topic Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

c_man99 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 09:39:57 GMT

I sold several new items on ebay last year...a printer, laptop & vacuum. I was in between jobs and having cash flow issues. They were new in box (not used) which I had laying around and wasn't using. I plan to file it as Other, because I'm not a regular seller (Self-Employed), but these were new and not used "Personal" used items.

The other half of the story...the laptop & printer sale(s) were both cancelled & refunded by me, as both buyers used unverified / international drop shipping addresses which I did not feel comfortable shipping to. The only successful transaction was the vacuum, which was about $60 +$45 shipping. The laptop was about $400 & the printer about $200. I'm using TurboTax Deluxe. How do I report the 1099-K as "Other", and then enter negative adjustments for both of those items?

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

fanfare — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 03:02:34 GMT

even if they are new in box, they are still your personal items.

whether they are personal or not is irrelevant because ... ... you did not sell them.

@c_man99

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

c_man99 — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 03:03:55 GMT

Right...but the third item (vacuum) was sold.

Would that also be a Personal Item, even if it is new in box?

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

DawnC — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 03:28:55 GMT

They are all personal items, even if they are new - including the vacuum. The last option in the 1099-K section is 'Other'.

You only need to report personal items that you sold if they were sold for more than what you originally paid (gain). If you sold the item for a loss, don't report it and keep the information with your tax records.

If you have a 1099-K, enter it as a 1099-K (search for 1099-K) and choose the last option, Other. You can enter the negating entry in Less Common Income - Other Reportable Income. See Question #3 in this Fact Sheet.

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

c_man99 — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 03:28:59 GMT

Thanks Dawn! Do I still have to attach the 1099-K to my taxes & file it as "Personal"? When I do this, TurboTax doesn't deduct anything from my Federal or State refunds. But if I choose "Other", they both go down.

If I choose "Personal", do I have to enter any additional information or declarations about these items? It also seems that TurboTax doesn't like the PDF I attached (from eBay), as there are issues with the State ID and the way it appears on the form. I think I will have to remove it & type it in myself.

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

c_man99 — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 03:42:34 GMT

Even when I remove & type it in (as "Personal"), I still get this before I can finish Federal:

Hit "continue", next:

Then:

Then it says I am getting the full refund (so far) for Federal.

Sorry for being such a n00b, but am I basically done with this then?

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

c_man99 — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 03:46:56 GMT

It is now saying I need to upgrade to TurboTax Premier, because I sold Stocks, Bonds or Mutual Funds. WTF?

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

c_man99 — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 03:54:00 GMT

Guys I'm sorry...I had the ebay 1099-K entered in twice: once as Personal, and another in the 1099-INT type section (which is probably why it was giving me so much trouble).

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

DawnC — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 04:05:33 GMT

If you choose Personal - it will make you complete the 1099-B section which requires Premier. If you choose Other, it requires using an entry in Other Reportable income which requires Deluxe. If you don't report it and keep the information with your tax records, you can use Free Edition. If there is no gain and it was personal items you can show in case you receive an inquiry, you don't have to report it. It is a tax form the IRS received so they could question you, but if you can show the money was for a vacuum you paid more for than received, you won't have any issue.

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

c_man99 — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 04:22:33 GMT

Since I received a 1099-K (and the IRS / state also received it), I was under the assumption I had to attach it to my tax return "just because". I'm in a $600 state, which is why I still received it this year.

Last time I received/filed a 1099-K, I did file it under 1040-C "self employed". I was selling alot of stuff on ebay back then. It was in my PayPal account and mixed together with a bunch of Ibotta grocery rebates. I ended up paying income tax on that too, because H&R said I had to. H&R was absolutely horrible.

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

c_man99 — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 04:36:50 GMT

I have it in there now as Personal, and it is not making me fill out 1099-B. The 1099-B thing was because I accidentally had entered it under the 1099-INT/Other section (under Wages & Income), not just the 1099-K section. In other words: it was in there twice. It was asking weird questions about the way it listed my state but stopped once deleted from "other". But it still made me enter the whole amount of the 1099-K into Box C on my 1040 during verification. This did not increase my taxes. Should I still delete the 1099-K/Personal?

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

DawnC — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 04:37:42 GMT

You have to report all of your income, but a loss on a personal sale is not income to you. They certainly can question you later if it is not on your tax return, but if the proceeds are not taxable (and losses on personal items are not), you won't be penalized. See this article about online garage sales - which is what the sale of a vacuum cleaner sounds like. Now, if you sold the vacuum for more than was paid for it, you definitely have to report that gain. But if a loss, it is not taxable.

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

JamesG1 — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 16:22:54 GMT

Not sure exactly what happened. Do you mean that you reported the 1099-K income in

Box C, or
Schedule C Profit or Loss From Business?

Please clarify.

Have you viewed the tax return to see where the 1099-K income has been reported?

You want to report the 1099-K income even if you later reverse the entry. 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.

@c_man99

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

c_man99 — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 17:18:52 GMT

I haven't purchased TurboTax Deluze yet, so I can't see the return. I currently have my W2's and 1099-R's attached in "Wages & Income". I then hit "Add a 1099-K" and type in the info from eBay. Chose "Personal Item Sales" & typed in the 1099-K info from ebay. It then says, "Personal Item Sales We've added your personal item sales. You’ll need to enter additional information for your sale in another section.". I now have "Income from Form 1099-K" and the amount ($700+) with all my Wages & Income. My Federal / State refund(s) remain the same, as I selected Personal. Once I go through the Review, I get this:

The only field that "works" (i.e., not grayed out) is Schedule C. When I click it, it already has the gross amount from the 1099-k in the drop down list. So I put that in and hit "Continue". This is what I mean about putting it into Schedule C, but I can't see the return because I haven't purchased TurboTax Deluxe yet.

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

GeorgeM777 — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 18:40:00 GMT

You may not have gone through all the necessary steps before starting a review of your entries. Exit out of the screen you are seeing and go back to your 1099-K entries. Then follow these steps.

On the Your 1099-K Summary screen, select Done.
From the Income Landing table, navigate to Investment topics, and select Start or Revisit for "Stocks, Cryptocurrency, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Other (1099-B).
Go to Investments and Savings (1099-B, 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-K, Crypto) on the Income & Expenses screen. Select Edit/Add.
On Your Investments and Savings Summary screen, you’ll see a line item for your 1099-K income. Select Edit or Review and enter the information for the first personal sale item.
Be sure to select Personal Items under the What type of investment did you sell?
The Cost or other basis amount should be the amount you originally paid for the item.
Select Continue when you’re finished to go to the Review your Sales screen.
If there was more than one personal item sale included in the 1099-K amount, select Add another sale to add each item.
If not, you can Continue.

If you sold your personal item(s) for a loss, that loss cannot offset other income on your tax return like capital loss items (stocks).

If you sold your personal item(s) for a gain, then you’ll need to pay short or long term capital gains tax on it, depending on how long you held the item. This is why you should enter each item separately and not net them together.

@c_man99

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

c_man99 — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 15:03:37 GMT

After researching this and taking everyone's advice into account, I uploaded the 1099-K as "Other" and then made two negative entries for the gross amount[s] of both the laptop / printer, stating they were refunded and what they were. I have all the documentation in case they ask. The vacuum was received as a gift several years ago, and thus is considered a gain from selling personal items. Can I claim the shipping (part of the gross payment, buyer paid exact calculated shipping) as a negative entry also, even though I'm not a business and thus not filing a schedule C?

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

JamesG1 — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 16:03:57 GMT

Yes, you can claim the shipping cost as part of the adjusted basis in the computation of the basis of property received as a gift.

Assume these facts pertaining to the vacuum which you received as a gift.

Donor's purchase price $400

Donor's shipping $20

Adjusted basis $420

In this example, the $420 adjusted basis would apply to the statement The donor's adjusted basis just before the donor made the gift on this IRS website.

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

c_man99 — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 16:14:26 GMT

Ok, then I can (also) write off about $40 in shipping. Keep in mind alot of this is greek to me, but I am still learning. So when I make a third negative entry, I would note the vacuum but only put the negative shipping cost (~$40) and put that it was for calculated shipping.

This brings up another question: Should I file the 1099-K as Personal (non-taxable), and put postive & negative entries into other income? Or file the 1099-K as Other (taxable) as it currently is, and put only negative entries (for cancelled items + shipping) into other income? I checked the IRS guide, and I think it said the latter (even for personal items).

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

GeorgeM777 — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 17:02:28 GMT

Not exactly sure what you mean by "writing off" the $40 in shipping. To follow-up on the comments from @JamesG1, if the shipping costs for the vacuum were $40, then you include that amount in the cost basis for the vacuum. By adding it to your cost basis in the vacuum, it does not necessarily get written off per se, but it does get accounted for when calculating whether you had a gain from the sale.

Yes, reporting the 1099-K as other income, with corresponding negative entries, is the correct approach.

@c_man99

Re: Ebay 1099-K and cancelled (refunded) transactions

c_man99 — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 17:39:36 GMT

When I attach the 1099-K as "Other" income, the entire amount (over $700) is coming up as taxable; wheras if it's Personal, it isn't. So when you mention the cost basis of the vacuum, I'm assuming that you mean for accounting purposes and not an actual entry. If I made a positive entry for it that would be like a double-positive.