How much does my hobby income have to be before reporting to IRS?

January 21, 2012
By
4483790006 98763fa967 m How much does my hobby income have to be before reporting to IRS?
Image by andreabauer

Question by thebuckley5: How much does my hobby income have to be before reporting to IRS?
I started selling custom clothes and reselling clothes on eBay a few months ago. It’s part time and my gross profits are under 2K. I’m married filing joint & I have heard from some people that I didn’t make enough to report, while others say its mandatory. I heard the IRS is big on auditing e-businesses, but I don’t even know if I’m considered a small business or not.

Best answer:

Answer by Dest
Any amount of income by law has to be reported.
It goes under the catagory of “Other Income”.
They want every little bit!
Most people don’t bother to report small amounts but by law you have to.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Related Posts :

Tags: , , , ,

3 Responses to How much does my hobby income have to be before reporting to IRS?

  1. jseah114 on January 21, 2012 at 11:55 pm

    If you earned (net after expenses) more than zero, you need to report it. There is no de minimis amount where you don’t have to file, except if your gross income (from all sources) is less than the standard deduction plus your exemptions.

  2. stucaz on January 22, 2012 at 12:17 am

    regardless, youll have to file for self employemt tax purposes if gross income is over $ 400.

    the first thing you need to ask youreself is if this is a sideline or a business, the reason is that for sideline business you report income as other income on 1040 and expenses under itemized deductions.

    if not sideline then schedule c with the normal income/expenses

    important
    for informational purposes only, consult a tax advisor.

  3. STEVEN F on January 22, 2012 at 12:46 am

    stucaz is correct that you have to report income over $ 400 for self-employment tax, the equivalent of payroll taxes. jseah114 is correct that any amount must be reported for income tax. If you itemized deductions you can deduct related hobby expenses up to your hobby income. If this is actually a business, you are not subject to this limit. The link below is an IRS page on the topic of “Is it a Business or a Hobby?”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*

Categories