I have been selling on eBay for four years.
The past three years without the 1099K being issued to me, I reported the income on Form 8949. I use code C for Collectables and on the few that lost income, I use the code L to reflect that the loss is only attributed to the individual sale that had the loss. I know Collectables are subject up to a 28% tax, however, the tax is based on overall income. For myself, I stay at the 12% tax rate after adding all the 1099K sales.
These are just toys that I collected from 1978 to 2002. I started selling them 4 years ago. Who knew they would be worth much more money in the future? I enjoyed them for years and now it is time to get rid of them.
I understand what you mean by being a Business. If IRS directs me to file as a Business, then I will do so. Most of my expenses are fully documented with eBay Reports. The only additional expense I have is cost of item, shipping materials and shipping cost. If I were to file as a Business, then I think there are a few more allowable deductions that would show I lost money each year.
I am selling Capital Assets held for over 20 years, mostly for a Capital Gain, so I will see how long IRS allows me to sell my Capital Assets without filing as a Business.
