Used Furnitures

How do you determine the tax basis in calculating capital gain when selling furniture or household goods?

For people who sell household goods at auction or an ebay, for example, how do you calculate the basis to determine your gain.? You may have had these items for decades, or may have gotten them as gifts years ago. How can you determine if you made a taxable profit which needs to be declared? If you can't produce a receipt for the purchase, do you have to count the entire sale price as a gain?

Public Comments

1. The tax basis of the item is the fair market value at the time you acquired it. Modest gifts are not taxable. If you have no receipts, make your best guess as to when the item was acquired and what its fair market value was when you acquired it, then date and sign it and keep that paper with a copy of your filed tax forms.