I understand the rules for taxing personal items generally. If I sell an item at a loss, I can't take the loss. If I sell at a gain, I must have the gain taxed. That's clear.
But what is an “item?” Say I have 30 blue glass beads and I sell them in person to one individual in one transaction for one dollar, I assume that transaction is one item and not 30. What if I sell 30 blue glass beads, 50 crystal beads, and a necklace made from similar beads for $5 in the same way (one person/one transaction). Is that 1 item (beads), 3 items (types of beads) or (unlikely) 81 beads
I sold almost all of my personal beads and some jewelry made with those beads in one big $5,000 sale to one person in one transaction. Obviously, I don’t have original prices on most of it, but can make educated guesses and I do have some paperwork.
From the IRS site: “A personal item is something you owned for personal use such as a car, refrigerator, furniture, stereo, jewelry or silverware, etc.” And that’s not clear because a chair is obviously one item, but silverware can be one fork, one set of silverware, 10 forks from different sets, etc. Also from the IRS site: “If you sold a mix of personal items at a loss and a gain, report losses and gains separately.” Again, what is a mix? Are glass beads and plastic beads a “mix” or “beads?” Are 2 forks from different sets a “mix” or “silverware.” It seems like all semantics, and I do not want to get into a battle of semantics. I just want to do it right.
It’s absolutely a huge loss as a collection of items that is considered “one item.” But when I show the basis to the IRS, the easiest way will be to itemize by type of bead, just like if you had 10 forks from 3 different sets it’s all still “silverware,” even if you break down the basis by set. So confusing. Thanks for any assistance.
