The best course of action would be to put together a spreadsheet with each item and your best estimate of cost basis (how much you paid), acquire date, as well as sale dates and amounts. If you don't want to do that then yes cost basis is assumed $0 and you pay taxes on the full amount.

Are you in business selling stuff on eBay, or is this all related to personal sales of your own used property?

See https://www.keepertax.com/posts/ebay-1099 which shows where to deduct returns and costs of goods.

• Sale price - your cost (- fees) = Gains

1099k reports sale price.

You report your cost (and fees).

You report your gains (if any).

I have probably about half the stuff but since eBay only started saving older sales very recently I think some is lost.

I'm definitely not paying the full amount shown since refunds and fees are probably half the number that they gave me

Personal sales on ebay

It isn't lost, it's just in your email. Go look for it. Don't be lazy. If you don't find it, you are paying the full amount, because that's the 1099 that the IRS will receive. Adjust income without documentation at your own risk

Was everything sold at a loss, or was there a mix of gains and losses?

I found how much of the total is just fees and refunds/cancellations. I have the majority of sales but there's some from early last year buried somewhere. I'll find em

There were a couple items sold for a pretty large profit (2 or 300 bucks profit before fees and shipping) but most was for a loss or breaking even

Simple enough. I have most of the numbers but will I be punished with an iron fist if I'm a couple bucks off? Always a worry in the back of my mind

> will I be punished with an iron fist if I'm a couple bucks off?

This is a common misconception with the IRS.

The IRS is more like a very understanding parent.

Understanding parents know that their children are going to mess up. Understanding parents are not out to deliver punishments out of joy/fear. Understanding parents just want their children to follow the rules.

The IRS is very reasonable. The IRS wants to work with the Taxpayer.

Just don't do illegal things like intentionally evade the rules.

For the items sold at a loss, combine them together and report as indicated here under "personal items sold at a loss."

For the items sold at a profit, report them on Schedule D.

Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business) is not needed since these were personal use items.

Where would I report expenses such as fees and cancellations that were included in the total on the form?

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/form-1099-k-frequently-asked-questions-general

> You should include all fees (e.g., selling fees, payment processing fees, etc.) associated with the sale of your personal items in your basis when computing your gain or loss on the sale. See Publication 551 for additional information. In general, you should adjust your gain or loss on the sale of your property by the amount of expenses and fees paid to facilitate the sale.

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