If you’ve ever sold a concert ticket, a pair of football tickets, or goods online, you’ve probably wondered: Do I owe taxes on this? Well, the IRS has been shifting dramatically how it reports such sales, and 2025 brings another change. Let’s walk through it in detail so you know exactly what’s happening.
Why 1099-K forms matter
The 1099-K is technically a receipt the IRS gets from sites where they make payments like PayPal, Venmo, Ticketmaster, StubHub, eBay, and so on. It reflects what amount of money flowed through your account from sales.
Here’s the catch: The figure you see on the 1099-K isn’t your profit—it’s merely the entire sum of money that came through. Which is why tracking what you paid and what you sold is so important. Without them, the IRS might guess that you earned more income than you did.
The old rules
Not long ago, the regulations for mailing out 1099-Ks were far less stringent. Platforms were only required to mail one if you:
- Generated over $20,000 worth of sales and
- Had more than 200 transactions in a year.
- That left only dedicated sellers or business owners with a chance to receive these forms. Few, if any, casual sellers had to concern themselves with them.
The big scare: The $600 threshold
Then came the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. It lowered the amount to just $600 in sales, whether you had one transaction or many.
This caused a colossal freak-out—imagine trying to sell a sofa on the internet or reselling one Taylor Swift ticket and suddenly getting a tax form in the mail. The IRS realized that this would be a nightmare and suspended putting it into practice altogether. However, everyone was gearing up for a tidal wave of forms.
The 2025 reset
Now, thanks to the new tax-and-spend law signed last summer, the rules are changing once again. For 2025, we are going back to the old rule:
- $20,000 in sales and
- 200 transactions in a year.
- Unless you’re actually in the ticket-selling business and reselling stuff online, you probably won’t get a 1099-K next tax season.
But don’t relax just yet
This is where it gets confusing: Some sites will still issue 1099-Ks if you don’t meet federal thresholds. Why? Because it’s less hassle for them to play it safe than to risk being in non-compliance.
And a couple of states—Massachusetts, Vermont, and Virginia—have their own rules which are much stricter. In those states, you might get a 1099-K if you did as little as $600 in sales.
So depending on where you live and what service you use, you may still get one in the mail.
What if you sell tickets at a profit?
Let’s say you bought football season tickets for $1,000 and you sold a few games’ worth for $1,500. That $500 profit is yours, even if you never get a 1099-K.
However, if you sell tickets for a price lower than you paid for them, you cannot deduct the loss on your taxes. Casual sellers cannot deduct losses.
But if you’re selling tickets on a recurring basis, with the expectation of making money, then the IRS can view it as a business activity. You might then be able to deduct expenses, but you’ll also have a larger responsibility to account for income properly.
What you should do now
- Keep records – Keep receipts, emails, or screenshots of your sales and purchases.
- Don’t ignore a 1099-K – If you get one, so does the IRS. Double-check the figures.
- Report gains, even if you don’t get a form – Because you don’t get a 1099-K doesn’t mean you’re clear.
- Check what your state needs – If you live in a state with lower thresholds, be more careful.
Why it’s so complicated
Here’s the maddening part: Even though the law has been modified, the IRS has not yet revised all of its direction. Some forms and instructions can still mention $2,500 or even $600, while the true cut-off is 200 transactions and $20,000.
This mismatch will continue at least through 2026, when the IRS says it will finally get the paperwork corrected. Meanwhile, be prepared for mixed signals.
Read this later:
IRS announces per diem rates that will apply from October 1, 2025
Good news for wealthy taxpayers – IRS estate and gift tax exemption rises to $15 million in 2026
IRS releases draft copy of Schedule 1-A for 2025 deductions on tips, overtime pay, car loan interest
Iconic Candy revives beloved 90s flavors to bring memories flooding back
