How eBay sellers find total sales to date

As an eBay seller, have you ever wondered what your sales have been since you first started selling on eBay? Do you know the total number of sales? Although a bit hidden, eBay offers this information on the Seller Dashboard for sellers who have a store subscription. To view the total number of transactions and sales to date, do the following:

1.     Click on Seller Dashboard on the left side menu.

2.     Scroll down to the very bottom of the page to view “Your totals to date”. On the bottom of this page, are total number of transaction and sales.

The default is set to USA sales only. To view global sales to date, scroll up to the top of the page and change the region value to global.

To get started shopping on eBay and making money, Starting an eBay Business For Dummies by Marsha Collier is a great read and voted one of the Best Books of the Year So Far by the Amazon.com editorial team. Visit the Pinterest board, How to Make Money Selling on eBay for more information on what to sell on eBay. For details on what this Mom has sold on eBay, visit the Pinterest board: I sold THIS on eBay!

How Amazon Sellers Generate an Annual Sales Report

It is against the law not to report all income to the IRS. Whether selling on Amazon is your primary source of income, or simply a hobby, all income should be reported. The Annual Sales Report within Amazon may be used to calculate gross receipts as reported on tax form 1099-K. To generate the sales report:

1. Log in to Seller Central
2. Click on Reports, Payments
3. Date Range Reports (far right tab)
4. Click “Generate a Report”
5. Report type = Summary
6. Enter Custom Date Range 01/01/2016 – 12/31/2016
7. Click Generate
8. The status will state “In Progress”. After a few minutes refresh the page (hit F5) to see if the status is updated. If so, click Download.
9. This annual sales summary is useful in calculating gross receipts:

Seller fulfilled product sales + FBA product sales + Shipping credits + Gift wrap credits + Promotional rebates + Sales Tax

Only online sellers who exceed the IRS thresholds will receive an IRS Form 1099-K from Amazon. To generate a tax form 1099-K from Amazon, visit How Amazon Sellers Find Tax Form 1099-K.

How to File Federal Taxes Online for Free

Tax time is upon us. Entrepreneurs including eBay and Amazon sellers can file the Federal Tax Return online using IRS freefile. The software is available via the Internal Revenue Service IRS website: www.irs.gov
 

One must know how to prepare taxes as the software is not as user friendly as others (TaxAct, TurboTax). The tax forms are fillable and can be sent electronically, but the software lacks the interview type questionnaire available in other tax preparation software. It does, however, perform math calculations and provides basic guidance with help screens per form.

To begin, direct the browser to http://www.irs.gov/uac/Free-File:-Do-Your-Federal-Taxes-for-Free

Each user will need to create a new account for every year as the information is not carried over from year to year. To complete the process more easily, I recommend the user have the following documentation available:

1. Copy of last year’s tax return. Last year’s Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is required to e-file this year.

2. Total expenses to be used on Schedule C Profit or Loss from Business. Find out how to determine total shipping costs and transaction fees via Paypal.

3. Total sales for last year. Sellers meeting the IRS thresholds will receive a 1099-K from Paypal. See how to find the 1099-K from Paypal.

4. Amount of refunds / returns for the year. Returns and allowances as well as other expenses are available on the Annual Financial Summary Report. See how to download your copy at Taxes-made-easy-with-paypal-annual-financial-summary-report

As always, research the new tax laws and consult a professional if needed.