The bottom line is that ALL gambling winnings are taxable income, period. It doesn't matter if FanDuel sends you a form or not - you're legally required to report that $9,500 on your tax return. FanDuel's customer service rep was technically correct that your winnings don't meet their threshold for issuing tax documents, but they were wrong to imply this means it's not taxable. Sports betting platforms only issue W-2Gs when specific conditions are met (usually $600+ winnings that are at least 300x the original wager), but that's about THEIR reporting requirements, not YOUR tax obligations. You need to report this as "Other Income" on Schedule 1 of your tax return. Make sure you keep detailed records of all your betting activity - wins AND losses - because you can deduct gambling losses up to the amount of your winnings if you itemize deductions. Don't risk it by not reporting. The IRS has been cracking down on unreported gambling income, and with electronic payment trails it's easier than ever for them to discover unreported winnings during audits or through data matching programs.

I went through this exact same situation last year and want to share what I learned. You absolutely need to report that $9,500 even without receiving tax forms from FanDuel. The customer service rep was misleading you - they meant your winnings don't meet THEIR threshold for issuing W-2Gs, not that the income isn't taxable to you. Here's what I did: I downloaded my complete transaction history from FanDuel (they let you export it as a CSV file), calculated my total winnings for the year, and reported it as "Other Income" on Schedule 1. I also kept detailed records of my losses because you can deduct gambling losses up to the amount of your winnings if you itemize deductions on Schedule A. The IRS has been getting more aggressive about tracking unreported gambling income. Even if platforms don't report directly, they can potentially discover unreported winnings through bank deposit patterns, payment processor data, or during audits. It's just not worth the risk of not reporting it properly. Better to be compliant from the start than deal with penalties and interest later.

This is exactly the kind of post I needed to see! I'm currently in week 2 of getting emails from Ticketmaster demanding my SSN after I sold a single concert ticket for $195 (exactly face value) because I got COVID and couldn't attend. The emails have been so pushy with subject lines like "Immediate Action Required - Tax Compliance" that I was starting to think I was legally obligated to provide my SSN right away. But reading your experience and everyone else's stories here really validates my gut feeling that something wasn't right about sending such sensitive information via email for a small personal transaction where I made zero profit. The tax professional's explanation about the $600 threshold and profit requirements was incredibly helpful - it's clear my situation doesn't even come close to triggering any IRS reporting obligations. What bothers me most is how these platforms use official-sounding language to make people feel like they're breaking rules when they're actually just protecting their personal information appropriately. Your success story gives me the confidence to stop worrying about those aggressive emails and just wait for their system to work properly. Thanks for taking the time to share this - it's so reassuring to know that protecting your SSN while following actual tax law requirements is not only possible but often the smart approach!

This is such a valuable thread! I've been dealing with a nearly identical situation with SeatGeek for about 6 weeks now. They keep emailing me requesting my SSN for some baseball tickets I sold at face value ($160 total) when my family vacation plans changed last minute. Like everyone else here, those emails with "URGENT TAX COMPLIANCE" subject lines were really stressing me out. I kept second-guessing myself thinking maybe I was supposed to provide my SSN immediately for any ticket resale, but reading all these real experiences has been incredibly reassuring. The tax professional's breakdown of the $600 threshold and profit requirements really clarifies things - since I sold at exact face value with zero profit and well under the reporting threshold, there's clearly no legitimate reason SeatGeek needs my SSN for this transaction. What's most eye-opening is seeing how consistent these pressure tactics are across ALL the major ticket platforms. Whether it's Ticketmaster, StubHub, Vivid Seats, or SeatGeek, they all seem to use the same aggressive email campaigns and official-sounding language to collect more personal data than actually required by tax law. Your success story gives me the confidence to continue waiting it out rather than cave to their intimidation tactics. It's so helpful to have a community where people can share real experiences and help each other understand the difference between corporate data collection strategies and actual legal requirements. Thanks for posting this win!

Hey Mae! I completely understand your anxiety about this - I was in the exact same situation last year and stressed about it for months. I made about $315 selling old clothes and accessories on Depop, every single item for way less than what I originally paid. After doing extensive research and talking to a tax professional, here's what I learned: at $350 with everything sold at a loss, you're very unlikely to receive a 1099-K and generally don't need to report this as income. The IRS considers this disposing of personal property at a loss, not generating taxable income. The key factors working in your favor: - You're well under the $600 reporting threshold - Every item sold for less than your purchase price - These were personal items you bought for yourself, not business inventory - You're occasionally decluttering, not running a resale business My recommendation is to create simple documentation showing what you originally paid vs. what you sold each item for - I made a basic spreadsheet and kept screenshots of my Depop transactions. I found most of my original purchase records by searching through old emails and credit card statements. Reading through this entire thread has been so reassuring - it's amazing how many people have dealt with this exact scenario! You're definitely not alone, and at $350 with clear losses on everything, you're in a very safe position tax-wise. Try not to stress too much about it - you're handling this correctly!

Hey Mae! I was in almost the exact same situation last year - made about $375 selling old designer clothes and bags on Depop, every single item for way less than what I originally paid for them. After going through the same stress and confusion you're experiencing, here's what I learned: at $350 with everything sold at a loss, you're very unlikely to receive a 1099-K and generally don't need to report this as income. The IRS treats selling your personal clothing items at a loss as disposing of personal property, not generating taxable income. The key things working in your favor are that you're well under the $600 threshold, sold everything below your purchase price, and these were personal items you bought for yourself (not business inventory). You're just decluttering your closet, not running a resale business. My advice is to create a simple spreadsheet showing what you originally paid vs. what you sold each item for, just for peace of mind. I went through my old emails and credit card statements to find purchase records - it was actually much easier than I expected to piece together most of the information. Don't stress too much about this! You didn't actually make any profit - you just recovered a small fraction of what you originally spent on clothes you weren't wearing anymore. Based on everything I learned and what others in this thread have shared, you're definitely in a safe position tax-wise. This whole thread shows how common this exact situation is!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with something similar where my W2 shows about $3,200 more than my final paycheck YTD. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like the most common culprits are employer-paid benefits that show up as taxable income on the W2 but aren't reflected in regular paycheck totals. @Diego - glad you found the Box 12 codes explanation helpful! That's exactly where I need to look on mine. I think my company provides life insurance and some wellness benefits that I never really thought about as "income" but apparently the IRS does. One thing I'm curious about - do these discrepancies ever indicate actual payroll errors, or is it pretty much always just these fringe benefit reporting differences? I want to make sure I'm not missing something that could affect my tax filing.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I've been dealing with the exact same issue for the past few years - my W2 consistently shows about $4,200 more than my final paycheck's YTD earnings. After reading through everyone's explanations, I finally understand what's happening. I checked my W2's Box 12 and found several codes I'd never paid attention to before: DD (employer health insurance contributions), C (group term life insurance over $50k), and a few others related to wellness programs my company offers. What really clicked for me was @Ethan's explanation about how these benefits show up on the W2 but not in regular paycheck YTD totals. My company has been pretty generous with benefits, but I never realized some of them counted as taxable income that would appear on my W2. For anyone else confused about this - definitely start by looking at Box 12 on your W2 and researching what each code means. It's amazing how much "hidden" compensation we actually receive beyond our regular paychecks!

Quick question - if I only made like $300 total from casual trading, do I still need to file all these extra forms? Seems like a lot of work for so little money.

@Sofia Gutierrez - Yes, you absolutely need to report all your trading activity! Since you made $2,800 in gains and had $1,200 in losses, your net gain of $1,600 is definitely taxable income that must be reported. The key thing to understand is that it doesn't matter whether you withdrew the money or not - the IRS considers the trades "realized" the moment you sell, regardless of whether the cash stays in your brokerage account. Your brokerage should have sent you Form 1099-B which summarizes all your trades. You'll use this to fill out Schedule D (Capital Gains and Losses) and potentially Form 8949. The good news is you don't need to list every single trade individually on your return if your 1099-B shows all the required information - you can usually summarize them into categories. One important thing to watch out for: if you sold any stocks at a loss and then bought the same or "substantially identical" stocks within 30 days, you might have wash sales which can disallow some of your losses. Your 1099-B should show these adjustments if they apply. Since this is your first year dealing with this, consider using tax software that can import your 1099-B directly, or consult with a tax professional if the forms seem too overwhelming. Better to get it right than risk issues with the IRS later!