Reply With QuoteThere must be more to it than that…i caught the end of that as well. How can they do that if it’s something youve purchased and just selling it on. It never mentioned anything about being sold for profit im sure
So as of January 1st eBay and other selling platforms now have to report to HMRC anyone selling more than £1000.00 in 1 year.
HM Revenue & Customs has brought in fresh rules this New Year, in a bid to crack down on tax evasion through side-hustles.
As of January 1, platforms such as Vinted, Depop, Etsy and eBay, will be required to collect information about how much money people are making and report this to HMRC.
Sent from a technical device
Last edited by sickie; 2nd January 2024 at 20:30.
There must be more to it than that…i caught the end of that as well. How can they do that if it’s something youve purchased and just selling it on. It never mentioned anything about being sold for profit im sure
Last edited by Franky Four Fingers; 2nd January 2024 at 20:32.
It seems no matter what if you sell over £1000.00 it's reported, as far as I can make out it doesn't matter weather you made a loss on something, it's selling that counts.Originally Posted by Franky Four Fingers
I think it's anything over the tax threshold is taxable over £1000.00 of sales.
Sent from a technical device
There's no capital gain tax to pay on watch sales in the UK so unless you are in the watch selling business surely this doesn't apply??
If something done regularly they might well investigate and consider you a business seller. Rather like SC!
Didnt mention anything about that, just said on eBay sales and other selling platforms.
- - - Updated - - -
Which is kind of what i original was expecting but it was quite clear anything over a grand
also how i understood the piece
Hmm I didn't know that , I'm not in business for anything but I do sell some of my watches on eBay.
Guess I'll have to be certain before I even think about using eBay and suchlike again.
Sent from a technical device
Could be wrong but I think it’s mainly aimed at people passing themselves off as hobby sellers, when in fact they’re actually running a side hustle or business.
In this article: https://amp.theguardian.com/money/20...-know-about-it
It says: “HMRC says people selling off clothes or items that they originally bought at a higher price will not be liable for tax on that income.”
Selling off old clothes from your wardrobe or chopping in a PS5 isn’t going to be taxable. If they ever came knocking I suppose you’d just have to prove your sales were loss-making.
Well I could definitely prove the loss part lol.
As most of us could, it would be a painful experience to explain to the taxman you're a addict lol
Sent from a technical device
If this is genuinely enacted, it'll only shorten the time to eBay's demise, which they seem to be doing rather well with on their own.
I am not sure much has changed?
HMRC have always stated that people who sell on online selling platforms MAY be considered as self employed for that activity and tax purposes?
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I saw this too and have been wondering about its application. I plan to begin selling down a significant record collection when I retire, it has all been bought privately and owned for years.
How will this will apply to clothes, records, or watches as these are wasting assets, you cannot claim depreciation on them so how can the Gov expect to come looking for tax on profits? Seems like a scare tactic to me perhaps to intimidate those who are running legitimate businesses under the radar.
@jimp
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
Just because they are reporting the sales to HMRC doesn’t mean that there will be tax to pay. They are not going to be after those just selling a few thousand pounds worth but if it is in the tens of thousands then you should probably expect a letter from the taxman asking to explain.
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
In France you have to provide ID when selling at bootfairs. I think you are allowed to do 2 or 3 a year without being considered a trader - I wonder how long it will be before HMRC implement this as well.
@cock
Can’t see how on earth HRMC will police it, they don’t have the time as it is. Scare tactic, there are a bigger fish to fry.
You should probably pay CGT if you make more than 6000 GBP profit - and report any capital gain to HMRC for any sale over 6000 GBP and made a profit Here’s looking at all the Rolex sellers on SC
https://www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax...al-possessions
If you sold a personal possession for £6,000 or more, and made a profit, you need to tell us about this income. This is because you may have to pay Capital Gains Tax on the profit you made.
You can tell us about this income:
- straight away using the ‘real time’ Capital Gains Tax service
- yearly in a Self Assessment tax return
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
Exactly. My understanding is that the £1000 turnover threshold will just trigger a requirement to complete a tax return. If you're just decluttering, or flipping watches, it should be easy enough to show whether a profit or loss has been made (and it will obviously depend on the seller's other income as to whether any tax is payable on profits).
This is also going to affect any accommodation let out on Airbnb.
An excellent initiative, in my book.
If you are a trader aiming to make a profit then you may well be subject to tax, as you always have been, this is just the reporting side really.
Flogging your old stuff, no issue
Sent from my M2101K6G using Tapatalk
So over a year, if I sell a few coats, some trainers, a roof rack and a watch worth £800, all totalling £1,100, then I'm expected to fill in a PITA tax return? Feck that!
If that really is the case, and I seriously doubt it is, then eBay is going to die on its arse overnight.
Last edited by Onelasttime; 2nd January 2024 at 22:41.
That isnt what the news report said…you may however be correct
If you deliberately sourced those items with a view to selling them for a profit, then yes. You are trading and it's taxable.
If it's your own stuff you just want shot off, no issue.
Same as currently really
Sent from my M2101K6G using Tapatalk
A pal of mine ,who I keep in touch with sporadically, made himself busy buying and selling on Ebay . He called a while ago , after a long but not unusual absence. I said " Hello B*****, where have you been, in nick ?" He did 6 weeks for something or other related to his " hobby". Probably a bit of a result, food, heating etc.... included.
Unfortunately the "bigger fish" squirrel the money away via loop holes,
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
FTFY
What if you are just unlucky and keep buying stuff in the wrong size?
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
Correct.
There has been no change in the tax legislation as regards what is and what isn’t taxable!
The change is just the information flowing to HMRC which may or may not be used to catch people who have not been meeting their self assessment obligations.
As is often the case the articles in the media make it sound like something it isn’t. Which then leads to incorrect views expressed. Often a feature where tax is being discussed.
Will make a most interesting test case!
Sent from my M2101K6G using Tapatalk
From the link posted in #9 above:
"The £1,000 threshold – about £83 a month – is intentionally set low to include just the most occasional sellers, says Cairns.
If you earn more than that, you will be expected to fill out a tax return, even if there is no tax due."
The Government wanting to squeeze more out of the average Man/Woman again.
Target those evading tax into the millions.
For anyone that does self assessment anyway it literally takes about two minutes assuming you've kept a record of your doings over the year.
There is a section titled Other Earnings with a box you put your turnover in, and another where you put your expenses. There is then a box to describe what the other earnings are. I've been declaring ebay income this way for about ten years now and I type something along the lines of "Other income derived from selling on ebay under username (insert as appropriate)". The calculation is done automatically and you pay.
I don't know what it means for someone who is selling their own gear and get pinged, I suppose they will have to contact the office that contacts them and explain?
Last edited by Ruggertech; 3rd January 2024 at 00:12.
https://www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax/what-you-pay-it-on
The average joe who is selling his stuff doesn’t pay CGT. Subject to the above rules.
If you are a trader then the thing is a business asset and it has to go into your tax return.
There has been no recent change in this tax rule.
The whole point of this data collect is to identify traders who pretend they are not traders and check they are declaring.
Selling your stuff isn’t earnings.
Have a swish around the .gov links, it is fairly easy to get.
This is just the 2024 version of old news that's been doing the rounds since the year dot.
HMRC aren't using their resources to pin a big bill on someone clearing out their garage. Flags will only appear if the sales figures are obvious trader level (for arguments sake let's say ten grand) and even then - IF they decided to investigate it - you'd only get a bill based on your profits anyway.
This is the annual scaremongering to frighten the little traders into going legit and coughing up their little bit of tax voluntarily. Of the thousands of people potentially at risk of being stung here, I'll wager only a handful will end up paying a penny that they weren't before.
I run two ebay accounts, one business and one personal. I sell at least 2 or 3 grand a year through my personal one, and buy twice that amount (some watches, but mainly retro games and pop culture related collectables). I shan't be declaring that, it's a hobby, ebay is just an online version of a car boot sale to shift stuff you don't want or can't find room for (or that my wife has found!)
Sad puppy you are
What if a person, who had accumulated numerous watches over a period of several decades, decided to sell off a fair portion of his collection? I imagine the numbers could easily come to far more than £10’000 and past records of said timepieces could be few and far between…
What could/would happen in this scenario?
Isn't the whole point of the change that you won't have any option, as eBay will be reporting it directly to HMRC. And as eBay/etsy/Airbnb/etc will also have your NI Number, it will be trivially easy for HMRC to link it all together.
What I found curious on the news this morning is that the online marketplaces will also have to disclose your bank details to HMRC. They've already said that it will be a requirement for online marketplaces from 1st Jan 2024 but nothing will have to be paid until 1st Jan 2025. My guess is that this is a slow burning strategy to the time when it's all digital and your taxes will be fully automated, with no human input.
Same as would be the case for a business I would guess. No receipts, no value, no input tax to claim back, £10k sale, tax on £10k to be paid to HMRC. Pre-owned goods have slightly different rules but same principle.
What makes you think the described activity amounts to trading? And were you aware that sales of watches fall outside the scope of capital gains tax?
It will be aimed at someone like a friends wife. She asked him years ago if she could try and sell the rubbish he chucked away ( he imported engines, stripped the wiring and all ancillaries off, stripped cleaned and tuned them for resale via his web site or straight to race teams) so she started putting the bits on eBay, in the first year she got over £30,000 selling the scrap he dumped. So I think just selling your occasional coat and things won’t matter, but the car dealers and businesses using the platforms will be thinking hard about recording sales properly.
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
Yes, a fuss about nothing.
Having sat with a friend who works in a government office who had to deal with “Covid” claims for income support I was staggered as they discussed the avalanche of claims from individuals claiming to run businesses on Ebay who were unable to make a living through the pandemic, they had to prove sales records to support claims and projections the majority got waved through such was the mountain of claims and volume of shouty calls so white flag and green light came out.
Some had only sold 2-3 items but claimed they had only just gone into business the month before the pandemic.
I am unsure how many are still in business or how many have had to regrettably close their online stores shortly after the pandemic ended.
There are clearly many eBay accounts that while registered as personal are being used as a business.
It's not unusual to see an account with feedback in the tens of thousands. Now they might have a large house that needs clearing but more likely they're a business and should pay tax. I'm not worried that the tax man is going to come knocking because I've sold half a dozen watches in a year.
If they did investigate me they'd see I was a pretty crap trader and probably have a whip round in the office for me.
Airbnb is another that needs a clampdown, if tax is paid on rental income why should someone have several accounts on there renting out their property portfolio on the sly and not pay tax?
I find it bizarre that people moan about Amazon and Starbucks and also this news.
The fact that they are not registered as a business account does not necessarily mean they are not paying the tax on it. Although it's fair to guess many don't.
My own account which I pay the tax on is registered as a private account. Why? Because with a business account you pay 36p (it may have gone up) every time you list an item, and you don't get the 80% off listing fee deals every fortnight. For someone like me who lists a few dozen low value items a week, many of which get listed a number of times before they sell, the 36p each time makes it untenable, and the 80% off the fees is often my profit. So I let my old business account wither on the vine and use my personal account instead, but still pay the tax.
Ebay rules actually state that if you buy stuff to sell, which I obviously do, your account should be a business account but they don't enforce this. Yet.
Last edited by Ruggertech; 3rd January 2024 at 10:18.
The business account is also about consumer rights of the buyer, like the right to return merchandise.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
If you did this, and factored in your purchase costs of the items you sold (assuming these were sold at a loss if they are personal items that you are getting shot of) would you be able to reduce your overall income tax as a result due to ebay 'losses'?
Else it's a case of HMRC wanting more tax if you make a few quid but shutting the cookie jar if you have made a loss!
I don't know is the easy answer Ryan. Your question about making a loss would also apply to things you have bought specifically to sell I'd have thought.
True, but on the odd occasion someone has wanted to return an item ebay has automatically approved the return anyway.
Posting Permissions
