TripFarmer wrote:
But personal losses aren't deductible, right? )

Last I knew, capital losses could be deducted up to $3000/year and the
excess loss could be carried forward a number of years. I haven't
checked this lately as I haven't had the need, but I haven't heard of
this being changed.


So, if your neighbor needs a hoe and you have one you bought at a garage
sale for $1.00 and he gives you $5.00 for it do you report a $4.00 gain on
the sale?

Again, I'm not sure, but I believe there are tests as to what is a
capital asset and what isn't. At work, we only have to count things as
capital assets if they have a value of $3000 or more and a useful life
of greater than 1 year. A hoe should last more than a year, but
wouldn't meet the dollar test. I'm not sure if similar rules apply for
"personal" assets, but I suspect something similar applies.

Matt