The Internal Revenue Service is cracking down on people reselling concert tickets for profit. A new IRS regulation will require ticket-reselling platforms like SeatGeek and StubHub to file information on any users who resold tickets for $600 or more this year.
The new rule comes as a record number of event tickets were sold in 2023. Fans shelled out thousands of dollars for tickets to see their favorite stars.
Those who resold tickets to events like the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour, or to see soccer star Lionel Messi will be subject to the new regulation.
The average Taylor Swift concert ticket sold for $1,600 on SeatGeek. If a person sold just one ticket at that price, they should expect to receive a 1099-K tax form this year.
Before 2023, ticket-reselling platforms only had to report sellers with revenues of at least $20,000 over 200 or more transactions.
Under the new IRS regulation, $600 is the threshold with no minimum number of transactions. Because of the drastic difference, the IRS expects to collect taxes from quadruple the number of sellers from years past.
This new IRS regulation is part of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The Biden administration advocated for the tax rule, calling it a crackdown on the wealthy. However, Republicans argue the lower threshold will impact middle class Americans.
There are bills in both the House and the Senate that would increase the $600 threshold, but those efforts have stalled so far.
