IRS will come after Taylor Swift concert ticket scalpers
Those lucky enough to have snagged tickets for one of Taylor Swift’s concerts during her upcoming tour may end up owing a cut of their profits to Uncle Sam if they resell them.
A quick glance at the online resale site StubHub shows indicates that the demand for Swift tickets continues to be so hot that it could cost as much as $4,000 for a seat near the stage.
But any profit that resellers turn on scalping Swift tickets will likely draw the attention of the Internal Revenue Service.
That’s because a provision in a new law — the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 — lowered the threshold for reporting transactions done through third-party facilitators to $600.
The cheapest ticket for the May 26 concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is going for as little as $500 to as much as $1,300 — and that’s just for the upper deck.
The opening concert of the stadium tour in Glendale, Arizona, which is scheduled for March 17, can easily set you back between $315 for the cheapest seat and more than $9,000 for the most expensive one, according to StubHub.
Small business owners who turn a profit through part-time work, side gigs and selling goods — including concert tickets — through apps such as Cash App, Venmo and PayPal will receive a tax form known as Form 1099-K.
Swift, the pop mega-star and multi-Grammy Award winner, is set to embark on the US leg of her highly anticipated Eras Tour, which kicks off in the spring.
The 33-year-old Nashville native will perform several shows in 20 cities nationwide.
The massive crush of Swifties who bombarded Ticketmaster during its pre-sale last month led to the service’s website crashing — leaving large numbers of die-hard “Tay Tay” fans who waited hours for the chance to buy a pass to one of her shows in the cold.
In total, some 2.4 million people snapped up tickets to shows for the Eras Tour, which is launched to promote her latest album, “Midnights.”
The IRS will receive a copy of the same 1099-K form, so tax experts are warning filers that they could risk being subjected to an audit by the feds if they fail to report the income listed on the 1099-K.
The Biden administration hopes that by reducing the threshold, the measure will crack down on Americans evading taxes by not reporting the full extent of their gross income.