Yep just another compliance burden that will not yield anything. At the end of the day HMRC are struggling to do their basic functions, I’ve been waiting for a VAT number for one company so I can send them money for like 4 months. All my returns are filed on time and accurately and yet they still end up fining me incorrectly or chasing me for money I don’t owe, they sent me an £8,000 VAT bill for a dormant company. They’re a complete joke.

EFA: They took £1k+ that they shouldn't have from you and eventually gave it you back.

When you get 1-2 years grace before having to pay tax on some earnings I don’t feel like complaining.

Ebay 's UK business paid £1.6m in tax last year, despite the e-commerce company reporting to shareholders that it registered more than $1.3bn in revenues in Britain over the same period.
(source Financial Times)

Stinks of some kind of 'deal', doesn't it. They shop people using their site to supplement their meagre income, in exchange for the taxman looking away from how much the multinational giant is raking in themselves.

Ebay really fucked me off just before Christmas as I sold something small which apparently didn't arrive, and because I didn't track the item (ebay cap the amount you can charge for postage, and the buyer did not pay for tracking, so this would have come out of my 'profit' anyway), they refunded the money and I lost out. Lost the item, the money, and still had to pay ebay for the privilege of them hosting the sale. An absolute farce. 

They told me they still believe in human decency and so I should stay in touch with the buyer to see if the item was just delayed (Christmas post, anyone?), and he may then pay me the money outside of ebay system if it has since arrived. But of course he is ignoring my messages now he's got his money back (and probably the item too). 

Are there any alternatives?

What was the "allowance " before this if you are a Uk taxpayer through
your normal job ? I thought it was around £11k a year extra before paying extra tax ?

But you don't have to be a flipper selling loads of artworks on a monthly basis to get notified to the tax office.  Just selling one artwork that you no longer want for, say, 1.5K and you will be reported to Mr Tax Man.  
Seems unfair to me.  

That's all well and good, but sounds like you'll need to fill out a self assessment tax form (declare yourself as self employed even), know what the rules are on Capital Gains tax, etc, and fill the forms correctly, or pay for an accountant, just to sell 1 vaguely valuable thing, or a few small things, just in case they come asking about that £1.5K!

Sorry to hear this. I guess the lesson is to never cheap out on postage, it may end up costing you the whole transaction. Hope this experience can help others too.

No, as they are stock. You can sell prints at a loss and offset the profit that way

(I maybe talking bollocks, but this is how I understand it. Happy to be corrected)

I guess the onus is on the seller to prove they are not a business

If you sell one pic every 3 years and its below the CGT then fine 

If you sell 30 pics in 12 months and try to offset a used TV, they may query what a TV sale has to do in an art business, unless you can prove it was for business use, and then You could write it down as a capital allowance under plant and machinery



(I maybe talking bollocks, but this is how I understand it. Happy to be corrected)

I always used the Packlink service through eBay - it’s a lot cheaper than Royal Mail plus you get better protection with eBay if something goes wrong. It’s only £2.94 for a tracked 2kg parcel using the Evri option.

- I once had a dodgy buyer try to claim something was missing (it wasn’t) and eBay were in my favour as I used Packlink.
- When I’ve claimed against a seller for a damaged item, eBay were again instantly in my favour as they didn’t used a tracked service like Packlink.
- And when Evri once damaged a parcel, they refunded me quickly.

This is why I advise only using Packlink to protect yourself.

…plus you get the online invoices, which you need if deducting for taxes.

Watch Mr Bates V the post office and you won’t want to use them ever again….

Starting on Monday 1 January 2024, so-called "digital platforms" now have to collect extra information about sellers, including – crucially – how many sales you've made and how much income you've generated.

The platforms will have to start automatically sharing this information with HMRC by 31 January 2025 – the first lot of data sharing will cover the current 2023/24 tax year, which is why it's worth getting on top of it now.

Previously, HMRC was able to access sellers' information from UK-based online platforms as and when required. The new, automatic data sharing process, which also covers overseas platforms, is being implemented after the UK signed up to rules by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development that aim to tackle tax evasion globally.
Your information WON'T be automatically shared if you only sell a small amount of goods

If all you're doing is selling goods online, firms will ONLY pass on data to HMRC automatically if you're selling 30 or more items a year AND have total earnings over the equivalent of €2,000 (currently around £1,700) – so if you're doing a lot less than that, it isn't an issue. However, it's worth noting you may still have to pay tax if you earn £1,000 or more from selling.

Sites and apps will also have to share information on anyone who provides services (such as food delivery, child care, plumbing and so on), rents out property or rents out a car (or other means of transport).

Under the new rules, a digital platform is any "app, website or other type of software that connects sellers to the consumers of their goods and services", according to accounting firm PwC – meaning lots of popular sites and apps are covered.

However, the new measures DON'T apply to cashback sites, such as Quidco and TopCashback, as cashback is not taxable.
This isn't a new tax – but it does give HMRC more visibility over your income

It's important to note that the rules around who pays tax on earnings made from digital platforms have NOT changed. If you didn't owe any tax on these earnings before, and you continue to use these platforms the same way, you won't have to start paying tax on them now.

What has changed is that HMRC can more easily find out what people are making on digital platforms, so now is a good time to check if you owe tax or if you may do so for future earnings.

The change also means that HMRC can share this data with tax authorities in other countries that are signed up to the new rules, and vice versa. So if you are living in the UK and making money on a platform that's based in another country, the tax authority in this country will be able to let HMRC know about this. It's not clear yet which countries are signed on, though it's expected to include most EU member states.
If the total amount you earn via a platform in a tax year is £1,000 OR LESS, you probably don't need to tell HMRC or pay any extra tax

This is because you're likely to be covered by what's known as the 'trading allowance'. This entitles you to earn up to £1,000 tax-free without having to report the income to HMRC or pay any income tax on it.

Note that what counts here is the income before any platform fees are taken off – NOT what you end up with in your bank account. As the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group points out, this can sometimes make it tricky to work out whether your income is above or below the threshold – if in doubt, particularly if you're close to the limit, contact HMRC's income tax helpline.
If the total amount you earn via a platform in a tax year is ABOVE £1,000, you LIKELY need to tell HMRC and MAY have to pay tax on this

It all depends on how you made this money – note that the limit applies to your overall earnings across all platforms...

If the earnings were solely from selling goods online, the key question is whether or not you're considered to be "trading". In a nutshell, if you make or buy goods with the intention of selling them, you're probably a trader – and you therefore need to declare your income to HMRC through self-assessment.

For example, if you're buying furniture, decorating it and selling it on for more than you bought it for, this would be considered trading (unless it was a one-off). But if you cleared old stuff out of your attic and sold it, you wouldn't be trading.

There are some grey areas, however – you can check HMRC's online guide to work out if you need to tell it about income made from online sales.

Separately, if you've made a gain by selling certain high value items you own for £6,000 or more each – for example, jewellery, paintings, antiques, coins and stamps or sets of things such as matching vases – you may have to report this to HMRC and pay capital gains tax. But you won't pay capital gains tax on top of any income tax – it's one or the other.

If the earnings were from renting out property, providing services or a combination of different activities, in most cases you need to declare this by submitting a self-assessment tax return. You can check if you need to tell HMRC about additional income using its online tool on Gov.uk.

Renting out part of your home to a lodger? You may be able to earn up to £7,500 tax-free under the 'rent a room' scheme.

Think you might have tax to pay on your additional income? Tell HMRC as soon as possible

If you think you owe tax, you should file a self-assessment as soon as possible by going to Gov.uk. The deadline for the 2022/2023 tax year is 11.59pm on Wednesday 31 January 2024 – see our news story on the self-assessment deadline for more information.

It's worth noting that even if you have to submit a self-assessment, this doesn't necessarily mean that you'll owe any tax, depending on what allowances you're entitled to.

If you don't think you owe any tax, you don't need to do anything. If a digital platform you use passes your information on to HMRC, it will also send a copy to you – you can use this to double check your earnings and make sure you definitely don't need to file a self-assessment tax return.