New message from eBay re HMRC reporting

Hoenir

Pollycat said:

And what about gold items?
We all know the price of gold is rising.
I paid £200 for a gold chain 20 years ago.
Scrap price is now £400 and it sells for £425 - more than I paid for it.

One item of a type would suggest that you are not a business. 

soolin

@Pollycat , if you sell a collection or an individual item that total more than £6000 then that’s when CGT comes into play, and for more info on CGT it’s probably best to refer to HMRC guidance if you think that applies to you. You will notice that eBay mention ‘tax’ not ‘income tax’. 

I believe that generally people overlook CGT and concentrate entirely on income tax and that’s where the confusion in some statements occur.

RFW

soolin said:

jeffuk said:

I haven't heard the £6000 figure before.

"We want to give you peace of mind that there’s no new ‘side hustle tax’ or a change to existing tax rules for selling online.

In general, selling personal items is not taxed if they’re below £6,000 and you’re not selling as part of a business."

The £6000 refers to capital gains not income tax.

It's easy enough for someone like me on here to say you won't have to pay tax on selling personal items. For Ebay they have to cover the legalities. They could have worded that better to make it clearer within the sentence. They do explain it further down the page.
Capital gains is more complicated and there are allowances and you also, by definition, need to be making gains.

It's always worth checking with HMRC if anyone's unsure.

noitsnotme

soolin said:

@Pollycat , if you sell a collection or an individual item that total more than £6000 then that’s when CGT comes into play, and for more info on CGT it’s probably best 

Surely it would only be if the profit (the gain) was more than £6000 (£3000 in the new tax year)?  You only pay tax on any gain.

eBays advice is really misleading, it’s no wonder that people with no knowledge of taxes get confused and worried.

Hoenir

noitsnotme said:

soolin said:

@Pollycat , if you sell a collection or an individual item that total more than £6000 then that’s when CGT comes into play, and for more info on CGT it’s probably best 

Surely it would only be if the profit (the gain) was more than £6000 (£3000 in the new tax year)?  You only pay tax on any gain.

eBays advice is really misleading, it’s no wonder that people with no knowledge of taxes get confused and worried.

Not advice per se, More of a warning. If in doubt "Google" has most of the answers. Alternatively seek proper professional advice. 

soolin

noitsnotme said:

soolin said:

@Pollycat , if you sell a collection or an individual item that total more than £6000 then that’s when CGT comes into play, and for more info on CGT it’s probably best 

Surely it would only be if the profit (the gain) was more than £6000 (£3000 in the new tax year)?  You only pay tax on any gain.

eBays advice is really misleading, it’s no wonder that people with no knowledge of taxes get confused and worried.

Capital Gains tax is too complicated to cover in a single sentence, as I said above, if someone wants to check whether they would be subject to CGT it is best to check the HMRC regulations, there are all sorts of exceptions, and write downs to be considered, however £6000 is the point at which CGT currently needs to be considered. Whilst I don't think this is the thread, or the board to get into the ins and outs of CGT, it is quite possible to sell something that originally had no cost and make a profit high enough to reach the tax threshold.

noitsnotme

soolin said:

noitsnotme said:

soolin said:

@Pollycat , if you sell a collection or an individual item that total more than £6000 then that’s when CGT comes into play, and for more info on CGT it’s probably best 

Surely it would only be if the profit (the gain) was more than £6000 (£3000 in the new tax year)?  You only pay tax on any gain.

eBays advice is really misleading, it’s no wonder that people with no knowledge of taxes get confused and worried.

Capital Gains tax is too complicated to cover in a single sentence, as I said above, if someone wants to check whether they would be subject to CGT it is best to check the HMRC regulations, there are all sorts of exceptions, and write downs to be considered, however £6000 is the point at which CGT currently needs to be considered. Whilst I don't think this is the thread, or the board to get into the ins and outs of CGT, it is quite possible to sell something that originally had no cost and make a profit high enough to reach the tax threshold.

I realise that but the average eBay user will read it and think as soon as they’ve sold £6000 worth of personal stuff, they’re going to be charged tax.

soolin

noitsnotme said:

soolin said:

noitsnotme said:

soolin said:

@Pollycat , if you sell a collection or an individual item that total more than £6000 then that’s when CGT comes into play, and for more info on CGT it’s probably best 

Surely it would only be if the profit (the gain) was more than £6000 (£3000 in the new tax year)?  You only pay tax on any gain.

eBays advice is really misleading, it’s no wonder that people with no knowledge of taxes get confused and worried.

Capital Gains tax is too complicated to cover in a single sentence, as I said above, if someone wants to check whether they would be subject to CGT it is best to check the HMRC regulations, there are all sorts of exceptions, and write downs to be considered, however £6000 is the point at which CGT currently needs to be considered. Whilst I don't think this is the thread, or the board to get into the ins and outs of CGT, it is quite possible to sell something that originally had no cost and make a profit high enough to reach the tax threshold.

I realise that but the average eBay user will read it and think as soon as they’ve sold £6000 worth of personal stuff, they’re going to be charged tax.

I think if the average person can't understand the 2nd bit, or even understand it enough to refer to HMRC , just below the headline  then trying to put a statement out that didn't run to a Tolleys tax book for length  trying to explain it isn't going to help. 
The bit I refer to is where it says 

So, you still won’t pay tax unless:

You are ‘trading’ or buying and selling multiple items to try and make a profit or run a business

You sell an asset for more than £6,000 (the level where capital gains tax may apply)

soolin

In fact I think the examples given also explain it well if people don't understand the explanation above.

noitsnotme

soolin said:

noitsnotme said:

soolin said:

noitsnotme said:

soolin said:

@Pollycat , if you sell a collection or an individual item that total more than £6000 then that’s when CGT comes into play, and for more info on CGT it’s probably best 

Surely it would only be if the profit (the gain) was more than £6000 (£3000 in the new tax year)?  You only pay tax on any gain.

eBays advice is really misleading, it’s no wonder that people with no knowledge of taxes get confused and worried.

Capital Gains tax is too complicated to cover in a single sentence, as I said above, if someone wants to check whether they would be subject to CGT it is best to check the HMRC regulations, there are all sorts of exceptions, and write downs to be considered, however £6000 is the point at which CGT currently needs to be considered. Whilst I don't think this is the thread, or the board to get into the ins and outs of CGT, it is quite possible to sell something that originally had no cost and make a profit high enough to reach the tax threshold.

I realise that but the average eBay user will read it and think as soon as they’ve sold £6000 worth of personal stuff, they’re going to be charged tax.

I think if the average person can't understand the 2nd bit, or even understand it enough to refer to HMRC , just below the headline  then trying to put a statement out that didn't run to a Tolleys tax book for length  trying to explain it isn't going to help. 
The bit I refer to is where it says 

So, you still won’t pay tax unless:

You are ‘trading’ or buying and selling multiple items to try and make a profit or run a business

You sell an asset for more than £6,000 (the level where capital gains tax may apply)

We all know there are plenty of eBay users that don’t read everything 🤣

eBay would probably be better off not stating figures that are likely to be misconstrued.