Selling from front garden

martindow

I think HMRC consider hobby businesses to be those where people are trading but their outgoings are likely to exceed their income. They frown upon people making losses to set off against other taxable income where HMRC would be effectively subsidising a hobby.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/bim20090.htm

Percy1983

To put it another way, how could this not make a profit? unless selling for pennies

Brassedoff

If you follow the logic of a lot posting on this subject, a lot of grannies are going to be visited by the tax man for flogging eggs, damsons, plums etc.

Get real guys. Follow the letter of the law by all means, but apply it sensibly.

Savvy_Sue

Percy1983 wrote: »

To put it another way, how could this not make a profit? unless selling for pennies

Have you seen the cost of seeds lately?

Lomast

I cant find a link at the moment as im at work but there was an article in a poultry magazine a couple of years back when HMRC were asked specifically about 'Farm gate sales' regarding eggs on a small scale and their position was that as the cost of feed etc is likely to hugely outweigh any possible profit from selling eggs they were not interested.
I would imagine that selling a a small quantity of fruit & veg from your front garden would not be treated much different

pinetree

Hi all, but where do you draw a line between carboot/yard sales and private selling on ebay etc. Loads of people sell in the rural areas outside their houses with seasonal produce/plants and they always have done.

Savvy_Sue

pinetree wrote: »

Hi all, but where do you draw a line between carboot/yard sales and private selling on ebay etc. Loads of people sell in the rural areas outside their houses with seasonal produce/plants and they always have done.

With Ebay / car boot sales, you draw the line where you start buying things with the intention of selling on: at that point you're trading and have to register with HMRC.

As long as you are just getting rid of 'stuff' lurking around the house, you're fine.

Therefore I should imagine the same applies to growing veg: if you're deliberately growing four times what you need in order to sell some on, you're trading. If you planted twice as much as you need because you never know how much the slugs will eat but you want to sell on the surplus because those beer traps worked so well, you're not trading.

pinetree

Yep, I totally understand about the private/business criteria. But the op did say that she had leftover produce but didnt mention selling it on as a business venture. Thats when it would have to be declared etc.