Sen. Brown backs measure to raise 1099-K reporting threshold

Senators Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, are proposing to raise the reporting threshold on transactions from companies such as Airbnb, eBay, Etsy, PayPal and Venmo to save headaches for small businesses and individuals who work in the gig economy.

According to an article in Accounting Today, Brown and Cassidy recently introduced the Red Tape Reduction Act to increase the threshold from $600 to $10,000 for when individuals and entrepreneurs receive 1099-K tax forms as a result of sales of goods online. The goal of the legislation is to reduce the paperwork burden for small businesses and casual sellers, which in turn means their accountants and tax preparers would also see a reduction in paperwork.

Brown says the current threshold sucks time and resources from the smallest online sellers, adding that "By raising the threshold, we can prevent the IRS from interfering with minor transactions and cut down on excessive paperwork."

To read the full article in Accounting Today, click here.