The idea of selling enough gold profit to be offset by the expense of metal detector/coils purchased this year intrigued me, so I researched this topic and found conflicting information, so I dug deeper and this is what turned up:
The link above
references an IRS document issued in April 2007.
The following is from the current nolo web site:
"The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminates the Itemized Deduction for Hobby Expenses, this is effective from 2018-2025. Before 2018, Hobby Expenses could be deducted up to Hobby Profits if itemizing deductions.
Unfortunately, for people who earn income from hobbies,
the TCJA completely eliminated the itemized deduction for hobby expenses, along with all other miscellaneous itemized deductions. The prohibition on deducting these expenses goes into effect for 2018 and continues through 2025.
So, taxpayers can't deduct any expenses they earn from hobbies during these years. But they still have to report and pay tax on any income they earn from a hobby. The deduction is scheduled to return in 2026.
Example. Charlie paints part-time as a hobby. He earned $3,000 from selling paintings in 2024 and has $2,000 in expenses. He must report and pay tax on his $3,000 in hobby income, but he may not deduct any of his hobby expenses, even if he itemizes his personal deductions."
Charles
