FabSwingers.com forum: Reselling online and HMRC

By *.D.I.D.A.S OP Man
5 weeks ago

London/Essex... ish... Romford to be exact

Does anyone have any clue what the guidelines are?

I sell mainly on eBay using a private account. I do sell a bit for profit during the winter which I declare. But I also sell a lot of my own belongings. This year alone I sold a large Ninja air fryer as I replaced it with a smaller one, a mobile phone, sought after trainers as I have too many and old football shirts from my teens which fetch a pretty penny. Of my personal belongings, I crossed the 1k threshold a while ago. I'm about to sell a camera for just shy of £500. But I sell most of these at a loss from the original purchase prices. I sold two rare PlayStation games for £400 and the football shirts have gained value which I guess need to be declared. But what about the rest?

Do I offset these against any profits on my trading profits? Or do I have to pay tax on all this too? I sold my car on ebay in the past. If I do so again do I pay tax on that?

I have googled obviously but confusion prevails everywhere. I'm hoping that there's a brain surgeon or rocket scientist on Fab to help answer these questions!

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By *elvet RopeMan
5 weeks ago

by the big field

Just had the email from Ebay as I've sold a watch for a grand and a few other things I'm clearing out of the garage. Pity they don't have the time to go after the likes of Amazon who pay the best part of bugger all tax on their huge income

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By *.D.I.D.A.S OP Man
5 weeks ago

London/Essex... ish... Romford to be exact

"Just had the email from Ebay as I've sold a watch for a grand and a few other things I'm clearing out of the garage. Pity they don't have the time to go after the likes of Amazon who pay the best part of bugger all tax on their huge income

Yep we've had all the complaints. If the corporations paid their fair share then the ordinary person wouldn't need to side hustle etc, we all agree. But they are out to get us and there'll be no escape. I began decluttering following the passing of my mum just before the new rules and my family seeing how I did it so often asked me to sell a couple of bits for them too. I then thought I may as well try and make a bit on the side for some extra cash. But a year later nothing seems any clearer regarding how to calculate tax and what is eligible. Their AI will probably end up making us pay tax for everything we sell and then we have to do the work to argue our case whilst interest builds on fines, tax liabilities etc.

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By *imon and saffyCouple
5 weeks ago

southampton

You pay tax on profit.

If it's something you bought for £100 and sold for £70 then no profit and you can sell as much of that as you like, as long as you can prove it.

They're after the people buying stuff from charity shops for £1 and selling it for £20.

The £1000 just raises a flag that you might need to pay tax not that you do have to, or that's how I understand it.

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By *.D.I.D.A.S OP Man
5 weeks ago

London/Essex... ish... Romford to be exact

"You pay tax on profit.

If it's something you bought for £100 and sold for £70 then no profit and you can sell as much of that as you like, as long as you can prove it.

They're after the people buying stuff from charity shops for £1 and selling it for £20.

The £1000 just raises a flag that you might need to pay tax not that you do have to, or that's how I understand it."

How do they expect people to prove such things? Realistically we are not going to keep receipts for everything, especially if they are years old. What if they were gifted to us? What if it is art with no true market value? What if you sell an autograph you didn't need to pay for?

I should probably make two accounts; one for personal use and one for 'trading'. But that still wouldn't resolve the lack of clarity for me.

One solution might be to sell all personal items on vinted instead where possible but at a lower price. In which case I may as well stick to ebay and pay the tax. Or I get an accountant. Either way, it'll be less in our own pockets.

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