The 1099-K Threshold

Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: the 1099-K reporting threshold is more than $20,000 AND more than 200 transactions — both, not either. The much-publicised $600 threshold was retroactively erased in 2025. If you read somewhere that selling $600 of anything triggers a form, that guidance is describing a law that no longer applies and never fully took effect.

The current rule

A third party settlement organization shall be required to report any information under subsection (a) with respect to third party network transactions of any participating payee only if— (1) the amount which would otherwise be reported under subsection (a)(2) with respect to such transactions exceeds $20,000, and (2) the aggregate number of such transactions exceeds 200.

— 26 U.S.C. § 6050W(e) (as amended by Pub. L. 119-21, § 70432(a))

Note the word and between the two paragraphs. It is a conjunctive test: a payment app must report only if you exceed both the dollar amount and the transaction count. Exceeding one alone does not trigger the form.

What happened, and why so much guidance is wrong

Cornell LII editorial/amendment note on 26 U.S.C. §6050W: ‘Subsec. (e). [Pub. L. 119–21, § 70432(a)(1)] amended subsec. (e) generally.’ Effective date note: ‘The amendment made by this subsection shall take effect as if included in section 9674 of the American Rescue Plan Act [of 2021].’ Corroborating IRS.gov statement (Form 1099-K FAQs: General Information): ‘The One, Big, Beautiful Bill retroactively reinstated the reporting threshold in effect prior to the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) so that third party settlement organizations are not required to file Forms 1099-K…

— Pub. L. 119-21, §70432(a), amending 26 U.S.C. §6050W(e); Cornell LII editorial notes; IRS.gov Form 1099-K FAQs: General Information

The 2021 legislation lowered the threshold dramatically. Implementation was repeatedly delayed, with interim figures announced along the way. Then in 2025 the law was amended to restore the old threshold “as if included in” the 2021 provision — which is retroactive drafting. The lower thresholds are treated as though they had never taken effect.

That is why the ecosystem is stale: an enormous volume of guidance was written during the years when the low threshold was coming, and much of it has never been revised. Any article describing a $600, $2,500 or $5,000 1099-K threshold as current is out of date — those are history now, not a phase-in.

The part that actually matters more than the threshold

IRS.gov, Form 1099-K FAQs: General Information: ‘All income, no matter the amount, is taxable unless the tax law says it isn’t – even if you don’t get a Form 1099-K.’ IRS.gov, Form 1099-K FAQs: What to do if you receive a Form 1099-K (Q6, ‘I sold a personal item and the gross payment amount…

— IRS.gov, Form 1099-K FAQs: General Information; IRS.gov, Form 1099-K FAQs: What to do if you receive a Form 1099-K

Whether income is taxable has nothing to do with whether a form arrives. The threshold governs the payment app’s reporting obligation, not your tax obligation. Someone earning $5,000 from a side activity owes tax on it whether or not anyone sends them a 1099-K.

So the restoration is not the relief it is sometimes presented as. It reduces paperwork and the number of confusing forms. It changes nothing about what you owe.

Selling your own used possessions is different

Clearing out a house and selling furniture, clothes or old equipment is usually not income — you are almost always selling for less than you paid. IRS guidance is explicit that the loss on the sale of a personal item is not deductible, and that a gain on a personal item is taxable.

If a 1099-K arrives anyway for personal items sold at a loss, the reporting route is offsetting entries: the proceeds as other income, and the cost as an offsetting adjustment up to but not more than the proceeds — so the two cancel and nothing is taxed. Do not ignore a form that arrives; report it and offset it.

Date-stamp. This page reflects the law and IRS guidance as at August 3, 2026. This threshold has changed more than once in five years and could change again. Check the current IRS 1099-K page before relying on the figure, and treat any undated article on this subject with suspicion — including the ones that agree with this one.

Related: selling your own things online · estimated taxes and the safe harbour.

General information drawn from the United States Code and the Code of Federal Regulations, not legal or benefits advice. Social Security rules and figures change; every figure here carries the period it applies to. Your own earnings record and the correspondence you have received govern your case, and SSA is the only source for either. We sell nothing and we are not affiliated with the Social Security Administration.