I don't understand why so many people are misled by the IRS tax laws but unfortunately, they are. If you earn $400 or more you have to file federal taxes & write the amount as income on your taxes. Each state has its own state law but the IRS clearly states this. If you sell on eBay or other platforms as I am currently doing myself, you need to report it as income. You ARE a business whether you consider yourself one or not, you are a sole-proprietor and you simply use your name as the "business". If it's a "hobby" you still need to report it but then you can't even deduct the shipping costs, or any cost associated with it if you consider it a hobby. I am selling items from my folks' house & my own condo & I purchased items intentionally to see if I could thrift & flip them. I haven't even earned as much as you & I'm on SSDI, getting food stamps, etc, due to my low income & I am going to have to file taxes for 2020 otherwise it'd be considered tax evasion. I will most likely be at a loss due to all the business deductions I'll be able to take but I probably still will have to pay the 15% self-employment tax. You should hire a CPA and get their advice. Thousands of people are committing tax evasion by not reporting their reselling income, its income, period. My folks are your age & I'm trying to move fast to sell as much as I can because they've got serious health issues & my Mom is in the ICU right now with the "virus" and if she passes my Dad & I would be in serious financial troubles. The IRS cares not about any of that. I earned money from selling. If you can prove you sold all of it at a total loss from what you originally paid ( a CPA may be able to finese this) then you may be able to slide through. I'm not chancing it at all. My Dad won $1,000 on a scratch ticket & he gets about 14 K a year for his retirement & the IRS wanted him to pay taxes on it and he doesn't have to file because his social security is so low but the IRS still sent paperwork & stressed my Dad out for a few months!
