Tax reporting on Craiglist Purchases

[yashK]

Hello,

If I buy a used electronic from from a private party through Craiglist and use it for couple of months and then sell it for price lower than my purchasing price. Do I need to report anything anywhere. Also do I need to pay sales tax or any other tax while buying things from Craiglist. Is there any limit on how many times I can purchase and sell it back on Craiglist. I am buying things for my personal uses. I will buy things , use it for some time and then sell it back. 

[AnnetteB6]

As long as you are selling personal use items at a loss (lower selling price than your purchase price) you would not report anything on your tax return.  You cannot claim a loss on the sale of a personal use item.  

If you start buying items and selling them for a profit, then that may be considered a hobby or business that needs to start reporting income.  

Individuals buying and selling to other individuals would not collect and pay sales tax.  If you purchased an item from a business and sales tax was not collected, then you may owe a use tax for your purchase that would be reported on your state tax return.

@yashK

[yashK]

@AnnetteB6 I am a hobbysit. I will be purchasing some gaming stuffs from an individual. And then selling it after couple of months at a lower price. So in this scenario, I dont have to report anything. Right ? Also is there any limit on number 0f purchases, I can do. Most probably, I will be doing 4/5 such purchasing. 

[AnnetteB6 · Accepted solution]

You are right.  There is nothing taxable to report when you purchase items for personal use from an individual and sell them later at a lower price.  There is also no limit for the number of times you can do this.  

@yashK