Gold Nuggets-Do I pay Taxes on my Finds?

[Sluicedog]

If I find ounces of gold nuggets-do I have to pay taxes on my finds? Or do I only pay when I sell them or trade them?-SD

 

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[Sportsman]

You only pay taxes if you sell. Also, if you sell, and declare the income, you get to deduct ALL the money you spent acquiring the material, including taking a deduction for your equipment, vehicle, insurance, fuel, etc. You can't deduct more than you earned.....so you can't use your part-time prospecting business to offset income from your regular job...that gets their attention in a hurry.
Jim

First one to get it right. As a hobby you can deduct expenses up to revenues but you can't take a loss and apply it to regular income. Same as other hobbies such as photography where expenses are high but $1,000 in annual income doesn't pass snuff test to deduct $5,000 in gear.

 

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[ivan salis]

just like gambling , hobbys can make money and get you taxed --but then you can deduct the cost of doing it upto what you made (ie so you can in effect "break even" if you lose enough) but you can not claim more losses than what you earned -- basically if you earn more than you lose at gambling or a "money making/" hobby you must give uncle some of your "gains" -however if you lose more than you gain --tough luck you are stuck with all the "excess" loss, and can not write it off.

 

[enamel7]

Old post.

 

[H-2 CHARLIE]

MONEY paid over $1299 is 1099 filed same as gaming winnings and money earned // pretty sure you will get a 1099 on anything over this amount .