You may have recently received a tax document from us called Form 1099-K. This article is designed to help you understand what this form is and why you received it.
Disclaimer: Information on this page does not constitute tax, legal, or other
professional advice and must not be used as such. For questions regarding your specific circumstances, please contact your tax, legal, or other professional adviser.
What is a Form 1099-K?
Form 1099-K, "Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions," is an informational tax form used by the IRS. Its purpose is to report the gross amount of payments you have received through a specific third-party payment network or settlement organization.
OPENLANE US, as an automotive marketplace that processes payments for vehicle sales, is classified by the IRS as a Third-Party Settlement Organization (TPSO). The Form 1099-K we send you reports only the transactions processed through the OPENLANE US platform.
If you also sell vehicles on other marketplaces, you may receive a separate Form 1099-K from each of them, provided you meet the reporting thresholds for transactions on their platforms.
Why Did I Receive a Form 1099-K from OPENLANE US?
As a TPSO, OPENLANE US is required by federal law to issue a Form 1099-K to sellers who meet certain transaction thresholds within a calendar year. The calculations for these thresholds are based exclusively on your sales activity on the OPENLANE US platform.
Current Thresholds (Based on IRS Regulations):
You will receive a Form 1099-K from OPENLANE US if you meet the federal threshold based on your OPENLANE transactions alone.
Federal Threshold: For the 2024 tax year (taxes filed in 2025), the IRS requires us to issue a Form 1099-K if a seller has:
More than $20,000 in gross payment volume from sales, AND
More than 200 individual transactions on the platform.
How to Read Your Form 1099-K
The Form 1099-K provides a summary of your gross transaction value on our platform. Here are the most important boxes to review:
Filer/Payer and Payee Information: This section contains OPENLANE US's information (Filer/Payer) and your dealership's information (Payee), including your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). Please verify that your information is correct.
Box 1a: Gross amount of payment card/third party network transactions This is the most critical number on the form. It represents the total unadjusted gross sales amount of all your transactions processed through OPENLANE US for the calendar year.
What does "Gross Amount" mean? The gross amount represents the unadjusted gross sales price of vehicles you sold on the OPENLANE platform. Note that per IRS instructions, the amounts listed on your IRS Form 1099-K represent the unadjusted gross sales that occurred before any adjustments, fees, or refunds. This means it does not subtract OPENLANE fees, shipping costs, vehicle reconditioning expenses, or refunds issued to buyers. The amount in Box 1a will likely be higher than the actual amount deposited into your bank account.
Box 5a-5l: Gross amount by month This provides a month-by-month breakdown of the total gross amount shown in Box 1a. This can be helpful for reconciling the total with your own monthly sales records.
For more information, please read the Form 1099-K instructions on the IRS website and consult with your tax advisor.