A friend of mine recently sold personal items (such as jewelry). Will she be she taxed on these items as income? Is there a dollar amount under which she can avoid being taxed?

According to the IRS, if you sell a personal item for more than the original cost of the item, then it should be considered a capital gain on which you pay capital gains taxes. However, only the gain is taxable, so if the items were sold for less than their original cost, then it would not be a taxable event.