Sell on eBay or Vinted? This tax change is about to make your life much easier
Planned changes will reduce admin for thousands of people making income from selling goods and services online
Hundreds of thousands of people who make money selling items on eBay or Vinted will no longer be required to file a tax return because of changes to the income threshold.
However, they will still need to pay any tax owed on these earnings.
Here, The i Paper takes a look at the current rules, and what is set to change.
What are the current rules?
Anyone earning more than £1,000 gross from trading income must currently register for self-assessment and file a full tax return, even if they owe no tax.
If you have sold at least 30 items or earned roughly £1,700 (equivalent to €2,000) using platforms such as eBay or Vinted, or provided a paid-for service such as a holiday rental through Airbnb on a website or app in 2024, your platform provider will share your information with HMRC.
They will also inform you that they have sent your details on.
The sharing of sales data does not necessarily mean you need to complete a tax return, however you may need to register for self-assessment and pay tax, if you:
- buy goods for resale or make goods with the intention of selling them for a profit
- offer a service through a digital platform – such as being a delivery driver or letting out a holiday home through an online platform
- And generate a total income from trading or providing services online of more than £1,000 before deducting expenses in any tax year
What is changing?
The Government is set to raise the threshold for filing a self-assessment from £1,000 to £3,000.
It means up to 300,000 people, including those with side hustles who generate income from the online resale platforms, will not need to complete the time-consuming form.
It is estimated 98 per cent of this group are self-employed individuals who report small amounts of trading income, and 2 per cent report income from property.
Tax Minister James Murray is expected to announce the plans to triple the self-assessment reporting threshold later on Tuesday.
The change is due to come into effect by 2029 and will reduce the admin for thousands of people making income from selling goods and services online, including eBay and Vinted sellers, taxi and delivery drivers and online content creators.
Rather than completing the self-assessment form, which many find challenging, those eligible will instead submit a new simple online form to declare cash earnings from self-employed work of up to £3,000.
Mr Murray said: “From selling old games to creating content on social media, we are changing the way HMRC works to make it easier for Brits to make the very most of their entrepreneurial spirit.
“Taking hundreds of thousands of people out of filing tax returns means less time filling out forms and more time for them to grow their side-hustle.
“We are going further and faster to overhaul the way HMRC works to make sure it delivers the Plan for Change that will help put more money in people’s pockets.”
The changes will eliminate the need for 90,000 people who have no tax to pay to report their side-hustle or trading earnings to HMRC entirely.
People selling personal possessions probably do not have to pay income tax on these. But if you sell an item for more than £6,000, you may need to pay capital gains tax.
