IRS is cracking down on your online income. What to know
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Millions more taxpayers with online side hustles will receive 1099-K tax forms this month. Have an online side hustle? Making thousands on eBay or Etsy?. Be careful this filing season: the Internal Revenue Service is cracking down on unreported online income.
![[When selling personal items on sites like eBay, you will only pay taxes if you sell items for more than you bought them]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/22/19/GettyImages-453488562.jpg)
Now, millions more Americans will receive the form compared to previous years, the paper reports. While taxpayers are always required to report income, many underreported their online income when no forms were sent, according to the Journal. Now, the IRS is cracking down in an effort to keep people honest about their online income.
“The IRS wants to get the message out that they’re enforcing it,” Bryan Skarlatos, a criminal tax lawyer, told the outlet. Even if you’re below this year’s threshold, you’re still not in the clear. It will only go down from here, as the IRS will implement a $2,500 threshold in 2025 and a final $600 threshold in 2026.
There are also different rules for those running a business online and those selling personal items on platforms like e-Bay. All business owners must report their income, regardless of whether your earnings come from online platforms or not. But if you’re selling personal items for less than you paid for them, you wouldn’t owe tax, even if you receive a 1099-K — you would only be required to disclose the sales, the Journal reports. However, if you sell personal items and make a profit, you must report it as a capital gain on Form 8949 and Schedule D.
