Do I pay tax on eBay, Vinted or Etsy sales?
Answer three questions to see if you owe anything, whether to use the £1,000 trading allowance, and your deadlines. Free, and nothing you type is saved.
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Being reported to HMRC by eBay, Vinted or Etsy doesn't mean you owe tax. What matters is whether you're trading, and how much you made.
Selling or trading? The question that matters
Clearing out your wardrobe isn't a business, however many things you sell. Buying things in order to sell them for more, or making things to sell, usually is. Signs you're trading include:
- you bought the items intending to sell them at a profit;
- you sell regularly, or the same kinds of things again and again;
- you improve, repair or make items before selling them.
One more thing: selling a single possession for more than £6,000, like a watch or a painting, can mean Capital Gains Tax even if it was never a business.
Why platforms now report sellers to HMRC
Since 1 January 2024, platforms like eBay, Vinted, Etsy, Depop and Airbnb collect sellers' details and send HMRC a yearly report. You're left out if you make fewer than 30 sales and receive less than about £1,700 in a calendar year.
The tax rules themselves haven't changed. HMRC just has more information to check against tax returns. Read more about the 30 sales rule.
Common questions
- Do I pay tax on things I sell on Vinted or eBay?
- Not usually, if you're selling your own unwanted things like clothes or furniture. That isn't trading. If you buy things to sell on, or make things to sell, that's trading: you only need to tell HMRC once your trading income is over £1,000 in a tax year.
- eBay or Vinted says it will report me to HMRC. Do I owe tax?
- Not necessarily. Platforms must report sellers who make 30 or more sales, or receive about £1,700 or more, in a calendar year. It's information for HMRC, not a tax bill. What you owe still depends on whether you're trading.
- What is the trading allowance?
- The first £1,000 of trading income each tax year is tax-free and doesn't need reporting. Above that, you can take off either the £1,000 allowance or your actual costs, whichever leaves less profit.
- When do I need to register for Self Assessment?
- By 5 October after the end of the tax year in which you first went over the allowance. Tax years run from 6 April to 5 April. You then file your return and pay by 31 January.
More help: Do I pay tax on Vinted sales? and the £1,000 trading allowance explained. HMRC also has its own online platforms checker (opens in a new tab).