First time filing 1099-k eBay

[lombeezy]

Hello everyone,

I'm completing the 1099-k form on TurboTax for the first time this year. I sold new and used shoes on eBay in addition to other sporadic goods. What kind of income is this, I wonder? I sort of did it as a hobby, but some of the things I sold were personal. I also made money on certain things and lost money on others. What would I include in "I sold some items at a loss or had no gain?"? Should I include the gross amount of payment card/third party network transactions? Or should I simply enter the whole amount I lost?

[JamesG1]

It sounds like you engaged in personal item sales.  This TurboTax Help states:

Each gain or loss from a personal item sale needs to be reported separately. If you had a loss on the sale of any personal item, it cannot cancel out any gain on the sale of another personal item.

You would report the amount of payment reported on the IRS form 1099-K(s) that you received.

Amounts that are reported as "I sold some items at a loss or had no gain" are reported at the top of Schedule 1 Form 1040.

Amounts that are reported as income are 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.

In TurboTax Desktop, to report Personal item sales, follow these directions.

• Across the top of the screen, click on Federal Taxes.
• Across the top of the screen, click on Wages & Income.
• Click I'll choose what I work on.
• Scroll down to 1099-Misc and Other Common Income and click to the right of Income from Form 1099-K.
• At the screen What type of income is your 1099-K?, select Personal item sales.
• Click Continue.
• At the screen Let's get the info from your 1099-K, enter the information.      Click Continue. 
• At the screen Personal Item Sales, report if some items were sold at a loss or had no gain.
• Click Continue.
• At the screen Your 1099-K Summary, select Done. 
• At the screen Your 2024 Income Summary, scroll down to Investment Income and Stocks, Cryptocurrency, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Other.
• Click to the right.
• At the screen Let's finish pulling in your investment income, click the down arrow to the right of the 1099-K entry.
• Click Edit.
• At the screen Review your Form 1099-K, click on the pencil icon to edit.
• Enter sale information.  Click Continue.
• At the screen Let us know if any of these situations apply to this sale, you may report sales expenses,  
• Click Continue.

[lombeezy]

Hey thanks for the reply! I'm wondering at "Personal Item Sales", do I enter the the gross amount of sales in this? or just the amount that sold at a loss or no gain?

[JamesG1]

See this example where the gross sales reported on the IRS form 1099-K is $900 and only these two sales transactions are involved.

                           Selling           Cost

                           Price              Basis

T 1                    $500              $1,000        Capital loss on personal item = $0 gain/loss

T 2                    $400               $300          Capital gain on personal item = $100 gain

                          $900              $1,300

At the screen Personal Item Sales, under I sold some items at a loss or had no gain, report $500.

@lombeezy 

[lombeezy]

Oh ok so I put the total of much I sold at a loss or no gain all together in that box.

[lombeezy]

I entered all the transactions I did now, I'm getting this error in the 1099-B Worksheet

All my numbers matched up except 1 month where eBay included a sale that was refunded. How can I include that refund in my transactions? Thank you in advance

[DianeW777]

It depends.  For example, if you sold any personal use items at a loss, then your cost and sales price should be equal. A loss on personal use items, such as the shoes you mentioned, is not allowed to be used to reduce other income. 

For any items you sold at a gain, the gain is taxable. This should be reported as a sale of personal items under Investment Sales. 

• Where do I enter Investment Sales?

1. Open or continue your return.
2. Navigate to the investment sales section:
   • TurboTax Online/Mobile: Go to investment sales. If using this application, make sure it is open
   • TurboTax Desktop: Search for investment sales and then select the Jump to link. 
     • Or Personal Tab > Continue > I'll choose what I work on > Scroll to Investment Income > Select Stocks, Cryptocurrency, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Other
3. Answer Yes to the question Did you sell any of these investments in 2024? (or Okay! to Time to kickoff your investments!).
   • If you land on  the Investment sales summary or Your investments and savings screen, select Add More Sales or Add investments.

If you had a sale, that was later returned and the money refunded to the buyer, then keep notes.  The sale was cancelled so it didn't actually take place for tax purposes in your situation.

If this later becomes more involved and you consider this  a self employment activity carried on to produce a profit, with regular and continued activity, then it would be reported on Schedule C as a business. 

[lombeezy]

Hello, Diane, I appreciate your response. What if the majority of the transactions weren't personal but rather were bought in an attempt to turn a profit? Should I still list them under sale of personal items? Toys and footwear were the main products sold.

[ThomasM125]

If you intended to make a profit, you should report the sales as self-employment income. You can then deduct the cost of the items from the sales proceeds as well as any other costs of running the business that were ordinary and necessary.