Taxes and Amazon Affiliate

Zwielicht said:

Thread Moved To The Business & Tax Advice Sub-Forum​

To answer your question, if you earned more than $400 (which you did) then you need to file your taxes.
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employed-individuals-tax-center

Amazon will also file a 1099-MISC form with the IRS if you earned more than $600 with them (which you also did).
https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/help/node/topic/202049250

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beastrampage said:

Just read both of those. On one of the lines "You have to file an income tax return if your net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more. If your net earnings from self-employment were less than $400, you still have to file an income tax return if you meet any other filing requirement listed in the Form 1040 instructions (PDF)."

Assuming I could add more cost such as internet service which would give me negative earnings. Does that mean I don't have to file an income tax report? Or does that mean that I HAVE to deduct the net loss on the 1040? I guess how exactly do i show proof that I had negative earnings.

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Zwielicht said:

I just noticed that part in your OP about your $700 in expenses.

I would file it regardless. If you don't file it, the IRS would receive the 1099-MISC form from Amazon and assume you made $900 in profit; they wouldn't know that you had $700+ in expenses.

At least if you file your taxes, the IRS would have in record that you were at a loss.

If you're feeling anxious about filing your taxes for whatever reason, just use Schedule C-EZ, Form 1040-EZ, and Schedule SE. The EZ forms are simplified versions of the tax forms usually used by people who have less than $8,000 in expenses. I used to use the EZ forms myself before my expenses went up as my business' income increased.

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beastrampage said:

Thank you I got it now. Thanks for guiding me in the right direction!!! I really appreciate it.

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