Selling 30 items a year on Vinted

MissLolly

Hi

I know it was covered by Martin on the show last week but I'm still really confused by the new rules for selling on Vinted. Not the £1000 part because I'm never going to make that much from it as most items I sell have been £1-£5 ish. It's the "30 items a year" bit that confuses and worries me. It's now nearly the end of January and I've sold 9 items on Vinted since the start of the month. Does this mean that I can only sell 21 more items this year before I get reported? I'm selling my toddlers outgrown clothes mostly, for a couple of pounds each at most. 

GDB2222

I don’t know what the rules are about being reported to HMRC, but there’s no tax on selling your own secondhand clothing. So, if you do get a query from HMRC, just tell them what you said above, and they should leave you in peace. 

Obviously, if you go on from selling your own stuff and start buying clothing to sell on as a business, your tax position will change. I imagine that the £1000 is a limit on how much a small business can sell before the tax people become interested. I’m not sure whether it’s a limit on sales or profit? 

soolin

Nothing has changed, there is no income tax done on selling personal items. 

Have a read of one of the other many threads about this on here, this one is a good place to start


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6499857/clarity-needed-for-30-ebay-items-or-1k-of-sales-for-hmrc#latest

Or this


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6494542/ebay-private-seller-self-assessment-tax-return#latest

RFW

MissLolly said:

Hi

I know it was covered by Martin on the show last week but I'm still really confused by the new rules for selling on Vinted. Not the £1000 part because I'm never going to make that much from it as most items I sell have been £1-£5 ish. It's the "30 items a year" bit that confuses and worries me. It's now nearly the end of January and I've sold 9 items on Vinted since the start of the month. Does this mean that I can only sell 21 more items this year before I get reported? I'm selling my toddlers outgrown clothes mostly, for a couple of pounds each at most. 

You can sell as many of your own items as you like. You don't have to worry about tax.
It's not £1000 either, the reporting figure is 2000Euros (approx £1700). HMRC are just being given the information. In your case they won't do anything about it. At a guess the worst you'll ever get is an email/letter from HMRC asking you to confirm that you aren't a trader.

As stated above the £1000 is a kind of threshold of trade income. Nothing to do with private sellers

sheramber

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a46259703/vinted-ebay-tax-rules/

New reports say HMRC are planning to clamp down on secondhand shoppers this year, given its boom in popularity, and will be receiving an increased amount of data from selling platforms about how much users are making and the fees they've paid, as well as personal details such as name, address, date of birth and even national insurance number.

Sites likes eBay, Vinted and Depop will now routinely inform HMRC how much people are earning from selling via their sites. "From 1 January this year, [sites] will give HMRC greater visibility of the money people are receiving," says Sarah Hollowell, director of Tax & Trustee Services at Killik & Co. "HMRC will receive the first information returns in January 2025 which gives sellers time to find out whether they need to report anything and to get their affairs in order."

...................

As for the income threshold at which you can start being taxed for selling your old jeans, guidance says it's smart to declare your extra income when it hits £1,000 but that doesn't automatically mean you'll be taxed on it.

Paying tax will start kicking in when you've earned a profit of more than £6,000 from selling goods. However, goods in this instance must fall under the remit of 'personal possessions' – so things you already own and are selling for less than you paid (therefore technically making a loss on), or items you did not purchase with the intent of selling on in order to make a profit.

If you've not sold a personal possession or groups of personal possessions totalling £6,000 or more, HMRC's website says you do not need to declare it.

If you're selling things you've bought deliberately in order to make a profit, the rules change – so take note! – and you're allowed up to £1,000 per year tax free before possibly needing to pay tax.

"Upcycling items or creating new ones to sell could also mean you have a reporting obligation," Hollowell adds. "This is because you are then seen as having a trade (or a business) so could potentially be subject to income tax. In these cases you're allowed up to £1,000 per year before you need to let HMRC know."

As well as listing things online, casual jobs such as babysitting and selling items at car boot sales, are also classed as additional incomes and may be subject to taxation

RFW

GDB2222 said:

Obviously, if you go on from selling your own stuff and start buying clothing to sell on as a business, your tax position will change. I imagine that the £1000 is a limit on how much a small business can sell before the tax people become interested. I’m not sure whether it’s a limit on sales or profit? 

You're correct on it being for traders. It is on turnover. The chances are that anyone hovering around that level on any of the marketplaces won't be earning anything anyway.

Spoonie_Turtle

sheramber said:

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a46259703/vinted-ebay-tax-rules/

...................

As for the income threshold at which you can start being taxed for selling your old jeans, guidance says it's smart to declare your extra income when it hits £1,000 but that doesn't automatically mean you'll be taxed on it.

Paying tax will start kicking in when you've earned a profit of more than £6,000 from selling goods. However, goods in this instance must fall under the remit of 'personal possessions' – so things you already own and are selling for less than you paid (therefore technically making a loss on), or items you did not purchase with the intent of selling on in order to make a profit.

That article is extremely confusing and misleading.

The £1,000 threshold for trading is gross receipts and you MUST register with HMRC if you hit that threshold within a single tax year.

The £6,000 is presumably capital gains?  Which I don't know much about but the gov.uk page says it's only on personal possessions if they're individually worth £6,000 or more, except your car.
https://www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax-personal-possessions
AND it's not automatically something you'll have to pay tax on, only if the taxable amount takes you over the tax threshold.


That article is absolutely shameful in how bad it is, I can hardly believe it was allowed to be published - clearly not one single person involved thought to do a basic, cursory check of the facts.

MissLolly

Thank you everyone! ☺️

Pollycat

so things you already own and are selling for less than you paid (therefore technically making a loss on), or items you did not purchase with the intent of selling on in order to make a profit.

Is the bit in bold accurate?
It applies to all my sales listings on eBay.

Spoonie_Turtle

Pollycat said:

so things you already own and are selling for less than you paid (therefore technically making a loss on), or items you did not purchase with the intent of selling on in order to make a profit.

Is the bit in bold accurate?
It applies to all my sales listings on eBay.

Don't trust ANYthing from that article, go and look on gov.uk instead for accurate info.

Pollycat

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Pollycat said:

so things you already own and are selling for less than you paid (therefore technically making a loss on), or items you did not purchase with the intent of selling on in order to make a profit.

Is the bit in bold accurate?
It applies to all my sales listings on eBay.

Don't trust ANYthing from that article, go and look on gov.uk instead for accurate info.

I've read the MSE article several times.
I've also read the HMRC guide from the link in that article.

It's the first time I've seen those specific words.

I'm pretty clear that I'm not trading as per the HMRC rules on gov.uk:

In order to pay tax on the goods or services you sell online, you either have to be trading or making a capital gain.

If you are just selling some unwanted items that have been laying around your home, such as the contents of a loft or garage, it is unlikely that you will have to pay tax.

If you buy goods for resale, or make goods with the intention of selling them for a profit, then you are likely to be trading and will have to pay tax on your profits.

I don't buy goods for resale or make goods.
I buy items - in my size - from charity shops and wear them.
If - maybe months or even years later - I find another dress or whatever that I like more, I'll either list the now unwanted item on eBay or donate it to a charity shop, depending on the wear and buy-ability of the item.
To me, that is clearing out my old unwanted stuff. Not trading.

I buy silver jewellery items to wear, usually from eBay or on holiday.
I wear them and if I see another piece - maybe months or even years later - that I like more, I'll list the now unwanted item on eBay.
To me, that is clearing out my old unwanted stuff. Not trading.

I'm currently listing a few silver items on eBay, these were bought at least 3 yeas ago so clearly not bought with the intention of selling on.
But will I need to prove that?
And if so, how?