US ticket touts making more than $600 per year to be subject to new tax

A new law in the US is set to warn ticket touts away from reselling concert and event tickets by taxing anyone making more than $600 (£490) per year through websites including StubHub and Ticketmaster, Wall Street Journal reports.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is making strides to crack down on scalpers as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, meaning ticketing companies must report customers making more than $600 a year on resales.

The act began at the start of the 2023 tax year, the IRS reported, explaining that ticketing companies must fill out a 1099-K form asking for information on “payment card and third party network transactions” from those making more than $600 annually.

Read this next: Nine out of ten people believe the ticketing industry should be safer, report reveals

The 1099-K form was previously only to be filled out in regards to those making more than $20,000 on 200 or more transactions per year. “There are no changes to what counts as income or how tax is calculated,” the IRS explains.

The move comes amidst a worldwide crackdown on ticket scalping. Last year, new findings showed that ticketing resale site Viagogo had been selling the majority of festival tickets through just three sellers - each making between £730,000 and £1.7 million.

Read this next: Ticketmaster backs down over "unduly high" fees following artist backlash

In June, Brazil clamped down on ticket touting after Taylor Swift announced plans for an international leg of her ‘Eras’ tour, meaning anyone reselling tickets could land up to four years in prison.

Member of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies representing São Paulo, Simone Marquetto, introduced the new bill in June announcing that scalpers could also face penalties of up to 100 times the original ticket price if thought to be resold for profit.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter