How to report Ticketmaster ticket resale loss on taxes with 1099 form?

The 1099 form you'll receive is likely a 1099-K, which simply reports the gross amount Ticketmaster paid you from the ticket resale. This doesn't automatically mean you owe taxes on that amount - it's just reporting the transaction occurred. Since you sold the tickets for less than you paid, you have a capital loss. You'll report this on Schedule D and Form 8949. On Form 8949, you'll list the tickets as a capital asset, report your cost basis ($2970), your sales proceeds ($2430), and calculate your loss ($540). Make sure to keep your original purchase receipts to document your cost basis. Capital losses can offset capital gains, and up to $3,000 of capital losses can offset ordinary income per year. If you have more than $3,000 in capital losses, the excess carries forward to future tax years.

I went through this exact same headache last year when I had to resell some sports tickets at a loss. I was stressing over how to report it properly until I found this AI tool called taxr.ai that saved me so much time figuring this out. I uploaded my Ticketmaster purchase and sale confirmations, and it explained exactly how to report the loss on my Schedule D and Form 8949. https://taxr.ai actually has a specific module for handling ticket resales and other unusual transactions that most tax software doesn't explain well.

Update on my ticket situation - I decided to try taxr.ai after dealing with conflicting advice from friends. Honestly really glad I did. It immediately recognized my situation as a capital loss and walked me through exactly how to document it properly. The tool even had specific advice about how Ticketmaster transactions are reported that my regular tax software didn't mention. It was super clear about how to report the correct cost basis and pointed me to the exact lines on Schedule D. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with this same issue.

Just a heads up that if you need to call the IRS to ask about how to handle this situation (which I did last year with a similar ticket loss), use Claimyr to skip the ridiculous hold times. I spent HOURS trying to get through to a human at the IRS before finding this service. You can watch how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c and sign up at https://claimyr.com - they basically hold your place in line and call you when an agent is ready to talk. Saved me from losing an entire afternoon on hold.

Holy crap I have to eat my words. After responding to your comment, I was still stressing about my tax situation with some concert tickets I resold, so I decided to try Claimyr on a whim. It actually works exactly like they said! I put in my number this morning, went about my day, and about 2.5 hours later got a call connecting me to an IRS agent who was super helpful about my ticket situation. Saved me from an afternoon of hold music and stress. Never been happier to be wrong about something.

Make sure you're keeping good records of BOTH transactions - the original purchase and the resale. The 1099 only shows the money you received, not what you paid. Without proof of your original purchase price, the IRS could potentially treat the entire $2430 as taxable income rather than recognizing your loss.

Quick question - does anyone know if you can take a loss on tickets if they were originally purchased as a gift for someone else? My sister bought tickets for my birthday but I couldn't go and had to resell them. She gave me the original receipt but technically she paid for them.

One thing to keep in mind is timing - make sure you report this on the correct tax year. Since you bought and sold the tickets in the same calendar year, both transactions go on this year's return. But if you had bought them in December 2023 and sold them in January 2024, for example, you'd still report the entire transaction on your 2024 return (the year of the sale). Also, don't forget that Ticketmaster probably charged you fees on both the original purchase and the resale. Those fees are part of your cost basis and selling expenses respectively, so include them in your calculations. Your actual loss might be even higher than the $540 difference in ticket prices once you factor in all the fees.

Just wanted to add that if you're using tax software like TurboTax or H&R Block, look for the section on "Capital Gains and Losses" or "Investment Income" - that's where you'll enter this information. The software will automatically generate the Schedule D and Form 8949 for you once you input the details. One tip: when you enter the transaction, make sure to select "Personal Use Property" or similar category rather than "Investment" since these were concert tickets for personal use, not an investment. The tax treatment is the same, but it helps keep your records organized and may avoid any confusion if you're ever audited. Also, keep all your documentation together - original purchase confirmation, resale confirmation, and any fee statements. Store them with your tax records since the IRS has up to 3 years to audit, and you'll want easy access to prove your cost basis if questioned.

Don't forget that you can also deduct any expenses directly related to the resale! This includes things like listing fees, payment processing fees, or even shipping costs if you had to mail physical tickets. Since Ticketmaster handles everything electronically, your main additional expenses would be their selling fees. One important note - if this puts you over the $600 threshold for 1099-K reporting, you might start receiving these forms for other small sales too (like selling items on eBay or Facebook Marketplace). The IRS has been cracking down on tracking these transactions, so it's good to understand the process now for future reference. Also, if you have any other capital gains this year (maybe from selling stocks at a profit), your $540+ loss can directly offset those gains dollar-for-dollar before you get to deduct against ordinary income. It's actually a pretty valuable deduction, especially if you're in a higher tax bracket.

Something to add that I learned the hard way - when you're entering this information into your tax software, double-check that the dates align correctly with when you actually completed each transaction, not just when you initiated them. I made the mistake last year of using the date I first listed my tickets for resale instead of when the sale actually went through. Ticketmaster can sometimes take a few days to process the transfer and payment, especially for high-demand events. The IRS wants the actual date of sale (when ownership transferred), which would be when Ticketmaster confirmed the sale was complete and processed payment to you. This might seem like a small detail, but if there's any discrepancy between the dates on your 1099-K and what you report on your Schedule D, it could trigger questions. Better to be precise from the start than have to explain the timing differences later. Also, if you're planning to use any of the third-party tools people mentioned above, I'd recommend running the numbers manually first just to understand the basic calculation. That way you can verify that any automated tool is giving you the right advice for your specific situation.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is what happens if you're close to the standard vs. itemized deduction threshold. Since capital losses offset capital gains first and then up to $3,000 of ordinary income, this loss could potentially affect whether itemizing deductions makes sense for you this year. Also, if you're married filing jointly, that $3,000 capital loss limit applies to your combined return, not per person. So if your spouse also has capital losses from other sources, you'll need to coordinate how you apply them. For anyone dealing with this situation in future years - consider the timing of when you resell tickets. If you know you're going to take a loss and you have capital gains from other sources earlier in the year, it might make sense to complete the ticket sale before December 31st to offset those gains in the same tax year rather than carrying the loss forward.