7 of the Federal 1040 tax return.  See this example.

                                              Selling                   Cost

                                              Price                      Basis

Couch                                   $500                       $2,000                  Capital loss on personal item = $0 loss

Jewelry                                  $400                       $300                     Capital gain on personal item = $100 gain

Chair                                      $100                       $100                    No capital gain or loss

                                                $1,000                   $2,400

Schedule D will report a $100 long term capital gain.

Federal 1040 tax return line 7 reports $100 long term capital gain. 

To report Personal item sales in TurboTax Desktop, follow these directions.

• Click on Start to the right of Income from Form 1099-K.
• Select Personal Item Sales.  Click Continue.
• Enter 1099-K information.   Click Continue.
• At the screen Personal Item Sales, you are told that further information will need to be entered.  Learn More provides detailed information for the next steps.  Click Continue.
• At the screen Your 1099-K summary, notice that the income relates to ‘Sale of Personal Items’.  Click Done.
• Click Start to the right of Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds....
• At this screen, you will be asked to Edit the Personal item sales (1099-K).
• At the screen Select any less common adjustments that apply, select Any loss from this sale is not deductible....  Continue.
• At the screen Here's all the sales reported...., Click Add to add additional lines as needed.

The entry will be reported:

• on Schedule D of the Federal 1040 tax return, and 
• on line 7 of the Federal 1040 tax return.

Capital loss for a personal item sale reports $0 capital gain on line 7 of the Federal 1040 tax return.

Make sure that you retain any information about the items sold should you be required to demonstrate to the IRS that this is not taxable income.

@Beldorx