[KD Hawaii]

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[KD Hawaii]

When someone is having a yard sale, they earn $$$. They don't report it to IRS. Is that cheating???

[inveritatemonstra]

It's better just not to file at all if you are tired of the Federal Govt. spending money they don't have like a bunch of Drunkin Sailors...

[airics]

Originally Posted by KD Hawaii

When someone is having a yard sale, they earn $$$. They don't report it to IRS. Is that cheating???

if you are having a yard sale, are you making a profit?? no so imo its not cheating at all

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by airics

if you are having a yard sale, are you making a profit?? no so imo its not cheating at all

That's exactly correct. If you paid more for an item that you eventually sell it for at a yard or estate sale, then the sale is not reportable as income.

[KD Hawaii]

I think it doesn't matter whether you're making a profit or not, you earn and pay taxes.

[airics]

on a yard sale, you aren't earning.... you already bought the item and paid sales tax, didnt you.. and a yard sale isn't income.. actually if you want to report it, then i guess you could as cost of goods, and then take the loss...i bought the lamp 4 years ago for 100. sold it for 5. hmm loss of 95.. but then again i smell audit

[Okey Dokie]

One other thing to worry about.....before I retired I worked for an Inspector General office of a Federal agency. There were many times when players' clubs records were subpoenaed to substantiate probable cause for embezzlements and general employee misconduct (like employees who worked out in the field and were spending their afternoons at a casino). Ooops.

[cedar_bluff_tree_farm]

Originally Posted by KD Hawaii

When someone is having a yard sale, they earn $$$. They don't report it to IRS. Is that cheating???

The IRS website states "Income resulting from auctions akin to an occasional garage or yard sale is generally not required to be reported." The answer is no.

The difference with gambling is there are specific tax laws that cover gambling. So yard sales and gambling are two different categories as far as income tax.

[cedar_bluff_tree_farm]

Originally Posted by airics

on a yard sale, you aren't earning.... you already bought the item and paid sales tax, didnt you.. and a yard sale isn't income.. actually if you want to report it, then i guess you could as cost of goods, and then take the loss...i bought the lamp 4 years ago for 100. sold it for 5. hmm loss of 95.. but then again i smell audit

The problem with declaring a loss on income from items sold at a yard sale is there was no expectation of selling the item at a profit. So your "business" of buying items and selling at a yard sale can't reasonably be expected to make a profit, so it's classified as a hobby.