eBay
eBay taxes: what you owe and when eBay sends a 1099-K
You pay income tax and self-employment tax on eBay profit, not on sales, whether or not eBay sends you a form. For 2025 and 2026, eBay sends a Form 1099-K when your gross payments top $20,000 and you have more than 200 transactions, or sooner if your state requires it.
Do you have to pay taxes on eBay sales?
Yes, on your eBay profit. The IRS says you must report income from goods you sell whether or not a Form 1099-K arrives (IRS, reviewed June 28, 2026). You're taxed on profit: what buyers paid, minus refunds, eBay fees, postage, what the items cost you and your other business costs.
A 1099-K is paperwork, not a bill. In the IRS's words, "Just because a payment is reported on Form 1099-K doesn't mean it's taxable." A missing form isn't a pass either. If you sell on eBay as a business, the sales go on Schedule C (Form 1040).
What is the eBay 1099-K limit for 2025 and 2026?
eBay sends a Form 1099-K for a tax year when your gross payments exceed $20,000 and you have more than 200 transactions. That's eBay's stated rule for 2025, and the same limits apply to 2026 under section 6050W(e) of the tax code as amended in July 2025. eBay also sends one if backup withholding applied to you, or if your state sets a lower threshold (eBay Help, checked September 23, 2026).
| Trigger | What it means |
|---|---|
| Over $20,000 and over 200 transactions | Both in the same calendar year, counted across every eBay account on your tax ID |
| A lower state threshold | Some states require forms at lower amounts, and eBay follows them |
| Backup withholding | eBay withheld tax from your payouts, usually because it had no valid tax ID |
Two details catch people. eBay adds up every account under the same tax ID, and if the total crosses the line you get a separate form for each account, even a small one. And if PayPal or another payment company processed some of your eBay sales, that company sends its own form.
Give eBay your tax ID when it asks. eBay says that without a valid W-9 it can hold your payouts and withhold 24% of your gross payments as backup withholding (eBay Seller Center; the flat 24% rate is in IRS Topic 307). The threshold has moved several times since 2021; the 1099-K threshold history has each year.
What is in the number on your eBay 1099-K?
Your eBay 1099-K shows gross payments: what buyers paid for the year before anything came out. eBay says the figure isn't adjusted for credits, discounts, fees or refunds, and that sales tax and cancelled transactions are left out of it (eBay Help, checked September 23, 2026).
| Item | In the 1099-K gross? | On your return |
|---|---|---|
| Item price buyers paid | Yes | Gross receipts, line 1 |
| Shipping buyers paid | Yes (the IRS says gross isn't adjusted for shipping) | Gross receipts, line 1; the postage you bought is line 18 |
| eBay fees | Yes, not subtracted | Commissions and fees, line 10 |
| Refunds to buyers | Yes, not subtracted | Returns and allowances, line 2 |
| Sales tax | No, eBay leaves it out | Not your income |
| Cancelled transactions | No, eBay leaves them out | Nothing to report |
An eBay 1099-K is usually far bigger than your profit because of what the gross includes. Reconciling a 1099-K line by line walks the figure down to what you report.
Where do you find your eBay tax forms and documents?
eBay posts your tax documents, including Form 1099-K, in your account by January 31 of the following year, and you download them from Seller Hub or My eBay. If you want paper too, turn off electronic delivery on your Taxes page and eBay mails a copy. These are the steps as eBay described them on September 23, 2026:
- Open Seller HubGo to the Payments tab, then choose Taxes from the menu on the left.
- Or use My eBayGo to Payments and scroll down to Payment reports and taxes.
- Request the detailed reportIn My eBay, choose Request 1099-K detailed report. eBay emails you when it's ready. It lists every payment behind the gross figure.
- Check the name and tax IDThe name on your eBay account should match the name on your tax ID and your return. If it doesn't, update the Tax Information section in Account Settings.
How much can you sell on eBay before paying taxes?
There's no tax-free amount of eBay profit. The $20,000 figure decides whether eBay sends a form, not whether you owe tax. The IRS says to report income from goods you sell whether or not you receive a 1099-K, and that includes personal items sold at a gain.
Self-employment tax has its own floor. If 92.35% of your net profit comes to less than $400 for the year, which means profit under about $433, you don't owe self-employment tax (Schedule SE, 2025 form). The profit still counts toward your income tax.
What if you're selling your own things on eBay?
Selling your own used things on eBay for less than you paid isn't taxable, because there's no gain, and the IRS says the loss can't be deducted. If eBay's 1099-K includes those sales, you zero them out on your return instead of paying tax on them (IRS, What to do with Form 1099-K, reviewed July 27, 2026).
- Sold at a loss: enter the 1099-K amount on the line at the top of the 2025 Schedule 1 (Form 1040) for personal items sold at a loss, or report the sales on Form 8949.
- Sold at a gain: a watch or collectible that sells for more than you paid is a taxable gain. Report it on Form 8949 and Schedule D.
- Collections: the IRS treats a gain on items collected as a hobby as a capital gain, and a loss on them can't be deducted (Publication 525, 2025).
Keep your own things and your resale stock in separate records from day one. Personal items, hobbies and resale inventory covers where the line sits.
How much tax will you pay on eBay profit?
On eBay profit you pay self-employment tax plus income tax. Self-employment tax is 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit, about 14.1% of profit. Income tax depends on your bracket; for 2026 the federal brackets run from 10% to 37% (IRS, IR-2025-103). Here's how the pieces add up on made-up numbers.
| Step | Figure | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Net profit | $10,000 | Schedule C, line 31 |
| × 92.35% | $9,235 | Schedule SE, line 4a |
| Social Security, 12.4% | $1,145 | Schedule SE, line 10 |
| Medicare, 2.9% | $268 | Schedule SE, line 11 |
| Self-employment tax | $1,413 | Schedule SE, line 12 |
| Half of it, deducted | $706 | Schedule SE, line 13 |
| Income tax: 22% of ($10,000 − $706) | $2,045 | 2026 brackets, IR-2025-103 |
| Federal total | $3,458 (about 35% of profit) | Before state tax |
| Same, with a full 20% QBI deduction | $3,049 (about 30%) | IRS QBI deduction page |
The qualified business income deduction lets many sole proprietors deduct up to 20% of that income, with or without itemizing (IRS). It lowers income tax, not self-employment tax. Run your own figures in the 2026 self-employment tax calculator for resellers. eBay doesn't withhold it from your payouts once it has your taxpayer ID, so you pay it during the year on the 2026 estimated tax dates.
How do you report eBay sales on Schedule C?
eBay sales go on Schedule C (Form 1040) when you sell as a business. The 2025 form, filed in 2026, is the latest final version, and these are the lines eBay money usually touches. Start from gross receipts, not payouts, so every eBay fee and every label shows up as its own deduction.
| What | Line | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Everything buyers paid, including shipping | 1, gross receipts | Start from gross, not payouts |
| Refunds to buyers | 2, returns and allowances | |
| Cost of the items that sold | 4, from Part III (lines 35 to 42) | Only items sold this year |
| eBay selling fees | 10, commissions and fees | The instructions put a dealer's sale commissions and fees here |
| Postage you bought | 18, office expense | The instructions name postage for line 18 |
| Mailers, boxes, tape | 22, supplies | |
| Business miles | 9, car and truck expenses | 2026: 72.5¢ a mile to June 30, 76¢ after |
Schedule C for resellers, line by line covers the rest of the form.
What if your eBay 1099-K is wrong?
If your eBay 1099-K is wrong, ask eBay for a corrected form. The IRS tells you to request corrections from the issuer and says it can't correct a Form 1099-K itself. eBay asks sellers to raise problems by March 30 so it can make corrections by April 15 (eBay Help).
- Download the 1099-K detailed report and match it to your own sales records.
- If a figure is wrong, contact eBay with the item number and transaction details.
- Keep the original form, any corrected form and your messages with eBay.
- File on time even if the correction hasn't come. For a wrong gross amount, the IRS says to enter the amount from the incorrect form in the entry space at the top of Schedule 1 (Form 1040), and the form itself says the remaining 1099-K amounts go elsewhere on your return.
What records should you keep for eBay sales?
Keep records that show what each item cost you, what it sold for and what you spent to sell it, for at least 3 years after you file in most cases (IRS). IRS Publication 583 says inventory records should show the amount paid and that it was for inventory.
- eBay's 1099-K detailed report and your sales reports: what sold, when and for how much
- Purchase receipts or a purchase log: what each item or lot cost
- Postage and supply receipts
- A mileage log for sourcing trips and post office runs
Your listings are part of that trail. A listing with photos, a title and a price set from sold listings shows what each item was and what you asked for it, and eBay's order history shows what it sold for. FlowLister, which publishes this site, writes eBay listings that way from your photos. It isn't a tax or bookkeeping tool, and it's AI, so it can get things wrong.
Do I have to report eBay sales under $20,000?
When does eBay send the 1099-K?
Does eBay's 1099-K include sales tax?
I have two eBay accounts. How many 1099-Ks will I get?
Is money from selling my old clothes on eBay taxable?
Disclosure We build FlowLister and publish Reseller Taxes. FlowLister writes eBay listings from item photos, with a price taken from sold listings, and for a reseller that listing becomes part of the record of what sold. It's AI, so it misses things. It doesn't prepare taxes or keep books, and nothing on this site is tax advice.
Keep reading
The 1099-K, explained for resellers
Why the number is bigger than your income, and how to reconcile it line by line.
The 1099-K threshold for 2025 and 2026, and how it got here
Over $20,000 and over 200 transactions: the rule for 2025 and 2026, and every change since 2021.