Prolific Academic Survey Alerts

[Deleted User]

Can someone please clarify as I can't seem to get an answer.

I currently have earned £998 on surveys for the tax year.

If I continue doing them but don't transfer the money from prolific until 7th April does this mean I don't need to pay any tax

MollyR

Harvey, you need to ask somebody who is an expert on tax (I am sure there will be appropriate boards on MSE) - none of us can give you an answer on which you can rely, unless there is an accountant lurking here who has not yet spoken up!

silvercar

MollyR said:

Harvey, you need to ask somebody who is an expert on tax (I am sure there will be appropriate boards on MSE) - none of us can give you an answer on which you can rely, unless there is an accountant lurking here who has not yet spoken up!

OH is an accountant, but not a tax accountant. Given that you can withdraw at a time of your choosing, I’m not sure if the general rule applies. The general rule is that you either account on an accruals basis or a cash basis ie when you invoice or when you get the cash. In prolific terms, accruals would be when your surveys are approved, so in your balance, cash would be when you cash out. As long as you were consistent ie you can’t switch between the 2 methods each year, you would probably get away with it. The key may be to find out if prolifics are reporting to hmrc on the amount “earned” or the amount withdrawn.

[Deleted User]

I didn't think prolific report to HMRC do they ?
It's important to note that participants are not employees of Prolific - they are independent contractors so we do not report the Rewards they make to a revenue service (e.g. Inland Revenue in the UK)

[Deleted User]

So technically you could earn £1200 in one year and no one would know

MollyR

Unless, of course, you posted about it in public forums...

silvercar

[Deleted User] said:

I didn't think prolific report to HMRC do they ?
It's important to note that participants are not employees of Prolific - they are independent contractors so we do not report the Rewards they make to a revenue service (e.g. Inland Revenue in the UK)

My understanding is that is changing and they will be required to report quite soon. I’ll find a link.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2024/01/online-platforms-etsy-vinted-airbnb-report-hmrc/

Sapindus

[Deleted User] said:

Did anyone have the x rated video one yesterday evening, are these allowed?

Yes I did - I think they were clear enough about the content so don't see why it shouldn't be "allowed" (especially considering some of the things I was invited to talk to an AI about in other studies last year!!)

In the event it was a bit of a let down and I had to watch a video of penguins swimming underwater whilst intermittently being asked about my.. er... state of mind... 

C_J

I have just logged in to Prolific and have seen this message:

You’re now a beta user for our new payment system! 💸

You’ve been selected to test our new upgraded payment system, powered by Hyperwallet (a PayPal service). This new system will process your cashouts moving forward.

Visit our help centre to learn more about the beta, share feedback or contact our support team.

Anyone else?

MollyR

Yes, I got that too.  It doesn't look as though it will make any difference to regular users, unless they change their e-mail address.