• Washington Post, Tuesday, June 1, 2010 1:22 PM

Part of the allure of DIY ecommerce sites like eBay and Craigslist is that, like garage sales and flee markets, they seem to operate under the radar of government scrutiny. Bursting that bubble, the IRS is reportedly cracking down on frequent and/or big-time sellers, reports The Washington Post.

Furthermore, "As online commerce grows, it is drawing increased attention from tax collectors," the paper write. "Beginning next year, a new law 'requires the gross amount of payment card and third-party network transactions to be reported annually to participating merchants and the IRS,' according to an IRS summary." For their 2011 tax returns, taxpayers who annually sell more than $20,000 worth of goods and have more than 200 electronic transactions will receive a new IRS form, known as 1099-K, reporting the proceeds, a spokesman for H&R Block tells WaPo.

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