Ebay buy to sell sole trader tax help

BengalBarmy

Hi I am not sure if this is the right place to post. Sorry if it's not!

Last week I decided I wanted to try and earn some income with ebay, buying and selling second hand goods. I know this would class me as a sole trader and I should inform hmrc which I intend to do.

I'm a lone parent to 4 children and at the moment I am on full benefits. I will obviously also need to inform the appropriate people about this.

My query is about tax. I know that there is a personal allowance before tax should be paid. Are benefits included in that allowance? My plan is to return to part time paye work after Christmas and when not working do this other venture. I am careful with money and I don't want to end up getting in a mess. Could anyone please advise on any steps I should be taking?

Also, daft question. Printing address labels. Do you just need a big standard printer and some label paper? Believe it or not I have qualifications in computing but have never printed an address label in my life. thanks.

Savvy_Sue

BengalBarmy wrote: »

at the moment I am on full benefits. I will obviously also need to inform the appropriate people about this.

Might be worth you listing which benefits, because some are taxable and some are not, and some are means tested and some are not.

Because ...

BengalBarmy wrote: »

My query is about tax. I know that there is a personal allowance before tax should be paid. Are benefits included in that allowance?

As above: Child Benefit is NOT taxable, nor is it means-tested. Child Tax Credit, on the other hand, is means-tested but I'm not sure if it's taxable.

BengalBarmy wrote: »

My plan is to return to part time paye work after Christmas and when not working do this other venture. I am careful with money and I don't want to end up getting in a mess. Could anyone please advise on any steps I should be taking?

Make sure that you KNOW your benefits situation, and what needs to be declared to whom. Be aware that things like Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit may take a while to catch up with a fluctuating income: know how quickly you must report changes, and know if you're being overpaid. If you ARE being overpaid, put the money aside (tempting though it is to spend it), because they will want it back.

And keep very accurate records, and build up a small savings pot to cover the day when the council say you've been overpaid HB and claw it back / demand a repayment. That's especially important for the day when they say you've been overpaid, and you disagree ...

BengalBarmy wrote: »

Also, daft question. Printing address labels. Do you just need a big standard printer and some label paper? Believe it or not I have qualifications in computing but have never printed an address label in my life. thanks.

In Microsoft Word, there's a mailings and labels option which I find really easy to use. The tricky part is identifying which label you've got and picking the right template.

Johnandabby

BengalBarmy wrote: »

Also, daft question. Printing address labels. Do you just need a big standard printer and some label paper? Believe it or not I have qualifications in computing but have never printed an address label in my life. thanks.

We use a dymo label printer, connected to a computer - really easy to use, much easier than using label paper. Doesn't use ink, but the label rolls aren't cheap. Great if you're sending regularly to the same people, but you can type in a new address each time.

if you're going to use the online postage payment from Royal Mail etc, then it's just a standard printer and standard a4 paper that you need.

paddyrg

I don't sell a lot that needs posting, so A4 sheets of labels aren't economical for me as once you start using the labels, it becomes a royal pain in the backside to make sure the printer is lined up with a blank label on the sheet.

Dymo 450 printers are in wide circulation - they print a label at a time and remove that issue. Labels are thermal, with special dots on the back of the roll and perforations for positioning correctly, so it's easy. Because of this, official Dymo labels are not terribly cheapo, however a bit of delving online can get compatibles priced competitively, and I've been happy with them so far.

Aquamania

BengalBarmy wrote: »

...
Also, daft question. Printing address labels. Do you just need a big standard printer and some label paper? Believe it or not I have qualifications in computing but have never printed an address label in my life. thanks.

Depends on what suits you best

You should be able to print an address directly onto an envelope ... but are you using envelopes?

Or you can just write the address by hand onto package ... not very professional but you are sellling second hand clothes

Or you can print address onto plain paper and stick on parcel.

Or you can print the shipping document, cut out the address and stick it on the package

Or you could enclose the entire shipping/packing page in a 'documents enclosed' bag stuck to the package, with the page appropriately folded to display the address ... this looks professional, and means the recipient can check what it is without actually opening the main packaging (but maybe not so important to your target market)

Or you can use sticky labels like you suggest.

Or some people now have purpose made stationery that means when they print the dispatch note or receipt, the delivery address is printed on a removable sticky label ready to go on the outside of the packed item.

Just some suggestions, there's probably a lot more options too.