Can I deduct my inventory when I purchase it??
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- Опубліковано 8 лип 2024
- For the past few years, it seems like the IRS has been flip-flopping on whether or not you can deduct your inventory when you purchase it or if you need to wait until you sell it. In this video I'll tell you all about that ride and where I believe we've landed.
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I watched this video when I came to the COG worksheet. Thought I was going to cry. My brain exploded and I almost ran from the room when you were explaining accrual. I am relieved that I can use cash method. I'm one of those small sellers who rushes to find receipts during tax time. Thank you!!!
Please do a video on Accrue method as all of us are interested of how to properly declare inventory bought years ago, and what happens with inventory bought this year and how do we declare our expenses ... keep in mind that most of us are new to filling tax and have no prior bookkeeping and years old inventory
This is by far the most direct and understandable explanation of this topic of inventory and taxes - thanks!
Great to see you are back. Thank you for the info.
I appreciate the clear, concise presentation. Thank you.
Finally a video that goes into detail but still very easy to understand. Thank you.
Hi Mark, Thanks for great video. Finally, a reward for being too lazy to keep an inventory with costs assigned to each item! I am so happy to know that I can continue to use the inventory cash method, since that is really all I track. I make my money on the buying end (buy low, sell high), and have a very good picture of how my business is doing without the need to track my profit on a per item basis (other than in my head). It was great to meet you at the Reseller Remix!!
Here is my situation with the deducting it when purchased I bought items with specific intent of resale. With being in my first full time year and couple part time years, not everything I have purchased will sell even after long periods of time. After certain amount of time things are thrown away or donated but they cost my business money but didn't specifically sell.
Hey NYD - Thank you, I now understand. Your explained it perfectly. You answered the question I have been trying to ask Google.
This is exactly what I wanted to know. I am going to watch this video 5 more times to make sure I got it👍Thank you for this 😊🙏
Always appreciate the informative content. Looking forward to knocking out 2021 taxes!💪🏼
THANK YOU!!!!!! I have spent so much time trying to find this exact information and you somehow managed to organize it all into an easy to follow, 15 minute video! Thank you so much for taking the time to post this.
Looking forward to that beginners course!! Thank you!
You have no idea how much I appreciate this video! I've been trying to figure this exact thing out for SO long but just couldn't wrap my head around it; your video definitely helped a lot (I may have to re-watch once or twice more LOL) and I thank you for taking the time to make it!
Always great videos
Thank you for your efforts, you made the options so understandable...
I've been trying to figure out which method to do for a while now. Too much conflicting info out there! This is great and helps so much. Thanks!!
I’m impressed by your analysis. Thank you - and, yes, I will need to watch this video several times. 🧐
Thank you for breaking this down.
Thank you for the content! Very interested in the course!
When the student is ready the teacher appears! You are really good at breaking this down for us small business resellers. I think i should take your course.
Excellent video, thanks.
THANK YOU for providing such a detailed video! I started reselling in June and it has completely consumed my life! (in a good way) Each month I'm purchasing more inventory as well as selling even more and I was concerned my taxes would be a sh*t show in Febuary 2022. lol This video along with your insight makes me feel a whole lot better!!! Thanks AGAIN!
Mark - you are the best! I've had anxiety over the last several months trying to find guidance on this topic (especially treating inventory as NIMS and not having a system to count or value inventory) You nailed this on the head and saved my ass during tax season!
Very helpful. It was intense but by the end I didn’t feel like I had to watch it a second time, but will likely do so in the future when I’m prepping my taxes 💪🏻🙏🏻
As a recent grad with an accounting degree I enjoyed this lol... this is what I was leaning towards based off prior knowledge but wanted a pros opinion backed with those hours of research. Thanks!!
This is amazing. Thank You.
Very helpful video. Loved the clarification - thanks!
Excellent information! Thanks so much!
This is a question I've been trying to have answered for a long time. Absolutely nobody knows this. Nobody but you. Thanks!
Fantastic video, thank you for taking the time to share this as it was very helpful and informative!
Thanks for doing one heck of a job clarifying this whole mess, Mark. It still seems as if the ice is a bit thin underfoot, but now, for this, my first year, I feel confident in just using the cash method. Next year, things might be different ...
I needed to hear this explanation. I'm about to binge watch your channel. I understand the way you explain it. Thank you
Haha! I doubted this guy when I heard about him watching Hairy Tornado. I've been a very small reseller for 23 years. Now with the 1099 rules and my pending retirement I need to make plans. Mark seems to care about helping his clients and he shares that caring CPA style here. Most CPA's I've dealt with seemed to just be representing the IRS and not really my interests.
Learning a lot! Thank you for sharing!!
I need an excedrin.
😂 I promise all the videos won't be like this
😂😂😂😂
Pass the bottle of Excedrin please
Thank You so much for explaining this..
I really needed this video ty ty ty
Thank you for this excellent information!
Great Video, Mark! Thanks so much!!
Wow just saw this video. Loved the information. Easy to understand. Very informative and loved how you eplained it. Just subscribed
Best video I have watched on UA-cam in months.
Seriously much appreciated Philip, I put a lot of time into this one 🙏🏼
This helped clear up my questions. Thank you so much!
My mind is melting!!
Thank you for your video! Much appreciated and yes, a lot of work...thanks Mark
That was awesome. Your explanation was succinct and detailed. I still did not get the exact information I was looking for, but I am far better armed than I was from the other 10, mostly useless, videos I watched.
I think the accrual method is better all the way around and less likely to be audited by the IRS, but I am still not sure if should include all my inventory purchases on the schedule C in the year I purchased them. I will play with my Turbo Tax and see what happens, as I purchased inventory last year, but will not be selling anything until this year and was not sure if it would affect my taxes, via W2 earnings.
Anyway, thanks for all the info. I have subscribed for all your future educational videos.
Thank you so much for all of the work you do for us Mark. I don't know where you live, but I want to give you a hug 🤗 & buy you lunch. I started reselling again in 2018 & just rocked the cash method since I'm used to that style from my days of running a by appointment body shop. I've always done my own taxes & try to keep up on this stuff. I've read a lot on this subject & it's very ambiguous to say the least; the IRS packets are just a quagmire of double talk & tautology. My inventory is taking stuff I've bought & chucking it in a storage unit until I sell it, so the cash method is about the only thing I could do IMO. That being said I cringe to think what to do when/if (more likely when), they make me switch to accrual. I'm going to have a lot of inventory costed @ $0 I'd assume 😂.
Thank you for doing this video!!! 😍😍😍
Thanks!
This great information. Lots to Digest here. Will watch it again,! 😍 thanks
Pretty good video, thanks.
Learned a lot!
Thank you for this digestible explanation. I'm a very small online reseller
So basically if I don't keep a detailed record of my current inventory , I can simply use the cash method. Sounds good to me lol
Thank you so much!!!!!
It's sad that the IRS agent's tell you to wing it lol. Thanks for your channel it really does shed some light on things :)
Very helpful!!
I make my products and sell them so I guess I would only use the when sold method. Thanks for the info.
Mark! You literally saved my business last night! I was crying and told my husband I was going to quit the ebay business. Then I found your video, I understand it so much better now. (Not totally :) But I have been selling for about 4 years now and pretty much using this method but I thought I was doing it WRONG and was going to get in trouble with getting a 1099 now. (I have been claiming my income the whole time) I also buy at garage sales and some retail arbitrage and tracking each item or even an average! OMG not going to happen since I haven't been doing it since the beginning and NO way to catch up and not lose my sanity. I will continue to deduct cost of goods in the year I purchase and keep zero inventory. I am so relieved!! Thank you so MUCH! One QUESTION, while using this method is there still a way to deduct an item or two that I sell from my own home (belongings) that I bought years ago and have taken a loss? Or is that not allowed?
I asked the same question just now! Sorry for the repeat, Mark.
I've been using Mark for 3 years now and I whole heartedly recommend him. I really wished he was local and not so busy now because every cpa around me looks confused when I tell them I sell on ebay.
Spoke to an accountant at H&R and it was a nightmare. Each question I asked about every topic in this video, on top of medical deductions was never answered. Been doing research 5 hours again to find these videos I once viewed when starting reselling last year just to make sure I didn’t forget memory
Thank you so much!! New subscriber 😊
This is exactly the info I’ve been looking for. I just started reselling last month. I had a business for 10 years but it didn’t require inventory. I’d love more specifics! I’m starting out selling personal items too so I’m not sure how to track/count those sales. I am holding onto any receipts I can find for them.
Good to know! I'll see if I can put together a video on personal items 👍🏻
Just found you this is great. I'm starting a full fledged side ebay store and over the years kept a list of all my garage sale finds but everything is such a mess it's hard to keep a proper inventory but this helped a lot. I plan to only write off when a item sells so I guess inventory accrual method is best. I also want to know what to do when I throw in a personal item for sale that would obviously be a loss usually.
@@notyourdadscpa Please do this...Those of us selling out of our closets here and there need that info
@@TH-bc1ez coming next week stay tuned
@@notyourdadscpa Yes - the things I'm selling are all old stuff I bought many years ago or inherited from my mom when she passed away. I have no receipts for any of it. All vintage stuff or things I just haven't used in a long time.
OMG - Thank you for this video. I bet that was hard to film. Great Job, you had to plan that out. The cash method comfused me. I like to know my profit per item. for each & every item.
Excellent. Unfortunately I greatly enjoy keeping tabs on my business by tracking inventory value, so I guess I'm stuck continuing with the accrual method - even though I have no partners, investors, potential buyers, etc. that I need to report the inventory to. It's tempting to just "cash in" the current balance of my inventory asset account, but I guess I'll keep trucking along for now.
Thanks for the awesome video! Wanted to ask if your able to record items as you sell (accrual) in your record keeping while using the cash method. Can you assign a per item cost and value your inventory just for your own data (accrual), assuming of course you don't double report those costs twice, or will the IRS consider this double dipping? I would really love a video that covers bundle purchases with internal fees, (bids,handling,shipping,tax) which is why I use the cash method, even though accrual is better to track profits for inventory. Otherwise recording as sold is so much to cross reference/quantify accurately with a 'One size fits all formula,' so time consuming, and then determine ending inventory balance based on variety bundles, etc. So what formula do you use for your auction bundle purchases??? Thanks!
No worries. Wasn't deep at all. Would actually dig more in depth videos like this, as they are full of great info. 👍
TY. Great video. I feel fairly safe using the cash method, but if I do, how do I account for personal items I list to resell? I understand how to calculate a LCM value, but should I count the value of all I list in one year, or just as they sell? Calculating as they sell makes more sense to me because some of these items might not ever sell, but that seems like mixing methods to me.
So glad I found your channel!
Wow! This is the clearest and most concise explanation that I have seen. I have a quick question about this. If I decide to use a cash basis for inventory, how to i categorize the inventory expense? Do I just include it under "Supplies" or do I need to create a separate category for it?
I have this question too.
Amazing. I actually almost slightly understood this 😅
Thank you!!
It makes sense to deduct at time of sale, in my head anyway.
The inventory not sold is considered an asset?
Great content! What line are on Schedule C do I enter my deduction for inventory purchases? Thank you
Just subscribed, very informative videos! And i have a question, using the accrual method if i purchase inventory and i dont sell it till the next year, do i pay taxes on that inventory at the end of the year I bought it or the year i sold it? Thank you!
Great video.
I have a question I'm hoping you can answer soon (I'm a procrastinator for doing my taxes).
If all you do in your electronic files is use the cost of items to figure out what something costs to make (in order to price it), does that constitute keeping an inventory?
I have no idea if I have 10 or 50 of something, but I do know that when purchased, something cost me $1.15 each and I used that to price the item that it goes in to.
Thanks for your help!
I am using MY RESELLER GENIE now. I would love to see you do a video on MRG and how to use it every month to get a look at your business. Especially using the cash method!! I just spent a whole month putting in my purchase price for each item and then I realized OMG I use the cash method for inventory and this is a big waste of time to go in and put in my cost on every single line item… but then how do I really get the best idea on what I made each month.. It is just to time consuming for me to use the accrual method..
I am starting quick boods this year & also double entry. I might join you class or group or whatever.
Thanks for all your videos. I understand that you deduct when the item is sold. Are you taxed on the unsold inventory? If I had $100 after expenses and spent $40 on more items to sell, would I be taxed for $100 since the items haven't sold yet?
This is a great video for resellers like me. I actually like to buy at auctions in lots. This becomes very difficult to assign a value to items in the lots based on what I paid for that lot. If I do the cash method and deduct the lot when purchased I can follow your advice. Obviously, I can't track the cost of an item (on paper) to establish a selling price. Currently, in my head, I assign prices to items in a lot and then look to that value to determine minimum selling price. Under your guidance I can buy the lot, deduct the cash cost and then just sell the items as the time passes. Overall I may sell some items for less than I paid for them but it is my experience and expertise that is my reselling business - you can't just buy items at auction and expect to randomly sell them for 100% more than you paid. It just doesn't work that way. Thats why some of us do well on reselling from auctions and others not so well. Thank you again. I also than Hairy Tornado for leading me to you!
We too buy lots. We don't try to figure a cost for each item right out of the gate. We just divide the cost by the number in the lot. We then research/sort the items and the ones worth selling get listed while the rest either get donated or grouped in lots and sold at the local auction house...
Do you have to pay cash for the inventory tho?
Any means of payment is suitable. You will want to keep $$ in the business for purchases rather than credit cards or personal funds.
Thank you so much for these informative videos. I just started selling on eBay, and now Poshmark, this year and have been wondering how I handle the items that I have been listing that were either gifts received over the years or items that I have had on hand so long I don't remember if I bought them or if they were gifted. I am listing these items now but don't know how they would figure into the cost averaging method. I saved your free spreadsheet on this topic since I plan to grow this into a business at some point. But how do I handle items that I never bought but plan to sell. I also have some items given to me by my relatives and I give them a percentage of the proceeds that I get from the sale when it sells. So far only sold 1 item so I would like to understand how to handle these in the future so that my books are straight from the beginning rather than playing catchup at some point in the future.
Can we use accrual accounting but cash inventory
Maybe this is how I have always done it? I keep all sourcing receipts, but the item only goes into a spreadsheet when it SELLS. There, I record the COG, total sold for price, and any shipping/fees. Dunno, I am too dumb to change it. I have an accountant and he works with those numbers. 🤷🏼♀️
So in our books, do our sourced goods have to be categorized as "supplies" in order to do cash method?
I love this video because I am a new reseller and having to address this dilemma this week. So for example, if I bought $100k of merchandise for resell in 2022 and sold $65k of that merchandise in 2022, under the cash method, what numbers would I add (and which line) beginning at Line 35-41? Also where would I place the $65k gross sales of this merchandise? Would the $65k go in the "Gross Receipts" line? I hope you can help! Thanks in advance!
Using the cash method for inventory you would deduct the 100k on the purchases line, listing 0 for beginning and ending inventory.
Isn't it true that once you start using the acruelle method, that you shouldn't switch to the cash method?
This is so complicated to me. I wish we could only use the total number we have spent on the items we have sold and that's it. Like if I sold 50 items throughout the year and my total cost for all those items was around $200 and all those 50 items sold that would be the only number involved.
Do you know if retail packaging that my product goes into counts as cost of good sold?
Should I have separate bank accounts for types of income (eBay, Amazon, Etsy) or is commingled still clear enough for taxes?
The cash method makes so much more sense. With the accrual method what if you buy inventory that doesn't sell ever? That means you can never write it off because it never sells even though you paid for it? Makes zero logical sense.
but either way it still is deducted right? you said for inv you deduct 2k that sold. and the 8k left is other expense but its still written off or no? (I didnt watch it all yet)
Im probably going to have to watch this one 20 more times 🤣
I only record inventory costs when I list an item. I have a closet full of items that I have not recorded at all. What method would I use in this case? Any advice on how to better handle my unaccounted for inventory or am I doing fine? Thank you!!
How did I switch from accrual to non-accrual?
Thanks for the info. Then if using CASH, I'd report the amount spent on inventory where/how on the tax forms?
You would list zero as you're beginning and ending inventory balances, and just list your purchases. That way the ending inventory won't be backed out of the deduction.
If I use GO daddy for bookkeeping and a separate bank account will that disqualify me from the cash method? Thanks
So the beginning and ending inventory on your tax return if you are using the cash method would just be 0 correct?
If we have been recognizing an inventory using the accrual method, can we switch to cash? Doing my 2020 taxes required me to recognize an inventory. How do I get out of the loop of recognizing an inventory to do my taxes properly while stuck in the accrual inventory method. I'm more than happy to stop, but it seems like the IRS could easily argue that if I did my 2020 taxes correctly, I recognized a beginning 2021 inventory.
Would immediately expensing inventory items to cost of goods sold account so that you could at least have a reference points and get a good idea as to what your actual inventory constitute using the cash method? or is that too close to actually counting inventory? Would I have to immediately expense inventory items to a non-COGS account type?
So can we do the cash method and deduct the total shipping costs Etc?
For some reason I never understand this guy but yet I can understand other people in same
type video
Thanks for this video! If I wanted to make the change to the accrual inventory method from cash, how would I go about that? Form 3115? Would I have to redo past taxes? Thanks!
I have that same concern.
Thank god!!! now I fully understand, its a new law thats why many peple dont know. but if are small busienss makes less than 25Mil a year than you can just keep buying more inventroy every year to claim loss in business for a long time?
I am so sorry with all the terminology! So can we deduct the inventory as purchase without accounting for physical count and report cogs? And how do you report on schedule c?
Ebay's webpage of, total value of inventory and quantity summary, would then force all eBay sellers to use the accrual method??