Are Ebay benefit people cheats?

peter999

Morglin wrote:

Technically, you are supposed to declare ANY extra income to the DWP (if you're on a means tested benefit)...

Let's get down to the nitty gritty.
We've been round this a number of times.

Income based JSA/Housing Benefit are based on your Savings/Income.
Every week your "savings" will change.

Do you think the Job Centre/Housing Benefit want everyone telling them each week, their savings have changed by £10, £20, £50 ??

Of course not.
.

Morglin

peter999 wrote:

Let's get down to the nitty gritty.
We've been round this a number of times.

Income based JSA/Housing Benefit are based on your Savings/Income.
Every week your "savings" will change.

Do you think the Job Centre/Housing Benefit want everyone telling them each week, their savings have changed by £10, £20, £50 ??

Of course not.
.

You wouldn't have to - provided you haven't gone over the savings/incomes thresholds (details on DWP website, as they vary) for HB/CTB/IS, they wouldn't be remotely interested.

If you do go over it, and don't declare it, then technically it's fraud.

If you are getting IB because you are not fit enough to work and they see you doing things which suggest you can work, then they can investigate.

I know - I worked for them for years.:eek:

Lin

hibees1875_2

does anyone still use ebay??

the point is, if ebay is your main source of income then you will have to declare it. if you are using ebay as a business you have to declare (also to the tax man and pay your subs~). but if you are using it to get rid of a few things to "de-clutter" etc then you dont need to declare it.
do those that work declare their ebay sales of barry manilow lp's to the tax man? no. why not? because you dont need to if you only make a few quid.
and, at the end of it all... who cares? ebay is dead, long live amazon marketplace!

KPD1

I had this some years ago when selling squash rackets bought cheap on the internet. The local sports shop retailer informed the Tax Man and he wrote asking for info. Its quite easy to say yes I have made some cash, but by the way my expenses are as follows: I listed postage, phonecalls, car expenses in delivering them to people, and you can even claim a portion of your house put over to the business. For Ebay you could claim the cost of some or all your computer, printers etc, car costs to take items to the post office for posting, the cost of travelling to car boot sales and subsidence while your there. The list is endless, and at the end of it, had the Tax man classed my sales as a business he would have had to pay me! Instead he classed it as a hobby, much to the retailers disgust, and after that I sold more than ever before.
My advice is don't declare anything to the Tax man, simply keep a list of all your expenses, and if he ever investigates you'll find he soon looses interest when he realises the profits involved (and maybe losses).

Hoddie_2

My advice is don't declare anything to the Tax man, simply keep a list of all your expenses, and if he ever investigates you'll find he soon looses interest when he realises the profits involved (and maybe losses).

Very bad advice. If you have a trade you are breaking the law by not declaring the income. For National Insurance purposes they can fine you for not telling them within 3 months of starting. HM Revenue & Customs can also levy daily penalties and prosecute if they feel you failed to notify them in order to evade your responsibilities.

You list many expenses that you can claim, but it isn't really as simple as you make out. For instance, you cannot claim the full cost of a computer, rather you'd have to spread it out over many years as a capital allowance. By claiming expenses for using part of your home for business purposes, you are leaving yourself open to business rates and later, if applicable, capital gains tax on your property.

It matters not whether your trade is a hobby or otherwise, if you are earning income on a regular basis due to buying and selling items, you need to declare the income. Only if you constantly traded at a loss over many years would they consider disallowing you being able to claim your losses against other income, but you'd still need to declare them.

You may have been told that the tax office was not interested in your circumstances, however things have changed. Particularly when it comes to enforcing eBay traders who evade income tax and National Insurance.

KPD1

Hoddie wrote:

Very bad advice. If you have a trade you are breaking the law by not declaring the income. For National Insurance purposes they can fine you for not telling them within 3 months of starting. HM Revenue & Customs can also levy daily penalties and prosecute if they feel you failed to notify them in order to evade your responsibilities.

You list many expenses that you can claim, but it isn't really as simple as you make out. For instance, you cannot claim the full cost of a computer, rather you'd have to spread it out over many years as a capital allowance. By claiming expenses for using part of your home for business purposes, you are leaving yourself open to business rates and later, if applicable, capital gains tax on your property.

It matters not whether your trade is a hobby or otherwise, if you are earning income on a regular basis due to buying and selling items, you need to declare the income. Only if you constantly traded at a loss over many years would they consider disallowing you being able to claim your losses against other income, but you'd still need to declare them.

You may have been told that the tax office was not interested in your circumstances, however things have changed. Particularly when it comes to enforcing eBay traders who evade income tax and National Insurance.

This of course is rubbish, the point I made being completely missed.
People who trade on Ebay, are not necessarily defined as having a trade for the purposes of declaring a business. Unless they are selling vast numbers of goods or a smaller number at a very high price, they are not running a business, they are doing it as a 'hobby'. They may believe they are making a few hundred quid a year, but they never really look at the real cost of getting the goods they sell. Driving to and from Car boot sales, back and forward to the post office and all the other expenses such as computers, printers, printer ink, broadband, electricity, heating for the office, office furniture etc etc would simply add up to the Tax man not wanting to know. If of course you try and declare your trade as a business, then the Tax man would still not be interested, as on paper you would be declaring a loss and the last thing the Tax man wants each year is a loss making business.
The other point is that the Tax Department cannot cope with the work they have on at the moment, without hundreds of thousands of Ebayers declaring a loss each year, no doubt this would give a reason to create a new Ebayers Tax office, with Ebayer tax Inspectors that we all pay for.
No, my advice is get real, most Ebayers are not making real profits, they are simply having a bit of fun, and are not running a business.
When I read some of the replies about how Ebayers are defrauding the Taxman and other benefit agencies, it makes me realise what a crap country this is becoming.

RayWolfe

KPD1 wrote:

When I read some of the replies about how Ebayers are defrauding the Taxman and other benefit agencies, it makes me realise what a crap country this is becoming.

When I hear about how Ebayers are defrauding the Taxman and other benefit agencies, it makes me realise what crooks there are in this country. But far worse than them are the people ADVISING (?) them to break the law. You can't go around deciding which laws you wish to obey and which you want to ignore, it is actually the law that stops this becoming a crap country, as you so elegantly put it.

KPD1

RayWolfe wrote:

When I hear about how Ebayers are defrauding the Taxman and other benefit agencies, it makes me realise what crooks there are in this country. But far worse than them are the people ADVISING (?) them to break the law. You can't go around deciding which laws you wish to obey and which you want to ignore, it is actually the law that stops this becoming a crap country, as you so elegantly put it.

Unfortunately, its the law that makes it a crap country, we pay criminals £750,000 when they can't get their fix in prison, the prisons are so full that Judges let hardened criminals do community service, but at the same time send old age pensioners who can't afford to pay council tax to jail for 3 months. This is a crap country and a crap system, and anyone who says otherwise must be part of the problem!

RayWolfe

I think you should stop taking the Daily Mail and start taking your anti-depressants.

jago25_98

I am unemployed (made redundant last month) and starting a job next year after caring for my girlfriend following an operation.

I have been selling everything I can to help my income.

I know that HM Revenue are the most powerful force in the country. If they want to they could probably confiscate everything we all have without a search warrant.

Last time I was unemployed I didn't want the shame of signing on so I left it and it cost me £6000. Don't do that people!

People on benefit usually need it but that doesn't mean beggars should be paid. If you loose your job I suggest signing on straight away because you have already paid for that service.

If the revenue find you recieving money for anything (including beggars) tax on that must be paid. The thing is, if you are selling something that is yours how do you prove it is yours to show that you aren't making a profit? I know I'm making a big loss on all this stuff I'm selling but how can I prove that?

At the moment benefit is useful for finding a decent job. It has bought me some time to get what is hopefully a career job rather than something that is going to make me redundant again in 6 months. That is what you should use it for. If you use it to kick start a business - great! The correct way to do this is to feed any profit back into the business until you are ready to go without the aid of benefit.