Do you owe tax on a 1099-K for personal items sold at a loss?
No: the IRS says that if you sold a personal item for less than you paid for it, there is no tax liability, and the loss can't be deducted either. For 2025 returns, the Form 1040 instructions put the 1099-K amount for personal items sold at a loss in the entry space at the top of Schedule 1, while a gain on a personal item is reported on Form 8949 and Schedule D.
General information from IRS sources, not tax advice. It doesn't say what you should file; check with a tax professional about your own situation.
Checked against the IRS pages listed below on .
What the IRS says
"A loss on the sale of a personal item can't be deducted from your taxes. But you can zero out the reported gross income so you don't pay taxes on it."
"A personal item is something you owned for personal use such as a car, refrigerator, furniture, stereo, jewelry or silverware, etc."
"If you received a Form 1099-K for a personal item that you sold at a gain, don't report this amount in the entry space at the top of Schedule 1…"
"…the loss on the sale of the second set of tickets cannot offset the gain on the sale of the first set of tickets."
Loss, gain or bought to resell: three answers
| What you sold | Example | What the IRS guidance says |
|---|---|---|
| A personal item, for less than you paid | A couch bought for $1,000, sold for $700 | No tax liability and no deductible loss. For 2025, the $700 goes in the entry space at the top of Schedule 1, or the sale can go on Form 8949 and Schedule D with an adjustment that brings the loss to zero |
| A personal item, for more than you paid | A handbag bought for $800, sold for $1,200 | The $400 gain is taxable and is figured on Form 8949 and Schedule D |
| Something you bought to resell | A jacket bought at a thrift store to flip | Not a personal item, since you didn't own it for personal use. See Schedule C or not |
How the IRS figures gain or loss on a personal item
The IRS's Form 1099-K questions say the gain or loss is generally the difference between what you paid for the item and what you sold it for. Its examples: a refrigerator bought for $1,000 and sold for $700 is a $300 loss; concert tickets bought for $500 and sold for $900 are a $400 gain.
Each item stands on its own. In the IRS's ticket example, a gain on one set of tickets and a loss on another are reported separately, because the loss can't offset the gain.
If you already use Form 8949 and Schedule D for other sales, the IRS says the loss can go there instead: enter code L in column (f) and the nondeductible loss as a positive number in column (g), so the gain or loss in column (h) comes to zero.
If you don't remember what you paid
The IRS suggests asking the bank or card company you paid with for old statements, or asking whoever sold you the item, and points to Publication 551 on basis. It adds that if records are lost or destroyed through circumstances beyond your control and your return is audited, examiners may allow reconstructed records and may accept oral testimony when records don't exist.
Why the form arrived at all
Payment apps and online marketplaces must send a Form 1099-K when your payments for goods or services through them total over $20,000 in more than 200 transactions, and the IRS says they may send one for less. Card payments are different: the IRS says there's no threshold for payment card transactions. The form doesn't decide what is taxable: the IRS says just because a payment is reported on a Form 1099-K doesn't mean it's taxable. More on the threshold: 1099-K for resellers. State Form 1099-K rules are covered on the state pages.
Worked examples
A closet clean-out with one gain
You sell 24 pieces of your own clothing for $1,150 in total, each for less than you paid, and a jacket you bought for yourself for $120 for $210. The 1099-K shows $1,360. Following the pattern of the IRS's example, the $1,150 is the personal-items-at-a-loss amount for the entry space at the top of Schedule 1, and the jacket's $90 gain is figured on Form 8949 and Schedule D.
The IRS's own example
A couch bought for $1,000 sells for $700 and a handbag bought for $800 sells for $1,200, so the 1099-K shows $1,900. The 2025 Form 1040 instructions put $700 in the entry space for the couch and report the $400 gain on the handbag as a capital gain on Form 8949 and Schedule D.
Personal items and flips on one account
One account's 1099-K shows $4,800: $1,300 from your own things sold at a loss and $3,500 from items you bought to resell. Only the $1,300 is a personal-items-at-a-loss amount; the Form 1040 instructions say the remaining amounts are reported elsewhere on the return, depending on the nature of the transactions.
Edge cases
- Event tickets bought for your own use count as personal items in the IRS examples. In its ticket case, one set sold at a $550 gain ($800 sale, $250 cost) and another at a $50 loss ($200 sale, $250 cost); the $200 goes in the Schedule 1 entry space and the $550 gain on Form 8949 and Schedule D.
- For 2022 and 2023 returns the IRS used offsetting entries on Schedule 1, lines 8z and 24z. For tax years beginning in 2024, it says to report the combined amount in the entry space at the top of Schedule 1.
- Several forms? The IRS says to combine the amounts from all of them into the one entry space.
- Because the loss isn't deductible, the amount that goes in the entry space is the sale amount reported on the 1099-K, not what you originally paid: $700 for the couch, not $1,000.
What to do
- In your records, separate sales of your own belongings from sales of items you bought to resell.
- Look up what you paid for each personal item that sold: order history, old statements or the seller.
- Keep the 1099-K, the platform's sales report and your cost evidence together.
- Check with a tax professional about how your own sales should be reported.
Questions
Can I deduct the loss on my old couch?
No. The IRS says the loss on the sale of a personal item is not deductible. The point of the Schedule 1 entry space is only to keep the sale from being taxed.
Does a 1099-K mean all my sales are taxable?
No. The IRS says just because a payment is reported on a Form 1099-K does not mean it is taxable, and just because a payment isn't reported on one doesn't mean it isn't taxable.
What counts as a personal item?
Something you owned for personal use. The IRS lists a car, refrigerator, furniture, stereo, jewelry, silverware and concert tickets as examples.
General information, not tax advice
This page summarizes IRS publications, instructions and guidance as read on . It doesn't say what you should file or deduct. Tax rules depend on your facts, and state rules aren't covered here (see state rules). Check with a tax professional.
Sources
Every figure, rule and quote on this page comes from one of these official pages.
- What to do with Form 1099-K (IRS, page reviewed or updated Jul 27, 2026; read Oct 19, 2026)
- Instructions for Form 1040 (2025) (IRS, page reviewed or updated May 7, 2026; read Oct 19, 2026)
- Schedule 1 (Form 1040) 2025, Additional Income and Adjustments to Income (IRS; read Oct 19, 2026)
- Form 1099-K FAQs: What to do if you receive a Form 1099-K (IRS, page reviewed or updated Jun 27, 2026; read Oct 19, 2026)
- Form 1099-K FAQs: Common situations (IRS, page reviewed or updated May 11, 2026; read Oct 19, 2026)
- Understanding your Form 1099-K (IRS, page reviewed or updated Jun 28, 2026; read Oct 19, 2026)
- Form 1099-K FAQs: General information (IRS, page reviewed or updated Apr 3, 2026; read Oct 19, 2026)
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