If you have a hobby business selling things online, you might be the most-impacted of anyone with the new 1099-K. Most dedicated businesses who already manage their accounting for self employment taxes don't really need 1099-K instructions. But if you kinda just make stuff and sell it online, you're probably not using bookkeeping software at all, let alone tracking expenses to be ready for paying business taxes. The number of situations in which a small businesses like this crosses the $20,000 transaction value/200 transactions threshold necessary for the 1099-K might be small, but if that's what you're facing, it's made even more troublesome by all the other new difficulties you're probably facing as your business mushrooms beyond your expectations.
Here are a few things you can do to make dealing with the 1099-K easier. First, you have to change your mindset and accept that you're a business. If you want to avoid major fines and unwanted attention from the IRS, you're going to have to start running and managing your business like a pro. Start by setting up a basic, free online bookkeeping account and linking up the checking account, credit cards, and payment gateways you use for the business. Even if you don't have a separate business account, having an automated way to track income and expenses is essential to controlling workload and getting the necessary documentation. You can go through and remove the non-business transactions at the end of the month.
If you've just received a 1099-K and you haven't been keeping records, your next priority is to recover as much expense documentation as you can. 1099-K instructions point out that the form's purpose is for online payment processors like Paypal to submit income information about online sellers to the IRS. The only number the IRS gets on the 1099-K is total income, not profits. So you're going to need to come up with a value for expenses and have proof of that number or you'll owe far more in taxes than is legally required.
Start by going through your relevant bank account, credit card, and payment processor statements to track every online payment and expense that you can. Record these in a new accounting book or on your online accounting tools so you can come up with an amount of taxable profits for the year. Then, look for documentation for expenses, ranging from returns to online sales fees to shipping costs. If you're not sure what can be deducted, do some research online. Record the amount you come up with for expenses on your schedule C tax form to declare your taxable income.
The point of these basic 1099-K instructions is to help people who have found themselves thrown into the world of small business and 1099-K taxes minimize the cost of this surprise. If you you've received a 1099-K you weren't expected and you don't take the time to find deductable expenses, you're going to find yourself facing a large tax bill that you aren't prepared to pay - not a situation anyone wants to be in.
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Hobby Businesses Surprised by the 1099-K Instructions Are Among the Most Impacted by This Small Tax Form. Get 1099-K Tax Filing Help and Info at http://www.outright.com
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