At 10:02 PM 11/5/03 -0800, you wrote:
>> The problem is that with the IRS you have to PROVE that you didn't make a
>>profit. If they get something from PayPal (or anywhere else) that shows
>>that you sold something for money (note that I didn't say profit!), then
>>you need to have records showing that it's cost and your expenses are equal
>>or greater than the income from the sales or else you owe taxes on it. In
>>addition to the possible taxes you may (will!) also be charged interest AND
>>penalties AND you could even be charged with income tax evasion!
>
>I rather figured this was the case, and was part of why I recommended
getting professional advice. Any idea if storage costs go towards showing
that you didn't make a profit?
It should be, but the same rules woiuld apply that applies to a home
business; the area would have to be used exclusively for your hobby
business. The costs for a storage unit should apply but you can't charge
off the costs of your living room (unless you use it exclusively and IRS
would probably make you prove that). My living room would qualify :-( but I
don't claim it.
Unfortunately in my case, I don't have receipts that show how much I paid
for all this junk, and I sure can't remember in most cases.
I have the same problem. I buy most of my stufff in big lots so costs is
minimal. But the expenses and travel are usually a lot more than the item
costs.
Joe
>
>And yes, I will end up getting professional advice in the long run on this.
>
> Zane
>
>--
>--
>| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator |
>| healyzh_at_aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast |
>| | Classic Computer Collector |
>+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
>| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
>| PDP-10 Emulation and Zane's Computer Museum. |
>| http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |
>
Received on Thu Nov 06 2003 - 05:32:18 GMT