posted on April 13, 2001 05:18:33 PM new
I am SOooooooooo confused!
I have sold some items this past year on e-bay, now I need to know what tax forms to use to report it.
I am not a business, as I do not have a re-sale number or a business license.
Would I use form 1040 and put it down as other income - line 21 (a not-for-profit activity / hobby), or do I go ahead and use a schedule c-ez with my 1040?
Please - tell me how did you report your sales.
Thanks in advance for any help I recieve.
posted on April 14, 2001 06:50:20 AM new
One should definitely NOT be doing taxes on Easter Weekend...
If you just sold a few things, like cleaning out the closet, ask yourself, did you earn a profit on those items? If you sold them at a loss (meaning you paid $10 and sold for $5) there isn't anything to report. If you made a profit, MY understanding (and I"m not a tax professional) is you can't deduct any expenses or fees, just the cost of the item deducted from what you GOT for the item, and that would be Other Income.
If you're purchasing for resale, or doing this regularly, then you need to go the Schedule C/SE route...
On a side note, I have had such a good 1st quarter of the year, I filed a Schedule 1040-ES for the first time - making quarterly tax payments as I go along to avoid having a big tax due at the end of the year with a penalty... and if I overpay, I'll get a refund... this is a strange year for me though - Ebay business is taking off and I"m getting married, which will throw ALL of my withholding stuff out of whack.. 8)
posted on April 14, 2001 10:30:48 AM new
IMO just file for an extension at this point. If you're unsure of how to list your eBay income, you need a tax professional, and you're DEFINITELY not going to get one now!
NOTE: Asking for a filing extension does NOT mean that you get to extend the time to pay! Figure your taxes without eBay, add some extra for a cushion based on your estimated eBay profit, send that amount in, and get a tax preparer as soon as you can. They should also let you know what records to keep track of so your (and their) job is easier next year.
posted on April 14, 2001 10:42:34 PM new
You have just sold a couple of items, verdad?
Here is the quick-have-to-get-it-done tomorrow system.
-- tally up all of your income.
-- tally all of your direct expenses related to Ebay.
-- fill out the schedule e-z on your 1040.
-- celebrate.
Now if you have sold a bunch of items for a bunch of money, then I would take the other posters advice which is to make a quick estimate (see methodology above), file an extension, and then consult a tax accountant or preparer.
What they will be able to do is to help you accurately calculate your indirect expenses that relate to Ebay and other miscellaneous hidden deductibles that only the tax pros know about.
posted on April 15, 2001 08:15:49 AM new
If you have less than $1000 in total sales on Ebay then I would not bother to report it at all.
If it's more than $1000 then you should file for an extension, is automatically approved for and extension to Aug 15. This will give you some time to buy a copy of Turbo Tax. It will walk you through the process asking simple question each step of the way. Many many things ae deductable as business expense.
posted on April 15, 2001 04:25:27 PM new
Don't feel bad, we're still finishing up our taxes, they're a bear this year.
Same problem I had last year: WHAT do you call the EBay fees? 'Advertising'? 'Rent'? I'm not sure where to put these on the Business tax form. I called them 'advertising' last year but it sure made my return look funny (lottts of advertising expenses).
posted on April 15, 2001 09:10:27 PM new
If you have less than $1000 in total sales on Ebay then I would not bother to report it at all.
If your self-employment net profits were less than $400 you don't even need to file for that income.
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Opps..this is not. You must claim from 1 cent. You may or may not owe taxes. If this is your only income, once you take off your standard dedction, you won't pay taxes if you only earned $400, and had no other income (however, you are prob pretty hungry, as this won't cover your food). However, if you have another job, or you file with your spouse, you will combine this income, and it is taxable. If you sold less than $400, you won't owe any SE tax, but you may still owe income tax, depending on the above.
If you are doing this as a business, I strongly urge you to file a schedule C, so you can take off your expenses. If not, then put it under misc income. If you file an extension, be sure to send in the estimated amount of taxes you owe..an extension does not mean you don't owe the taxes by tomorrow.
If you decide to take the first piece of advice, and not claim anything under $1,000, keep in mind that that is fraud (in the eyes of the IRS), and when you commit fraud, the IRS may be a royal pain if you are caught, and they may go back a lot longer than the normal 5-7 years, and do a full audit for each year. If you have never done anything wrong on your past taxes, this shouldn't worry you..as long as you have all your records.
posted on April 16, 2001 02:49:20 AM new
It is dangerous to ask for tax advice on chat boards. Numerous misconceptions. Recommend you follow DMRICK's advice. It is the safest course of action until you know better what to do.
If you need a copy of the extension form, you can download it at:
http://www.irs.gov/forms_pubs/findfiles.html
under the search option - just enter 4868, this is the form number for the automatic extension for individual return.
