How Much Money Can You Make Selling Online Without Paying Taxes?

Individuals and businesses that sell online may benefit from understanding about their tax requirements. Find out when you may be required to pay taxes for online sales.

What you’ll discover:

How much can I sell online before having to pay taxes?
Is it necessary to collect sales tax when selling online?
How do I apply sales tax to online purchases?
Do I have to record a profit if I sell an item that has increased in value?
Do I have to record losses on depreciated company assets?

Every day, millions of Americans offer products and services online. Many people generate additional money on the side by selling items on famous marketplace platforms like eBay, Etsy, and Shopify. For others, internet sales are a full-time source of income. Several firms offer their products both online and in physical storefronts. If you’re new to selling online or have worries about your tax responsibility, the answers to frequently asked questions concerning taxes and online sales may be useful.

How much can I sell online before having to pay taxes?

Whether you solely sell products online or not, the IRS and most states consider any revenue from these transactions to be taxable. Whether you owe taxes for selling personal things, commodities, or services online is determined by a number of variables, including whether or not you make a profit.

If you earn more than $400 during the tax year, you must usually pay federal income taxes as well as self-employment taxes. If your revenue from online sales came via a third-party transaction network, such as PayPal or Venmo, and it was more than $20,000 for the year, and the number of transactions surpassed 200, you should obtain a 1099-K form. The form is often sent by the transaction network the following January, making it easy to identify and declare your income. The 1099-K minimum value will be reduced to $600 at some time in the future, down from $20,000 in previous years.

Is it necessary to collect sales tax when selling online?

It is determined by the location of your consumer. Sales tax is determined online based on a customer’s delivery address rather than their billing address. Just five states do not have any kind of sales tax:

Alaska.
Delaware.
Montana.
New Hampshire.
Oregon.

Most states that impose sales tax for in-person transactions also require retailers to collect and remit sales taxes for online sales. Missouri became the latest state to enact legislation to collect internet sales tax in July 2021, with the move taking effect in 2023.

Nonetheless, there are a few instances when internet sales tax is not collected. Several states have nexus laws to protect internet vendors that do not have a place of business in their jurisdiction. Several states have established thresholds that internet retailers must meet before being required to pay sales taxes. Moreover, whether or not a state mandates sales tax for online purchases, merchants may be obliged to comply with county or local sales tax regulations.

Ultimately, even though this is a complicated subject, you are responsible for knowing what taxes you owe. A tax lawyer can assist you understand which regulations apply to your company so that you can collect sales taxes correctly.

How do I apply sales tax to online purchases?

If you are required to charge sales tax in one or more states as a result of your online sales, you may be required to apply for a sales tax permit in each state. You may do so by contacting the state’s revenue department. Criteria vary per state, but in general, out-of-state enterprises must make a considerable amount of sales in the state. Out-of-state enterprises that produce more than $500,000 in sales in the preceding calendar year, for example, must register in California.

You may also need to understand how the state taxes the goods and services you provide, since different rates and exemptions may apply to certain things. For example, states like Massachusetts and Connecticut give limited sales tax exemptions on clothes.

The good news for companies that must charge sales tax on online transactions is that most online seller systems allow merchants to determine rates and collect sales taxes. Your sales taxes may be owed every month, every three months, twice a year, or once a year, depending on the state tax authority. It is essential to complete the necessary documents and make payments by the dates. This is important even if you made no sales in that state or local region during the tax period — this is known as submitting a zero return.

Do I have to record a profit if I sell an item that has increased in value?

Profit from the sale of goods and services is taxed like ordinary income. Yet, whether you sell a personal item for more than you bought for it or a company asset that has appreciated in value, you will almost certainly be required to record the profit as capital gains. You may owe taxes depending on the capital gains tax rates in effect at the time.

The amount you owe is frequently determined by:

How long did you own the asset?
The kind of asset.
Its initial buying price or value.
If you get the money all at once or in installments.
Your taxable earnings.

When you sell something you’ve owned for less than a year, the profit is usually taxed as regular income rather than capital gain. Nonetheless, antiques like artwork, antique furniture, vintage toys, comic books, and vinyl recordings are normally taxed as capital gains regardless of how long you had them.

It is best to maintain precise records when selling anything online, including the dates you purchased and sold the item, the amount you paid, and the sales price. You should also keep track of the charges, commissions, and other fees you pay. This information might be invaluable when it comes time to compute and pay taxes, and it could result in large tax savings.

Do I have to record losses on depreciated company assets?

When a business sells anything for a profit, it is normally obligated to declare and pay taxes. But what if you sell a company asset for a loss rather than a profit? In the end, you may be obliged to disclose losses on company assets that lose value. Various laws apply to each sort of company asset, and they might lose value in a variety of ways.

A company asset is often referred to as a Section 1231 asset. If you sell a company asset for a loss, you may be eligible to deduct the loss from your regular income for the tax year. Such purchases would be reported on IRS Form 4797. (Sales of Business Property).

Real estate or personal property utilized in the firm that might lose value are examples of assets that may be used to offset your income via Section 1231 actions. This may include, among other things, the following:

Vehicles.
Machines. Computers.
Livestock.
Crops that have not been harvested.

Small company taxes may be complicated, with several moving components. For certain firms, incorporating your company organization may be advantageous for tax reasons. Nevertheless, taxes are simply one issue to consider when determining how to organize your business.