Paypal holds back your money. Is that legal?

many different 1099 forms

many different 1099 forms

If you have more than 20K in annual sales, and more than 200 transactions as a seller, you get a 1099K - same with amazon sellers.

https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/marketingweb?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=marketing_us/IRS6050W


Chriscrawfordphoto said:
You do not fill out a 1099 for that. The 1099 is a form used by businesses that pay contract labor to report to the worker and the IRS the money paid by the company to that worker. If you're making money from selling stuff online and getting paid through Paypal, then its just regular self-employment income, reported on Schedule C with your 1040 tax return.
Click to expand...
 
Gabriel M.A. said:
Note to self: create startup with T&C granting me exclusive rights to all users' property. 😎
Click to expand...

Ha! It's too late, my T&C are printed clearly in black on the page you quoted.

But I'm reasonable and prepared to negotiate: please send a photo of your house, cars, wifes, daughters etc and I'll meet you halfway, perhaps...

Regards, David
 
Paypal is the easiest method of sending money instantly online. But Paypal isn't a bank so they aren't held accountable the way a bank is. In fact it's in paypal's best interest to find whatever means to hold onto your money. There was a great example last year where someone started a fund for a charity but didn't click the right checkbox and paypal held onto all that money "for security reasons." The thing is paypal doesn't care who the money rightfully belongs to, holding onto that money for as long as possible allows them to make money off of the interest and investments they've obtained with that money. Banks work the same way, but banks are regulated by the government and paypal is not.
 
Just got an education about this.
Returned an item bought using PayPal, with instant transfer from my bank; verified account. Seller promptly refunded money. I could not see evidence of that either in my PayPal transaction log, nor in my linked bank account.
Wrote for clarification. Took a while to understand it when it came, which itself took a while (confirming some earlier comments).
It said two things, at some tension with each other:
1) Money is returned to original source (this would imply my bank account) and
2) Money is returned to "my PayPal account" (which I never set up)
My further communication indicating that this effectively costs money (bank fees when account falls below a certain minimum), and request for instructions for how to transfer the money back to origin went unanswered -- and still is, more than three weeks later.
Legal it may be. If so, it is legalized theft in my view, or at least the imposition of unannounced costs.
Hard to believe the ambiguity of communication is not deliberate.
Not going to spend much time screaming about it; it does not seem to be a unique situation with online services, bank cards, banks and others changing terms and conditions of use at will and with arguably inadequate communication.
The notion that I need to take it or stop using it -- as my only two options seems somewhat, limiting.

Giorgio
 
Nope

Nope

Brian Legge said:
Why would it be illegal? They're a private company with public policies... not a bank. I'd be surprised if there was much regulation here.
Click to expand...

Paypal is a bank... They have bank routing numbers and all the functions of a banking system.

And one's social security number is not between you and the government.

It is a reporting identification, between you, the government, all banking and wage activities of all companies who provide income or banking privileges. It is between all those organizations and the IRS. Where did the OP ever get the idea that his SSN was a secret closely held between himself and the government.

I suspect the $500 monthly limit may allow them some provision to not provide some withdrawal information.

However, if you don't watch and lobby accordingly, State are lobbying to charge auctioneer fees for eBay users. The IRS is lobbying for 1099 reporting from both eBay and Paypal. eBay and Paypal are not the only targets.

In case you have not heard, the federal, state and municipal governments are on the hunt for new sources of revenue. Tax rate changes alone will not give them the money they need to either balance or run the various governments.

All of these various policy matters are all about "Tracking the Money" AND placing holds for as long as possible. Huge dollars are made on the "float" or the amount of time one can hold millions of dollars of other people funds for investment purposes.

I once ask (in the 70's) a rep from a traveler's check company how they could give out travelers checks for free. He told me then, that at any given time the bank held 6 Million dollars in float, and the beauty of travelers checks was that as people traveled and cashed them over time, the average period of float was 70 days.

I could live off the interest on that constant hold quite well.

As a banker in the 70's and 80's the banking system talked about and virtually promised that within the decade, we would see the arrival of EFT... overnight Electronic Funds Transfer.

Guess what, it never happened, and it cannot happen. The system is capable, but the banks are not. If all funds were transferred near immediately we would experience something far greater than the failures in banking we've seen in the last decade.

The banking system is broken, and if government weren't also just as broken, we would probably see some fairness (equity) in the financial market place.

Don't want to participate... Don't bank and don't buy over the internet.

Solutions are "barter" and cash only, where value changes hands immediately, outside the monetary system. Then build a system of taxation for that. ?????
 
The T&C that I agreed to 12 years ago does not allow them to demand my SSN, that is a change that happened only a few years ago. They want the SSN so that they can let the IRS know how much you spend and earn and if that is over a certain amount the IRS wants a schedule C. I consider my cameras and lenses a hobby and I don't make money off buying and selling and changing from film to digital and vice versa. I don't want to sit in an IRS office trying to explain why buying an M9P and then selling it and a few lenses to buy an MM and a few different lenses is not a business. They will not understand. They just want our money.
 
In the UK you can draw out as much as you want, and it may take two hours to be in your bank account. I wonder why it should be diferent anywhere else?????

The only thing I can surmise is that the reluctance to give simple information to verify your identity rings alarm bells. So a verified address and a bank account are not overly intrusive, you would need them for any other IBAN transaction. But people treat PayPal differently, they don't consider it a bank, they think of it as some middle man between them and their money. It is seen as all part of the big conspiracy, if you give out details of yourself it is to help foreign governments or shady mafia gangs shaft you, rather than helping yourself function in a new digital age.🙄
 
Does the IRS

Does the IRS

V-12 said:
In the UK you can draw out as much as you want, and it may take two hours to be in your bank account. I wonder why it should be diferent anywhere else?????

The only thing I can surmise is that the reluctance to give simple information to verify your identity rings alarm bells. So a verified address and a bank account are not overly intrusive, you would need them for any other IBAN transaction. But people treat PayPal differently, they don't consider it a bank, they think of it as some middle man between them and their money. It is seen as all part of the big conspiracy, if you give out details of yourself it is to help foreign governments or shady mafia gangs shaft you, rather than helping yourself function in a new digital age.🙄
Click to expand...

Does the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) function in the UK???

Could that by why?
 
OK.. for more info try this...

OK.. for more info try this...

Personally not have any issues with Paypal at present.

However, if something significant is changing or policies are being changed, one of the places one might go to see new news events is here:


www.Paypalsucks.com

This web site is probably 10-12 years in existence and founded/supported by many who have issues with paypal, including past employees of PayPal.
 
Paypal

Paypal

The $500 withdraw limit is to make you get verified .
They need you to be verified to lift the limit . So linking
Your bank account and haveing a credit card registered satisfies this .
I observed this limit for about a year , it is for the casual seller .



The ss information is due to new IRS regulations , in a nutshell if more than $20,000 and more than 200 transfers occur thru Paypal you must provide your ss # .
They start requesting this at about 80% of either limit , you can ignore these requests , however if you pass either limit your account will be frozen until the ss# is provided .
Yes I know it's not great but by keeping track you can stay under both limits and avoid this .
The $20,000 includes all money entering your account .
This includes auction price , shipping , eBay fees , Paypal fees etc .
It is the total dollar amount transferred .
If you return an item you paid for , that refund from the seller is counted as money entering your account , and as such goes towards the $20,000 limit

At some point Paypal will require everyone using the site to provide ss # info , it will probably come as a security update or a new regulation from the government regarding Internet sales .
If you cross the limit you will have to file tax paperwork on your Internet sales , you are suddenly a business .
The 1099 is sent to the federal and state governments . So you need to file with both .
Very soon the states will be requiring sales tax data .

In reality Paypal is a money transfer agent , not a bank .
Their real purpose is to provide money transfer for a fee .
The ss # requirement is due to federal regulation .
Do yourself a favor and stay below both limits each year .
 
I just wonder why I would have to pay tax on used items. They already been taxed multiple times when new (income, sales, etc.). I refuse to give paypal my SS #. So far, it's been ok outside of the pop-up that comes up every time I log in.
 
I wonder why, in this age of endless litigation, the T&C are not challenged in court on a regular basis? Specifically, the holding on to money aspect presented by the OP must be legal or it would be challenged in the courts. I get notices of class action lawsuits regarding common stocks I've owned in mutual funds every month. So why aren't PayPal's hold policies being challenged in court if they are illegal?

When the T&C changes, you must agree to the new T&C in order to continue to use the service.
 
willie_901 said:
I wonder why, in this age of endless litigation, the T&C are not challenged in court on a regular basis? Specifically, the holding on to money aspect presented by the OP must be legal or it would be challenged in the courts. I get notices of class action lawsuits regarding common stocks I've owned in mutual funds every month. So why aren't PayPal's hold policies being challenged in court if they are illegal?

When the T&C changes, you must agree to the new T&C in order to continue to use the service.
Click to expand...

Yes you are right if you try to opt out of the new regulations it takes you to a link to close your account .
Paypal'd terms now limit class action suits and by accepting you are stuck with arbitration in case of a dispute .

Even rff requires Paypal to place an ad , and rff recommends Paypal as safe .
With eBay , you have to use Paypal and perform in their circus show .
Most online sites have a Paypal link .It is a very powerful online combination eBay and Paypal , just think if you could make 12 % on everything listed and sold .
10 years ago the total was about 5%
And without the buyer satisfaction guarantee .
So now they take a major stake and require the seller to back it up in all directions .
 
kuzano said:
Paypal is a bank... They have bank routing numbers and all the functions of a banking system.
And one's social security number is not between you and the government.

It is a reporting identification, between you, the government, all banking and wage activities of all companies who provide income or banking privileges. It is between all those organizations and the IRS. Where did the OP ever get the idea that his SSN was a secret closely held between himself and the government.

I suspect the $500 monthly limit may allow them some provision to not provide some withdrawal information.

However, if you don't watch and lobby accordingly, State are lobbying to charge auctioneer fees for eBay users. The IRS is lobbying for 1099 reporting from both eBay and Paypal. eBay and Paypal are not the only targets.

In case you have not heard, the federal, state and municipal governments are on the hunt for new sources of revenue. Tax rate changes alone will not give them the money they need to either balance or run the various governments.

All of these various policy matters are all about "Tracking the Money" AND placing holds for as long as possible. Huge dollars are made on the "float" or the amount of time one can hold millions of dollars of other people funds for investment purposes.

I once ask (in the 70's) a rep from a traveler's check company how they could give out travelers checks for free. He told me then, that at any given time the bank held 6 Million dollars in float, and the beauty of travelers checks was that as people traveled and cashed them over time, the average period of float was 70 days.

I could live off the interest on that constant hold quite well.

As a banker in the 70's and 80's the banking system talked about and virtually promised that within the decade, we would see the arrival of EFT... overnight Electronic Funds Transfer.

Guess what, it never happened, and it cannot happen. The system is capable, but the banks are not. If all funds were transferred near immediately we would experience something far greater than the failures in banking we've seen in the last decade.

The banking system is broken, and if government weren't also just as broken, we would probably see some fairness (equity) in the financial market place.

Don't want to participate... Don't bank and don't buy over the internet.

Solutions are "barter" and cash only, where value changes hands immediately, outside the monetary system. Then build a system of taxation for that. ?????
Click to expand...

(Please note the lines I bolded, above.) My Social Security card (Form OA-702) reads, all in caps: "FOR SOCIAL SECURITY PURPOSES - NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION." That's where I got the idea.

You have, however, raised another point, one that I meant to bring into this. It concerns the "float money" or perhaps "float time" during which the entity gets to hold, and use, your money and mine, free of charge. As a healthcare practitioner, when an insurance company does not pay, within a certain time limit, the contracted amount for my services, they are required to pay me interest. Evidently Paypal gets to fly beneath the government's radar in that respect . . .
 
pagpow said:
Just got an education about this.
Returned an item bought using PayPal, with instant transfer from my bank; verified account. Seller promptly refunded money. I could not see evidence of that either in my PayPal transaction log, nor in my linked bank account.
Wrote for clarification. Took a while to understand it when it came, which itself took a while (confirming some earlier comments).
It said two things, at some tension with each other:
1) Money is returned to original source (this would imply my bank account) and
2) Money is returned to "my PayPal account" (which I never set up)
My further communication indicating that this effectively costs money (bank fees when account falls below a certain minimum), and request for instructions for how to transfer the money back to origin went unanswered -- and still is, more than three weeks later.
Legal it may be. If so, it is legalized theft in my view, or at least the imposition of unannounced costs.
Hard to believe the ambiguity of communication is not deliberate.
Not going to spend much time screaming about it; it does not seem to be a unique situation with online services, bank cards, banks and others changing terms and conditions of use at will and with arguably inadequate communication.
The notion that I need to take it or stop using it -- as my only two options seems somewhat, limiting.

Giorgio
Click to expand...

Hi,

I'm baffled;

1, " ...bought using PayPal... " and

2, " ...which I never set up... ".

So did someone else set up an a/c or what? Why not track back to the a/c used to pay as it's - I presume - not your one?

Look on the emailed receipt and click on the transaction ID.

Regards, David
 
www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/security/paypal-funds-availability

Funds availability details

When some sellers receive payments, we may hold the money in their pending balance for up to 21 days. We want to make sure that there are no problems with the orders, such as disputes, claims, returns, or chargebacks. After we determine that the order was fulfilled and the customer is satisfied, we may release the money earlier.

If we place your money in a pending balance, it belongs to you but isn't immediately available to spend or withdraw.

We'll let you know if payments on your account are held. We'll also let you know what steps you can take to have your money released earlier. If your PayPal account was already limited, you'll need to lift those limits before you complete the steps to release your payments.
 
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