Starting an Ebay Business

[buymycards]

[QUOTE=Gusturd;2085300]I can't thank everyone enough for chiming in and I can't believe there isn't more discussion of this topic on this forum. You'd think there'd be a permanent "How to" thread, as I'm guessing 100% of the people posting here (or their heirs) will face these questions at some point.

There have been dozens of tax discussion threads over the years on this forum. Try a search for "taxes", "business taxes", etc.

[Gusturd]

[QUOTE=buymycards;2085301]

Originally Posted by Gusturd

I can't thank everyone enough for chiming in and I can't believe there isn't more discussion of this topic on this forum. You'd think there'd be a permanent "How to" thread, as I'm guessing 100% of the people posting here (or their heirs) will face these questions at some point.

There have been dozens of tax discussion threads over the years on this forum. Try a search for "taxes", "business taxes", etc.

No doubt there have been. But why have to go search, only to find each has ample amounts of outdated and/or inaccurate information? Why not have it pinned as a reference so people don't have to keep asking?

Thanks for your input.

[timzcardz]

Originally Posted by buymycards

No doubt there have been. But why have to go search, only to find each has ample amounts of outdated and/or inaccurate information? Why not have it pinned as a reference so people don't have to keep asking?

Thanks for your input.

The answer to your question is at the very top of the very page on this forum . . .

"Welcome to Net54baseball.com. These forums are devoted to both Pre- and Post- war baseball cards and vintage memorabilia, as well as other sports."


The business implications are about tax codes, not baseball cards.

And very seldom is there anything pinned to the top.

[Gusturd]

Originally Posted by timzcardz

The answer to your question is at the very top of the very page on this forum . . .

"Welcome to Net54baseball.com. These forums are devoted to both Pre- and Post- war baseball cards and vintage memorabilia, as well as other sports."


The business implications are about tax codes, not baseball cards.

And very seldom is there anything pinned to the top.

This thread is very much about baseball cards and I would think much more relevant than the "Worst type of Ebay guy" thread that's been very active for weeks now.

[RL]

irs....

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small...-self-employed

[Gusturd]

Originally Posted by RL

irs....

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small...-self-employed

Interestingly, If you click the "starting a business" link and then click "is it a business or a hobby", I believe the site provides obsolete information. Am I wrong about that?

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Gusturd

Interestingly, If you click the "starting a business" link and then click "is it a business or a hobby", I believe the site provides obsolete information. Am I wrong about that?

Though the article on the IRS site regarding if it is hobby or a business notes that it was written in May of 2017, it is not necessarily obsolete. If you compare it to the Taxslayer article written in January of 2021 that was referenced and also linked to earlier in the thread, you'll note that there are 9 bullet points given to weigh and consider in that Taxslayer article, which just happens to be the exact same number of questions referenced on the IRS site from four years earlier. That isn't a coincidence. The person writing the Taxslayer article just re-wrote what was on the IRS site already, changing wording so it didn't look like a blatant copy job. The IRS site article from 2017 hasn't been changed or updated since it was originally posted because what it says still reflects all the pertinent points and considerations that the IRS and its agents look at when trying to determine if someone has a business or a hobby. The problem is that the answers to all those points/questions aren't always simple yes or no answers.

There's also no definitive measurement, like saying if you answer yes to 5 or more of those points/questions that you are definitely a business, and if 4 or fewer yes answers that you definitely have a hobby. You have to look at and weigh the facts and circumstances for each indivual taxpayer and their unique situation to make the determination of if you have a business, hobby, or investments. It is definitely a subjective question, and not an objective one.

Also, over time as specific facts and circumstances change, you can go from having a hobby to a business, and vice versa. So you must continually review what you are doing as well.

There is one sort of safe harbor the IRS lets you rely upon in determining if you have a business or a hobby, regardless of those 9 points/questionsy they tell you to look at, and that is what is known as the "Hobby Loss Rule". According to this unofficial rule, if you claim some activity is a business and not a hobby and in any 3 out of the last 5 years you reported a net taxable profit from that activity, the IRS will pretty much concede it is a bona fide business for federal income tax purposes.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Gusturd

This thread is very much about baseball cards and I would think much more relevant than the "Worst type of Ebay guy" thread that's been very active for weeks now.

Kind of contradictory, no?

[Gusturd]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

Kind of contradictory, no?

Not really. Just goes to show people here are interested in topics on the fringe of the hobby as well. But there are a few "by the book" members who are easily puckered and compelled to "yell at the clouds" rather than just ignoring a topic that doesn't interest them. Every forum has them.

[BobC]

[QUOTE=Gusturd;2085319]

Originally Posted by buymycards

No doubt there have been. But why have to go search, only to find each has ample amounts of outdated and/or inaccurate information? Why not have it pinned as a reference so people don't have to keep asking?

Thanks for your input.

An earlier poster accurately noted this is a forum about collecting cards and such, and not establishing and operating a business with all the tax concerns and issues that go with it. However, threads do come up with questions about taxes or business/hobby aspects time and again, and people try help and answer as best they can when they do. You don't really want to start adding links and resources concerning taxes and establishing/operating businesses on this site as in addition to not being a main purpose of this forum, you then would appear to be entering the realm of now offering tax and business related legal advice. There is no one actually going to be monitoring such information to try and make certain it is accurate. And because tax laws do continue to change over time, things that are being posted and shown on a forum like this will then need to be constantly monitered and updated as those changes occur. And who is going to take the responsibity to do that?