EBay -do I need to declare tax?

happy_shopper_8

So basically I have sold on eBay for around 18 years on and off, always just shifting old toys of mine, and then dvds/games each time I moved house etc.

This year I gave birth to our first baby, so wanted to clear even more space plus supplement my maternity pay whilst I had the time. So I decided to part with my large collection of childhood paperbacks (I had hundreds!)

I just realised that eBay has paid out over £1000 since May. (Obviously out of that I have paid postage etc so that isn’t what I have really received)

Does that mean I have to fill a self assessment? These are all personal items I am selling on, but I’m also worried as I have over 100 listings thanks to the individual books ( I prefer people to be able to mix and match what they want rather than sell them in lots)

And I have more I need to list as we have just sorted out our attic!

jon81uk

If you are only selling your own personal possessions then no you don't need to pay tax.
If you are buying items to resell then you are a business and need to work out what you need to do.

happy_shopper_8

jon81uk said:

If you are only selling your own personal possessions then no you don't need to pay tax.
If you are buying items to resell then you are a business and need to work out what you need to do.

Thank you, that sounds reasonable.

Yes it’s all my thirty year old stuff at the moment!

DullGreyGuy

Liquidating your own assets isnt a business activity 

If you start buying or making things with the intent to then sell them then you are acting as a business and would need to declare once the revenue (not profit) exceeds £1,000

Buster_Danog

happy_shopper_8 said:

jon81uk said:

If you are only selling your own personal possessions then no you don't need to pay tax.
If you are buying items to resell then you are a business and need to work out what you need to do.

Thank you, that sounds reasonable.

Yes it’s all my thirty year old stuff at the moment!

Just out of curiosity did ebay take issue with the quantity of sales or ask you to provide ID?

RFW

Buster_Danog said:

happy_shopper_8 said:

jon81uk said:

If you are only selling your own personal possessions then no you don't need to pay tax.
If you are buying items to resell then you are a business and need to work out what you need to do.

Thank you, that sounds reasonable.

Yes it’s all my thirty year old stuff at the moment!

Just out of curiosity did ebay take issue with the quantity of sales or ask you to provide ID?

A good question.
I've heard in the past that Ebay have asked volume private sellers to declare as a business seller on Ebay. That isn't the same as being required to register with HMRC for tax purposes.
I've no idea if Ebay still do this but it wouldn't surprise me.

happy_shopper_8

Buster_Danog said:

happy_shopper_8 said:

jon81uk said:

If you are only selling your own personal possessions then no you don't need to pay tax.
If you are buying items to resell then you are a business and need to work out what you need to do.

Thank you, that sounds reasonable.

Yes it’s all my thirty year old stuff at the moment!

Just out of curiosity did ebay take issue with the quantity of sales or ask you to provide ID?

No they haven’t, I just wanted to make sure I wasnt missing anything!

vacheron

I'm in a similar position at the moment. I have recently changed career and have been getting rid of loads of stuff out of the garage which I have accumulated over the last 25 years. Most of it is old (15-40 years+) electrical equipment and tools which I am selling at a fraction of their original price, but also the usual unwanted household items and the odd "brand new" item which we were gifted / bought but never used.

This has also put me over the £1K for the year, and I currently have just over 100 items listed. I was also concerned as to whether it would cause any problems due to the volume I am currently listing, but this doesn't seem to have caused any problems with eBay so far. I guess relatively speaking my sales are tiny to them and the rules seem clear that as long as they are my own personal items and weren't bought (or made) with the intention of selling then there is nothing that needs to be declared.

For me I'm just trying to de-clutter half a lifetime of accumulating stuff as we would like to downsize in a few years. Some things sell almost immediately, some have been listed for years, some may take years to find a buyer... but once these are gone, they are most certainly gone! 

Langerhan

If you're only selling personal items you've previously used, you don't need to worry about paying tax on them. The only exception to this is if you've sold an item for over £6000, in which case you may be liable for Capital Gains Tax (unless it's your own non-business car). You can do a very quick and easy check on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/check-additional-income-tax

Congrats on managing to sell so many paperbacks, they're one of the hardest items to shift!

vacheron

Langerhan said:

If you're only selling personal items you've previously used, you don't need to worry about paying tax on them. The only exception to this is if you've sold an item for over £6000, in which case you may be liable for Capital Gains Tax (unless it's your own non-business car). You can do a very quick and easy check on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/check-additional-income-tax

Congrats on managing to sell so many paperbacks, they're one of the hardest items to shift!

Good point, and this was something I also looked into a while back as I bought some test equipment off my company many years ago for a fraction of its current market value. But fortunately for me these are considered "wasting chattells" and so CGT is not applicable. 

Also, as I recently discovered, HMRC condsiders watches as "machinery" so they also come under this exclusion. This means that any watch collectors who have seen their collection double or possible triple in price during the market madness of the last few years is also excempt should they decide to sell!