You Make the Call - Jan. 8, 2026

Question: Judy's a collector whose primary occupation is selling items through online marketplaces like Poshmark and eBay. During a meeting with her accountant, she mentioned she did not receive the usual Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third-Party Network Transactions, from her sales and wondered if her income was not taxable as a result. Ann reassured her that her income was taxable, but suggested they investigate: why Judy might not have been issued Form 1099-K for 2025?

Answer: Ann reminded Judy that when a Form 1099-K is required, it must generally be furnished to the recipient by Jan. 31 (Feb. 2, 2026), for 2025 transactions. Other information returns due to recipients by that same date include Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation, and Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Information (with specific exceptions).

Because that deadline had passed and Judy had not received a Form 1099-K, Ann explained that several factors could account for its absence.

As of July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) re-established the reporting threshold for Form 1099-K to $20,000 and 200 transactions. As a result, Judy may not have received a Form 1099-K if her gross payments processed by a particular marketplace did not exceed the applicable threshold for that year, or if her transactions were spread across multiple platforms, each applying the threshold separately. Most importantly, Ann reminded Judy that income is taxable whether it is reported on a Form 1099-K or not. All income is taxable unless a specific exclusion applies, including amounts received in cash, property or services. The absence of an information return does not exempt income from taxation. 

Finally, Ann cautioned that state information-reporting rules may not conform to federal thresholds. Some states continue to apply lower reporting thresholds, meaning Judy could still receive state-level information returns even when no federal Form 1099-K is issued.