Hey Xbox 360 re-sellers, watch out for the IRS...
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
Note to the folks that got one of the limited availability Xbox 360's that were released this week and then immediately put the box(es) up on eBay for resale. When you made those tidy little profits on the boxes by selling at huge markups on eBay you may very well have tipped off the IRS to your extra income.
What?!!? you say? Just sellin' the box at a small profit, why should you pay taxes on the money you made over and above the price you paid for the box to begin with -- take that beef up with the IRS. Seriously, they are not likely to cry much over the thought that they can fairly easily search through eBay listings, pick off the completed sale listings for Xbox 360's and find sellers that have earned over $500 or more on their original Xbox 360 purchase.
The prices of Xbox 360 systems are very well known. Core systems = $299, Premium systems = $399. Sell one for more than you paid for it, and anything over and above that cost would be considered income by the IRS and your own states revenue collection services.
So that hefty $500 - $800 you thought you made free and clear in selling the system, you may want to set aside twenty to thirty percent of that money to cover your taxes. It may not seem like much, but if you bought a few of these systems and resold 2 or more, than you potentially owe the IRS $400 - $600 or more in taxes, plus state and local taxes on top of that amount.
Gotta love it when the government sniffs the possibility of extra revenue, don'tcha?
What?!!? you say? Just sellin' the box at a small profit, why should you pay taxes on the money you made over and above the price you paid for the box to begin with -- take that beef up with the IRS. Seriously, they are not likely to cry much over the thought that they can fairly easily search through eBay listings, pick off the completed sale listings for Xbox 360's and find sellers that have earned over $500 or more on their original Xbox 360 purchase.
The prices of Xbox 360 systems are very well known. Core systems = $299, Premium systems = $399. Sell one for more than you paid for it, and anything over and above that cost would be considered income by the IRS and your own states revenue collection services.
So that hefty $500 - $800 you thought you made free and clear in selling the system, you may want to set aside twenty to thirty percent of that money to cover your taxes. It may not seem like much, but if you bought a few of these systems and resold 2 or more, than you potentially owe the IRS $400 - $600 or more in taxes, plus state and local taxes on top of that amount.
Gotta love it when the government sniffs the possibility of extra revenue, don'tcha?
