Will receive 1099-K tax forms from Afternic this year — Fewer people

Higher thresholds mean fewer sellers will receive tax form.

Last year, Afternic created a bit of chaos when it sent out 1099-Ks.

It was the first year of a lowered threshold for sending these forms. Anyone who sold $5,000 or more worth of domain names, regardless of the number of domains, received a 1099-K.

At first, Afternic included only the net amount of sales following commissions were deducted. It sent corrected forms that included the gross amount of sales following the March 15 corporate tax deadline.

The forms weren’t available on the Afternic website, and many people filed their taxes ahead of receiving their forms. This required them to amend their returns to show the gross amount as revenue and then commissions as an expense.

It also created complications since people who were paid via PayPal ended up receiving 1099-Ks for both, effectively double-counting their payments.

So, some good news: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 is giving relief to many domain sellers.

Afternic only has to send forms to people who grossed $20,000 or more and had at least 200 transactions. (It’s not entirely clear how lease-to-own payments work in the transaction count.)

Residents of some states, counting Illinois and Fresh Jersey, will still receive 1099-Ks for state tax purposes.

Unfortunately, people who receive PayPal payments will still receive 1099-Ks from Afternic and PayPal if they meet the threshold.

More details on Afternic’s process and states that will trigger are 1099-K are available here.