Survey sites etc- taxes

mrsyardbroom

pweggie wrote: »

Under HMRC's rules, survey incentives are more likely to be viewed as gifted monies than earnings. If it were earnings, you would have to raise an invoice with the survey company each time you wanted to cash out; you would also have to issue them with a receipt once they'd paid you. On top of all that you would need extensive accounts certified by an accountant before submitting to HMRC. Now, all this will cost you at least 15 times what you've "earned" on survey sites, and HMRC are not interested. I check every year and only this year they've told me not to bother asking again as "market research incentives are NOT taxable earnings, or earnings of any nature recognised by HMRC" - their words, not mine. In fact, I got the feeling they were pretty fed up with this self-employed-survey-taking nonsense. Off the record I was told by HMRC that the "working from home taking paid online surveys" is merely a ploy to draw people in.

I'm really fed up with people pretending that the money they earn from surveys isn't taxable. Of course it is. You are earning extra income and that must be added to any other income. If you go over your personal allowance then you have to pay tax. HMRC asks me to complete a tax return each year so that I can declare my online earnings. Not just the bit I earn from ads on my website but ALL OF MY EARNINGS. Yes, I'm sorry to disappoint you but that does include money earned from surveys and they do expect me to keep accounts and detail each payment from the survey companies. I have had to pay tax on this income so is there some reason that other people are exempted?
By the way I am an ex HMRC employee.

Flyonthewall

mrsyardbroom wrote: »

I'm really fed up with people pretending that the money they earn from surveys isn't taxable. Of course it is. You are earning extra income and that must be added to any other income. If you go over your personal allowance then you have to pay tax. HMRC asks me to complete a tax return each year so that I can declare my online earnings. Not just the bit I earn from ads on my website but ALL OF MY EARNINGS. Yes, I'm sorry to disappoint you but that does include money earned from surveys and they do expect me to keep accounts and detail each payment from the survey companies. I have had to pay tax on this income so is there some reason that other people are exempted?
By the way I am an ex HMRC employee.

As has already been said, whether it's money or items, what is gained from survey sites is rewards, not a wage. Doing surveys is not a job, you are not employed by the survey sites and you are not guaranteed to gain anything even if you do complete a survey.

Most of the people who do surveys probably never even come anywhere near close to the amount where it would be taxed anyway.

googler

Flyonthewall wrote: »

As has already been said, whether it's money or items, what is gained from survey sites is rewards, not a wage.

Is this your view, or is there some definition of this on the HMRC website? I think theirs is the view that counts.

Doing surveys is not a job, you are not employed by the survey sites and you are not guaranteed to gain anything even if you do complete a survey.

You may not be employed by them, but are you contracted to them? If there's T&Cs that were agreed to by the person doing the surveys, wouldn't you say that formed a contract?

Most of the people who do surveys probably never even come anywhere near close to the amount where it would be taxed anyway.

Surely that depends on what tax they're paying already?

I didn't have a written contract with my plumber the last time I got my bathroom done. I also didn't 'employ' him, as he and I had no contract of employment. Does that mean that when I paid him £3500 or so, he could treat it as a 'reward' and be exempt from taxation on it?

What counts as non-taxable income? Here's what HMRC says is non-taxable - could you tell us if survey earnings fit into any of the categories therein, and if so, which one(s)?

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/taxable-income.htm

Flyonthewall

googler wrote: »

Surely that depends on what tax they're paying already?

I didn't have a written contract with my plumber the last time I got my bathroom done. I also didn't 'employ' him, as he and I had no contract of employment. Does that mean that when I paid him £3500 or so, he could treat it as a 'reward' and be exempt from taxation on it?

What counts as non-taxable income? Here's what HMRC says is non-taxable - could you tell us if survey earnings fit into any of the categories therein, and if so, which one(s)?

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/taxable-income.htm

That is what he's working as, a plumber, therefore making it his job. If not a written contract you must have at least had a verbal contract and he did an agreed job for you for a wage. He was guaranteed payment for doing plumbing work. If I do a survey there is no guarantee that I will get anything for it.

As for agreements with sites. Take Points2Shop, a well known survey site.

"You and Points2Shop LLC are independent contractors, and nothing in this Agreement creates any partnership, joint venture, agency, franchise, sales representative or employment relationship between you and Points2Shop LLC. You understand that you do not have authority to make or accept any offers or make any representations on behalf of Points2Shop LLC. "

Nothing in the agreement states any type of employment relationship.

Their help page says "How to earn prizes". Prizes are not an income or a wage, they're rewards/gifts.

There's nothing that states either way about surveys or anything similar on that page.

clemmatis

http://www.paidsurveysuk.com/blog/paying-taxes-on-uk-survey-income/

Flyonthewall

clemmatis wrote: »

http://www.paidsurveysuk.com/blog/paying-taxes-on-uk-survey-income/

Going to the more detailed page it says this:

"
Assess Yourself

The HMRC site offers a self-assessment tool to determine whether or not a particular activity constitutes regular employment or self-employment. Questions include:

• Is the activity conducted at the individual’s own financial risk?
• Can the individual set his or her own hours and pace of work?
• Does the individual perform work for a number of different employers?
• Does the individual provide the equipment and tools necessary to perform the work?
• Could the individual potentially hire someone else to perform a portion of the work on his or her behalf?
• Is the individuals paid by the job, rather than receiving an hourly rate?"

First, no. There is no financial risk at all.


Second, it's not work, more of a task. Technically the answer is yes because you can do it whenever you want for how long you want, but on the other hand it also doesn't really apply to surveys.


Third, no. There are no employers. At no point are you employed by anyone.


Fourth, technically yes. You need to have a computer, but again it's the work thing.


Fifth, no. It's fraud if you use someone elses details on a survey. Apart from that, who is going to employ someone to do a survey that's probably worth like 20p.


Sixth, doesn't apply because it's not a job as you are not employed.


"If the answers to most of these questions are yes, then it is necessary to register as a self-employed person with HMRC".


3 answers are no, 2 are technically yes but don't really apply as it's not work and 1 doesn't apply at all because you're not employed. So going by that, most of the answers are no/NA and so in my opinion it is not necessary to register as self-employed.

googler

... but the first para of that detail page says;

"Taking online surveys is a popular and convenient way of earning some extra cash for household expenses or luxury items. However, the income earned through these endeavours is usually considered self-employment in the UK and is subject to taxation"

pweggie

Cybi-Ping wrote: »

Have you ever managed to get that in writing?

Yes I do have it in writing, as it happens. On file I have 4 letters from HMRC bouncing this conversation back and forth so that I can be clear about it. I have checked with them every year and go through the same questions with HMRC - they have repeatedly reiterated what I have said here, and what Flyonthewall has also said: money from survey sites is not taxable as it is deemed a reward, and is therefore treated as a gift. Apparently this is why survey sites refer to it as "rewards" and/or "incentives", and some even go to lengths in their FAQs to point out that you cannot earn a "wage" from taking surveys. I actually know someone who works at a well known survey site who says they are sick to the back teeth of "work-from-home-wannabes treating the odd survey as a job". Any online site that refers to market research rewards as earnings is using it in a marketing affiliation capacity; this is clearly a ploy to drive traffic and entice certain groups to spend time giving away their information.

That said, this is not to be confused with earning remuneration from advertising on blogs or websites. This is entirely separate, and is most definitely viewed as "Online Earnings", and completely different from rewards or incentives received for market research purposes. And yes, I do have that in writing from HMRC also.

I suggest that each individual check it out for themselves, because no two cases will be the same, i.e. I work in healthcare as a manager, and the earnings I receive for advertising on my blogs and my websites are taken into consideration for tax purposes. But, as I've said, each year I also furnish HMRC with details of my survey earnings, and they always bounce it right back at me, with a note this year to say that they don't need to know about it again.

psychic_teabag

googler wrote: »

What counts as non-taxable income? Here's what HMRC says is non-taxable - could you tell us if survey earnings fit into any of the categories therein, and if so, which one(s)?

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/taxable-income.htm

quidco cashback, tesco clubcard points and nectar points are not on that list of tax-free income sources, yet as far as I know they are not considered taxable. So that list is not not exhaustive.

Flyonthewall

googler wrote: »

... but the first para of that detail page says;

"Taking online surveys is a popular and convenient way of earning some extra cash for household expenses or luxury items. However, the income earned through these endeavours is usually considered self-employment in the UK and is subject to taxation"

It says that then contradicts itself with the questions below. As far as that information goes, is that even a reliable source? It's certainly not from the HMRC site. If I wanted I could set up a site stating the exact opposite. Doesn't make either of them right.