Does Whatnot send tax forms? The 1099-K, explained
When a 1099-K arrives, the federal threshold as the IRS states it, and why the form reports your gross, never your profit.
Will Whatnot send me a 1099?
For US sellers, it depends on your volume. The form in question is the 1099-K, the information return that payment platforms and online marketplaces file when a seller crosses the federal reporting threshold. Under that threshold, no form is federally required (your state can have its own rules); over it, one goes to you and to the IRS. Either way, the form changes nothing about what you owe, and this article is records guidance, not tax advice.
The federal 1099-K threshold, as the IRS states it
Per the IRS page "Understanding your Form 1099-K", as updated 28 June 2026: online marketplaces are required to report payments on a 1099-K when the total you receive for goods or services through the platform exceeds $20,000 across more than 200 transactions. Both parts matter; a seller under either number is under the threshold.
Thresholds have moved before and can move again, so treat the number as a snapshot with a date on it, and check the IRS's own page in January rather than a year-old blog post, this one included.
What the form reports, and what it misses
The 1099-K reports gross payments: the unadjusted total that moved through the platform to you. It does not know the commission and processing fees that came out of every sale, the refunds you gave, the shipping you paid, the giveaways you ran, or what your inventory cost. Every one of those stands between the form's number and your real net profit. The fees, at least, are generally deductible for a business seller; are Whatnot fees tax deductible covers that side.
That gap is where sellers get hurt at tax time: report the form's gross without the costs and you overstate your income, sometimes badly. A breaker who grossed $30,000 on cases that cost $22,000 did not make $30,000, and only their records can say so.
No form does not mean no tax
The reverse trap is quieter: staying under the threshold and concluding the income does not exist. Taxable income is taxable from the first dollar whether or not any form reports it. The practical takeaway is the same in both directions: your own records, not the form, are the source of truth. The wider picture, including what actually gets taxed, is in Whatnot taxes for sellers.
Be ready either way
The preparation is identical whether a form comes or not: every sale with its fees, one cost per purchase lot, refunds netted, write-offs recorded. The Weekly Order Report hands you the sales side weekly; BreakCount adds the cost side and keeps a year of real net profit ready to reconcile against whatever January brings.