Do I need to worry about Apple Pay taxes if I only received $2,400 this year?

The $20,000 threshold for 1099-K forms is actually outdated information. The IRS had planned to lower the reporting threshold to $600 for tax year 2022, but they've delayed implementation several times. For 2024 taxes (filed in 2025), the threshold is still $20,000 AND 200 transactions through payment apps like Apple Pay. Since you received only $2,400 and it wasn't actually income (just reimbursements and personal item sales), you likely won't receive a 1099-K form. However, it's important to understand that the absence of a tax form doesn't automatically mean you don't have to report income. The IRS requires you to report all income regardless of whether you receive a tax form. Money that friends paid you back for trips or selling used personal items at a loss generally isn't considered taxable income. But if you were selling items for profit or providing services, that would be taxable even without a 1099-K.

I was in the exact same boat last year - freaking out about Apple Pay and Venmo payments! I ended up using a service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that analyzed all my payment history and sorted everything into taxable vs non-taxable categories. It was a massive relief because it turns out most of my transactions were just friends paying me back for dinners and concert tickets, which aren't taxable. The nice thing was it automatically identified which transactions were actual income vs. just money movement. It also gave me documentation to keep in case of an audit. Definitely helped me sleep better knowing I wasn't accidentally committing tax fraud lol.

Just wanted to follow up - I actually tried taxr.ai after posting my skeptical comment! It was surprisingly helpful for someone disorganized like me. I had transactions spread across Apple Pay, Venmo and PayPal, and it consolidated everything, identified which ones were actually business income vs personal transfers, and even flagged some business expenses I could deduct that I had completely forgotten about. Saved me a bunch of time I would've spent manually sorting through hundreds of transactions and probably made more accurate categorizations than I would have on my own.

If you're really worried about any tax issues with those Apple Pay transactions, you might want to talk directly to the IRS. I know that sounds terrible (trust me, I've been there), but I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that actually gets you through to an IRS agent usually within 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I used it last year when I had a similar question about PayPal payments for my side gig. The agent I spoke with clarified exactly what I needed to report and what was exempt. Gave me peace of mind knowing I heard it directly from the IRS rather than just reading conflicting info online.

I have to eat my words here. After being super skeptical about Claimyr, I decided to try it because I was desperate to resolve a question about some Apple Pay transactions before filing my taxes. The service actually worked - I got a call back in about 25 minutes and was connected directly to an IRS representative. The agent confirmed that personal transactions and selling used items at a loss don't create taxable income, even with Apple Pay. The peace of mind was totally worth it, and I definitely wouldn't have gotten through if I had tried calling myself.

Just to add a data point here - I received around $5,000 through Apple Pay last year for graphic design work (actual income, not reimbursements) and didn't get a 1099-K. But I still reported it on my Schedule C because it's definitely taxable income. Better safe than sorry with the IRS!

omg thank you for asking this! i was literally about to post the exact same question. ive been getting paid thru apple pay for dog walking (like $3100 last year) and panicking about taxes. reading these responses is super helpful!!

Just a friendly reminder to everyone: The IRS knows way more about your financial situation than you think. Payment apps like Apple Pay, Venmo, etc. might have to send data to the IRS even if they don't send you a 1099-K form. Don't risk an audit by trying to hide income - it's not worth the potential penalties and interest!

This is really helpful information! I'm in a similar situation - got about $1,800 through Apple Pay last year from a mix of things like selling some furniture when I moved, friends paying me back for group dinners, and a couple small freelance writing jobs. Reading through all these responses, it sounds like the key is distinguishing between actual income (like the freelance work) versus just personal transactions (friends paying me back). I should probably report the freelance earnings even though it was small amounts, but the furniture sales and friend reimbursements don't sound like they'd be taxable. Does anyone know if there's a minimum threshold for reporting freelance income? Like if I only made $200 from writing, do I still need to put that on Schedule C?

I'm glad I found this thread! I've been stressing about this exact issue. I received about $3,200 through Apple Pay last year - mostly from selling old textbooks, electronics, and some furniture, plus friends paying me back for concert tickets and group trips. Based on all the helpful responses here, it sounds like the personal reimbursements and selling used items (which I definitely sold at a loss compared to what I originally paid) wouldn't be taxable income. That's such a relief! I was worried I'd somehow messed up by not keeping detailed records of everything. The $600 threshold delay is also good to know - I had heard conflicting information about that. It's reassuring to understand that the current threshold is still $20,000 AND 200 transactions for 1099-K forms from payment apps. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and knowledge! This community is so helpful for navigating these confusing tax situations.

This is such a timely discussion! I'm dealing with something similar - received about $1,900 through Apple Pay last year from a combination of selling some old camera equipment, friends paying me back for vacation expenses, and doing a few small photography sessions for neighbors. After reading through all these responses, I feel much more confident about what needs to be reported. The camera equipment sales were definitely at a loss (bought for way more than I sold them for), and the vacation reimbursements are clearly not income. But those small photography gigs - even though they were just helping out neighbors - sound like they should be reported as self-employment income on Schedule C. I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences here. It's so helpful to hear real-world examples rather than just trying to decipher IRS publications on your own. The distinction between actual income versus personal transactions is key, and this thread has made that much clearer for me!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a very similar situation - received about $2,800 through Apple Pay last year from a mix of selling old electronics, friends paying me back for group dinners and trips, and doing some tutoring on the side. Reading through everyone's responses, I now understand that the friend reimbursements and selling used items at a loss aren't taxable, but I definitely need to report the tutoring income on Schedule C even though it was relatively small amounts. I had no idea there wasn't a minimum threshold for reporting self-employment income! One question though - for the tutoring work, I sometimes met students at coffee shops and bought materials like notebooks and pens for our sessions. Can I deduct these as business expenses even though the amounts were pretty small? I probably spent around $150 total on supplies and coffee shop visits throughout the year. Thanks again everyone for sharing your knowledge and experiences. This community is such a great resource for navigating these confusing tax situations!

This thread has been so reassuring! I was in a similar panic about Apple Pay transactions - received about $1,600 last year from selling some old gaming equipment, friends paying me back for group trips, and doing a few small graphic design projects for local businesses. After reading everyone's experiences, I now understand the key distinction between actual income versus personal transactions. The equipment sales (sold at a loss from what I originally paid) and friend reimbursements clearly aren't taxable, but those design projects definitely need to be reported as self-employment income on Schedule C. What I found most helpful was learning that there's no minimum threshold for reporting self-employment income - even small amounts need to be reported. I had been wondering if my relatively small design earnings were "too small" to worry about, but now I know better! I'm also going to start keeping much better records going forward. Reading about everyone's organizational tips has made me realize how much easier tax season could be with proper documentation throughout the year. Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge and experiences here. It's such a relief to get clarity on these confusing payment app tax issues from people who've actually dealt with similar situations!

This discussion has been incredibly enlightening! I'm in a very similar situation - received around $2,100 through Apple Pay last year from selling some old furniture and electronics when I moved, plus friends paying me back for shared Airbnb costs and group dinners. Reading through everyone's experiences has really clarified things for me. The key takeaway seems to be distinguishing between actual business income versus personal transactions. Since I sold my old stuff at a loss (definitely paid way more originally than what I got for them) and the friend payments were just reimbursements, it sounds like none of this would be considered taxable income. What really stood out to me was learning about the current $20,000 AND 200 transactions threshold for 1099-K forms from payment apps. I had been seeing conflicting information online about the $600 threshold, so it's good to know that's still delayed. I'm also taking notes on everyone's advice about keeping better records going forward. Even though my current transactions don't seem to require reporting, having documentation and being organized from the start will definitely make future tax seasons less stressful. Thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge and real-world experiences! This community is such a valuable resource for navigating these confusing payment app tax situations.

This entire thread has been so helpful! I'm in almost the exact same situation as the original poster - received about $2,600 through Apple Pay last year and was completely panicking about tax implications. After reading through everyone's responses, I feel so much more confident about what needs to be reported vs. what doesn't. My Apple Pay transactions were mostly from selling some old textbooks and furniture when I graduated college (definitely at a loss), friends paying me back for group dinners and concert tickets, and a few small amounts from pet-sitting for neighbors. Based on all the great advice here, it sounds like the textbook/furniture sales and friend reimbursements aren't taxable since they were personal transactions. But I should probably report the pet-sitting income on Schedule C since that was actual payment for services, even though the amounts were small. The clarification about the $20,000 AND 200 transactions threshold still being in effect (not the $600 threshold) was particularly helpful. I was getting conflicting information from different websites and was really confused. I'm definitely going to start keeping much better records going forward. The stress of trying to figure all this out after the fact just isn't worth it! Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and knowledge - this community is amazing for helping navigate these confusing payment app tax situations.

This thread has been incredibly helpful for understanding Apple Pay tax situations! I'm dealing with something very similar - received about $2,200 through Apple Pay last year from a combination of selling old electronics and furniture when I moved, friends paying me back for shared vacation expenses, and doing some occasional house-sitting for neighbors. Reading through all these responses has really clarified the key distinction between personal transactions versus actual income. The electronics and furniture sales were definitely at a loss (sold everything for way less than I originally paid), and the vacation reimbursements were clearly just friends paying me back - so those don't sound taxable based on everyone's experiences here. But the house-sitting payments were actual compensation for services, so I should probably report those on Schedule C even though they were small amounts. I had no idea there wasn't a minimum threshold for reporting self-employment income! The clarification about the current $20,000 AND 200 transactions threshold for 1099-K forms was particularly helpful. I kept seeing conflicting information about the $600 threshold online and was getting really confused about what rules actually apply for 2024 taxes. I'm definitely going to start keeping much better records going forward after seeing how stressful it was for everyone to sort this out after the fact. Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge and real-world experiences - this community is such a great resource for navigating these confusing payment app tax issues!

This thread has been such a lifesaver! I'm in almost the exact same situation as you - received about $2,300 through Apple Pay last year and was completely freaking out about potential tax issues. Like you, most of my transactions were just personal stuff - friends paying me back for trips we took together, selling some old furniture and electronics when I moved (definitely at a loss compared to what I originally paid for them), and random reimbursements for group dinners and events. After reading through all these incredibly helpful responses, I feel so much more confident that these types of personal transactions aren't considered taxable income. The key seems to be distinguishing between actual business income versus just money changing hands between friends or selling personal items at a loss. The clarification about the current $20,000 AND 200 transactions threshold still being in effect (not the delayed $600 threshold) was particularly reassuring. I was seeing so much conflicting information online and getting really confused about what rules actually apply. I'm definitely going to start keeping better records going forward though. Even though my current situation doesn't seem to require reporting, the stress of trying to figure this all out after the fact just isn't worth it. Thanks for asking this question - it's clear so many of us were dealing with the same confusion!

This has been such an informative discussion! I'm in a very similar situation - received about $1,800 through Apple Pay last year from selling some old tech equipment, friends paying me back for concert tickets and group meals, and a couple small amounts from babysitting for neighbors. Reading through everyone's experiences has really helped me understand the key distinction between personal transactions versus actual income. The tech equipment sales were definitely at a loss (sold my old laptop and gaming console for way less than I originally paid), and the friend reimbursements were clearly just people paying me back - so those don't sound taxable based on all the great advice here. But those babysitting payments were actual compensation for services, so I should report those on Schedule C even though they were small amounts. I had no idea there wasn't a minimum threshold for reporting self-employment income - that's such important information! The clarification about the current $20,000 AND 200 transactions threshold still being in effect has been really helpful too. I was getting so much conflicting information online about whether the $600 threshold had already taken effect. I'm definitely going to start keeping much better records going forward. Maybe I'll start adding quick notes to my transactions as they happen - "Mike's share of dinner" or "babysitting for the Smiths" - anything to avoid this stress next year! Thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge and experiences.

This entire discussion has been incredibly reassuring! I'm in almost the exact same boat as the original poster - received about $2,100 through Apple Pay last year and was completely stressed about potential tax implications. Like so many others here, most of my transactions were personal - friends paying me back for shared Uber rides and group dinners, selling some old textbooks and electronics from college (definitely at a huge loss compared to what I originally paid), and a few small payments for dog-walking services for neighbors. Reading through everyone's responses has really helped clarify the key distinction between personal transactions versus actual business income. The textbook/electronics sales and friend reimbursements clearly aren't taxable since they were personal transactions and sales at a loss. But I should definitely report the dog-walking payments on Schedule C since those were actual payments for services, regardless of the small amounts. The information about the current $20,000 AND 200 transactions threshold still being in effect (not the $600 threshold) was particularly helpful - I was seeing so much conflicting information online and getting really confused about what rules actually applied. I'm absolutely going to start keeping better records going forward. Maybe a simple note system like others suggested - "Jake's half of dinner" or "dog-walking for Mrs. Chen" - anything to avoid this anxiety next year! Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and knowledge. This community has been such a lifesaver for navigating these confusing payment app tax situations!