Help With Completing Tax Form Ebay

November2

Oh dear! Just been over to HMR to start filling in my first tax return and am totally bewildered as what goes where!


Can anyone help?


What is turnover? Is this the actual amount I get from Ebay after their fee has been taken?


Postage I believe goes under allowable expenses, as does stationery, ink, Ebay listing fees.


Do the Paypal fees go under the bank charges/interest section of allowable expenses?


Any advice appreciated as I'm beginning to panic.

November2

Another question, is stock purchased only the stock sold or all stock purchased?

Pierre_De_Grenoble

This may sounds harsh but it isn't meant to be..


Go get yourself a cheap accountant for this year. (you may have left it too late but accept the late fine and get it in next month).


Let him do the leg work and explain what is and isn't. and then next year do it yourself.


He should pay for himself by claiming for expenses etc that you as yet know nothing about.

RFW

Pierre_De_Grenoble wrote: »

This may sounds harsh but it isn't meant to be..


Go get yourself a cheap accountant for this year. (you may have left it too late but accept the late fine and get it in next month).


Let him do the leg work and explain what is and isn't. and then next year do it yourself.


He should pay for himself by claiming for expenses etc that you as yet know nothing about.

I'm inclined to agree. HMRC do offer online courses to help, I think they still do some workshops/classes too. They're there to help rather than catch anyone out.

*~Zephyr~*

Pierre_De_Grenoble wrote: »

Go get yourself a cheap accountant for this year. (you may have left it too late but accept the late fine and get it in next month).

I agree. But you won't necessarily incur a fine. You can submit a return now, even if it's incorrect, and make an amendment later. This way you'll avoid a fine.

Find a local bookkeeper who knows what they are doing and it shouldn't cost you very much.

November2

Thanks for replies but not really the answers I was looking for. I hardly sell anything on Ebay but have to complete the tax return. I've kept detailed records but don't know where to input the figures correctly.


I've just spent a bit of time Googling for help but there is a lot of conflicting information.


As far as I can work out the turnover is the sold for amount before Ebay fees.


Paypal, postage and listing fees come under expenses, as does stock purchased. As well as stationery, ink. Does anyone know if I can claim for a new printer I had to buy, it was necessary to print postage labels?


I still don't know if stock purchased relates to only the sold stock or all stock.


Apparently all I do then is take expenses figure away from turnover.


Is there anyone who has filled their form in who could possibly clarify these points for me?

RFW

November2 wrote: »

Is there anyone who has filled their form in who could possibly clarify these points for me?

As I said in the earlier post, call HMRC and ask them, you can tell them more details than would be wise to post on here and they will advise you correctly.

soolin

November2 wrote: »

Thanks for replies but not really the answers I was looking for. I hardly sell anything on Ebay but have to complete the tax return. I've kept detailed records but don't know where to input the figures correctly.


I've just spent a bit of time Googling for help but there is a lot of conflicting information.


As far as I can work out the turnover is the sold for amount before Ebay fees.


Paypal, postage and listing fees come under expenses, as does stock purchased. As well as stationery, ink. Does anyone know if I can claim for a new printer I had to buy, it was necessary to print postage labels?


I still don't know if stock purchased relates to only the sold stock or all stock.


Apparently all I do then is take expenses figure away from turnover.


Is there anyone who has filled their form in who could possibly clarify these points for me?

Strangely enough there is more than one way of doing a set of accounts, in particular where you account for stock can vary and how you account for purchases such as printers.

The suggestion to approach an accountant is a sensible one, they can guide you to the best way of doing your accounts, and after this year you can merely follow their template.

A basic set would be gross income - ie everything you receive. Less all expenses, Ie postage fees and stock. However you need to consider whether a purchase of a printer is 100% business, or whether you are going to apportion it between business and private and likewise for other shared purchases.

Then of course depending on turnover you can submit full accounts, with stock being carried forward or for smaller amounts just the short accounts. Again, an accountant might be able to guide you as to what is best based on where you intend to go with your business.

November2

Hi, again thanks for taking time to reply. Been reading through various Ebay and Google threads and it's a wonder anyone gets it right as there is so much conflicting information. Using an accountant would be a good idea if my Ebay business was a proper business but it's more a part time hobby, I just sell a couple of items a week if I'm lucky, I'm afraid I wouldn't have any profit left at all if I used an accountant!


It's the stock purchased I'm having problems getting my head around, several guides are saying it is sold only items, however I've just read through a very interesting article that says sole traders on Ebay using the cash accounting method should put total stock purchased regardless of whether it has sold or not. So I'm still none the wiser.


Think I will give hmrc a ring and see what they have to say.

theonlywayisup

November2 wrote: »

Hi, again thanks for taking time to reply. Been reading through various Ebay and Google threads and it's a wonder anyone gets it right as there is so much conflicting information. Using an accountant would be a good idea if my Ebay business was a proper business but it's more a part time hobby, I just sell a couple of items a week if I'm lucky, I'm afraid I wouldn't have any profit left at all if I used an accountant!


It's the stock purchased I'm having problems getting my head around, several guides are saying it is sold only items, however I've just read through a very interesting article that says sole traders on Ebay using the cash accounting method should put total stock purchased regardless of whether it has sold or not. So I'm still none the wiser.



Think I will give hmrc a ring and see what they have to say.

It's a business, albeit a part-time one. It's a business. If you can't do it yourself, then you need an accountant/book keeper to help you.

mrcol1000

If you sell little then it should be fairly easy. You can file your accounts based on money in and money out. This is far easier than trying to work out how much stock you hold.

If you do it this way then all you have to do is record how much income you received (ie sales) and how much expenditure you have (i.e every single penny you have to pay out. Stock, packaging, fees, postage etc..). If this is your only income then it pretty easy to fill in. It is only more complicated if you have other sources of income.

Really though by leaving it so late you have put yourself under undue pressure. Just go through it and read it carefully. It explains each question if you click on it. You really do not need an accountant involved unless you have lots of sources of income or have so much income you need to deal with VAT.