Submitted By: Peter
Answered: May 22, 2015 12:24 pm

I’ve received payment for recycling my old smartphone. Is this taxable?

While you call it recycling, in effect you are selling the item at a price that is less than what you paid for it. You have no gain to report; you cannot take a loss because the item was for personal use. Recycling can be done for old electronics, can or truck batteries, and more.

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Tax Glossary

Estimated tax

Advance payment of current tax liability based either on wage withholdings or installment payments of your estimated tax liability. To avoid penalties, you generally must pay to the IRS either 90% of your final tax liability, or either 100% or 110% of the prior year’s tax liability, depending on your adjusted gross income.

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