People who make more than $600 from reselling tickets to be taxed in the US
People who make more $600 (£490) on ticket resales will be taxed in the US, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
The IRS is set to crack down on scalpers with a new law that will ensure large amounts of income from resales are taxed, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
In line with the new law – which is part of the American Rescue Plan Act – companies such as Ticketmaster and StubHub will have to report if customers sold more than $600 in resale tickets in 2023.
Companies initially had to send a 1099-K form – an information return that reports the gross amount of reportable “payment card and third party network transactions” for the calendar year – to those who made more than $20,000 (£16,340) through 200 or more transactions in a year.
Now, that number will change to $600. “Payment apps and online marketplaces are required to file a Form 1099-K if the gross payments to you for goods and services are over $600,” the IRS said in a statement.
“The $600 reporting threshold started with tax year 2023. There are no changes to what counts as income or how tax is calculated.”
Ongoing issues around ticket scalping have been re-examined in recent months, following high profile world tours from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
Back in June, a new ‘Taylor Swift law’ was introduced to address ticket scalping in Brazil after the pop star announced international dates for her ‘Eras’ tour.
It came after Swift fans in the US submitted a lawsuit to sue Tickemaster following the controversy around the ‘Eras Tour’ ticket sales.
Just days before, two US senators demanded answers from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding anti-bot laws.
In November, Ticketmaster announced the cancellation of the general ticket sales for Swift’s 2023 North American tour due to “extraordinarily high demand”. The ticketing platform subsequently issued an apology to those who had a “terrible experience” in navigating its website.
Swift herself also responded to fans following the saga. “It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them,” she said.
After the general sale tickets for the UK leg of Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance‘ tour went on sale earlier this year, fans took to social media to voice their frustration at being met with huge queues.
The post People who make more than $600 from reselling tickets to be taxed in the US appeared first on NME.
Hollie Geraghty
NME
