doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com what is the law regarding a 1099 for selling guns

My Neighbor got pinched for selling several tractors FWIW
We also sold off a dairy herd that was entirely internally generated and paid capital gains tax minus the depletion allowance on every one of them

If you take a large collection to auction, I�d want proof of basis.

I live in a area with some large dairy farms, still making a go of it. Many have a collection of older: White, Case, I-H, M-F (that's Massey-Ferguson, for any of you Military types that are thinking "REMF" here- and many. many 1940-1960 era J-D 2 cylinder series. Some keep them for parts, some for sentiment, some for scrap iron--

One of my favorite of all these farms had a 1943 John Deere 2-lunger, either a B or an A series- believe it had a battery starter, besides the big exposed LH side flywheel starter- a bit rusty, but still running and doing a day's work on the farm. His late father bought it with the Gov't approval paperwork of the WW11 era for around $465.00 delivered. A "Collector" wanted it badly enough to pay him about 5 times that amount, cash folding money. Wowzer-- Do you think my friend declared a "Capital gain" and sent in a 1099 for to the Infernal Revenue Idiots with a check?? Not in a pig's patootie.. "Screw 'Em"!!!!

Ok Bill, your persistence pays off.

The Internal Revenue Code is long and involved. On top of that, it is explained and expanded by even more voluminous Treasury Regulations. I studied income tax, but I do not claim to be an expert. Nor am I an accountant. One thing I learned long ago was that, rather than researching the tax code or regulations, the easiest way to get an answer usually starts with an IRS Publication. Publication 17 is relatively comprehensive in its explanations of tax concepts and requirements. You can access it from the IRS website at this link:

Publication 17


What you are interested in can be found in Part Three, Gains and Losses, Chapter 14, Sale of Property (beginning on page 104). The table of contents contains hyperlinks that make it easy to access each chapter.

The specific information you seek begins on page 108 down in the bottom right corner under the heading, "Personal Use Property". I will leave it to you to read fully the matters discussed, but I will quote this part:

"Property held for personal use only, rather than
for investment, is a capital asset, and you must
report a gain from its sale as a capital gain.
However, you can�t deduct a loss from selling
personal use property."

So I stand by the statement I made in my post above. The letter of the law requires reporting income from the sale of your guns; and yes, even your lawnmower. No joke!

The degree to which there is compliance with this obligation raises questions outside the legal requirement. I suggest you consult your tax advisor or legal advisor for specific advice tailored to your personal situation.

As always, my best to you and Linda.

Curl