Downsizing and Selling Stuff. Is the Money one gets Taxable.

[ShokWaveRider]

I have been downsizing our stash of STUFF this year and using PayPal to get paid. It has all been fine with minimal hiccups.

Being an Engineer (Electronic) I have accumulated a lot of electronic of items over the years like Professional Remotes, Transmitters, RF Equipment, Cameras, Home Theater components and household items. This year we have sold quite a bit. Nowhere near the $20k ceiling for PayPal to sent a 1099, but quite a bit for us.

I was wondering if it was taxable and should be declared.

anyone else been downsizing and sold a bunch of stuff.

 

[RunningBum]

Did you make a profit from your original purchase cost? Even if you did on a few items, the losses on the other probably more than cover it. I suppose technically it should be declared but I can't imagine they'll find it or care. If you did exceed $20K and got a 1099 you'd have to declare it. What would you put for the basis of your stuff?

 

[W2R]

I don't know the answers to your questions, but congratulations if you got or can get a lot for your stuff.

I'd be surprised if I got even $500 from selling everything I own. People don't pay much for used stuff (even electronic stuff) these days.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

What would you put for the basis of your stuff?

Maybe made a little profit in a few items, but for the most part, especially the remotes I broke even. I love to buy Electronic Items that are said to be bad and try to fix them. You win some and you lose some. No idea what a cost basis would be.

 

[38Chevy454]

Technically legally I think yes there can be tax issues, but practically you can probably leave it off your taxes and just keep the cash. Pretty certain there is some provision in IRS code for no tax on small resale type income, such as garage sales and similar person to person sales. I don't know the limit when IRS wants their share. Same principle for state sales tax, there is some limit for personal sales where tax collection is not required.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

Sounds like you lost money on all that stuff. No profit. Same here I am guessing 99% of things I bought inside my home lost money. I learned that going to auctions. Homes, coins and guns made money. Just about everything else lost money.

 

[cathy63]

You don't pay income tax on something you sell for less than its cost basis, which in this case is presumably what you paid for it originally. If anything ended up being worth more than what you paid for it, then you have a capital gain and that is taxable. Unfortunately, you can't claim the losses on your taxes.

 

[Amethyst]

No tax expert here, but unless you make a huge profit and/or have declared yourself a business (with a sales tax ID number and everything), your private sales are just basic housekeeping/a hobby.

(If you'd paid someone to haul your stuff away, would you get to deduct that cost? Certainly not).

I have been downsizing our stash of STUFF this year and using PayPal to get paid. It has all been fine with minimal hiccups.

Being an Engineer (Electronic) I have accumulated a lot of electronic of items over the years like Professional Remotes, Transmitters, RF Equipment, Cameras, Home Theater components and household items. This year we have sold quite a bit. Nowhere near the $20k ceiling for PayPal to sent a 1099, but quite a bit for us.

I was wondering if it was taxable and should be declared.

anyone else been downsizing and sold a bunch of stuff.

 

[OldShooter]

Nobody is going to come to your garage sale with a search warrant to audit your coin purse, regardless of the answer to your question. It's just not practical and not something any self-aware elected official would even consider.

That's the same reason nobody showed up to collect the Use Tax on all those out-of-state purchases you made with no sales tax charged. It's just not practical

 

[Ready]

If I buy an item for $1,000, use it for a few years, and then sell it for $500, I don't owe taxes on the $500. I lost money on the sale so there is no taxable income here.