What is Mercari W-9 Tax Form?

Mercari W9

What is Mercari 1099K? W9?

Am I an individual or Business on Mercari? 
Do I have to give Mercari my Social Security Number or ITIN? 

Going into 2022 everything changed, and while I hate to be critical or political, the changes impacting online sellers going forward are significant enough, that I have to give credit to those who deserve the credit, even if that means being political.  

(Please Note: The information provided is in no way intended to act as legal tax advice. You should confirm any information with your state agencies, the IRS website, or a tax consultant.)

You may have read in the news or heard in the news, that Joe Biden and the House Majority in Congress under Nancy Pelosi, have proposed giving the IRS the authority to be mandatorily informed by banks and financial institutions notification and details about all transfers and deposits of any money over $600.   Of course rational moderates and conservatives within both the republican and democrat parties rejected that kind of government intrusion.  Then $10,000 transactions were proposed.  

At the time I am writing this, December 29, 2021,  this particular policy is still trying to be pushed through.  (I archived the article CBS news wrote about this. View it HERE)

But another similar law targeted specifically at online sellers, whether you are a student selling their arts and crafts, college books, Nikes and anyone else who sells online begins on January 1, 2022 going forward.  This particular bill was hidden in the American Rescue Plan, and that is what we are talking about today when we speak of selling on Mercari (or similar marketplaces) and the new W-9 and 1099K requirements.

In this video, I (Randy Dreammaker), discuss the W9 form on Mercari, what kind of information you must provide, and I give you a few thoughts (though I am not a tax consultant or a tax expert so you should confirm this information for yourself) - a few ideas about determining if you should claim yourself as an "Individual Seller" on Mercari US Marketplace, or whether you should claim yourself as a "Business Seller" on Mercari.

If you want to learn about the 1099K and what it is, how it impacts you, I also have a video discussing that in the framework of the American Rescue Plan.  It's probably a bit boring, so I am also including a link to my updated for 2021 going forward article about the 1099K that I originally wrote in 2017 here on the website.