Do I have to complete a tax return?

Spoonie_Turtle

bizzle789 said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

What are you selling?  (Edit: I'm not asking specifically, I mean the type(s) of items as set out in the question below.)

You say old items at a loss, and some items for a profit.  Are the latter also old personal possessions, or are they items you've bought to resell?

The £1,250 made was from selling artwork and other crafts for a profit. It was a side hustle to make a bit of cash basically.

I don't consider selling my old used items as a side hustle since I'm not making profit off them because I'm at a loss.

Profit still isn't really relevant.  Were they things you made to sell, or things you've owned for yourself (or made sometime in the past, before thinking about selling)?

If you made them to sell, or bought them to resell, then yes you'd have to declare to HMRC since it will count as trading.


Selling your old used things won't count regardless of whether you made a profit or loss, as it's not trading.

RFW

bizzle789 said:

RFW said:

If you're a business and turn over more than £1000 in a 12 month period you need to declare tax.

A business (crudely) is seen as someone who buys or makes items to resell. Profit is irrelevant to whether you should declare. Having a job, or not, is also irrelevant.

If you're selling items that you have used yourself and that you purchased to use with no intention to sell them then you are not a business and don't have to declare anything for tax purposes (with the possible exception of capital gains tax on very high amounts).

So I would only declare £1,250 in my tax return? Am I also correct in saying I don't pay any tax on it because I haven't earned over £12,570?

I'm by no means a tax expert but it looks like you wouldn't have to pay anything. Declaring tax doesn't mean you have to pay it. I'd guess it was probably a high proportion of people and companies who declare tax that don't actually pay any. Losses can often be set off against future profits too.

From what I see on here the people who worry about tax are the ones who wouldn't have anything to pay.

bizzle789 said:

The £1,250 made was from selling artwork and other crafts for a profit. It was a side hustle to make a bit of cash basically.

From what I'm reading you're buying or making stuff to sell. It could be that this is also old stuff you've had in your house that you bought to keep but also thought you may one day earn money on it?

LITRG

Hello. We are the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG), part of the Chartered Institute of Taxation who are an educational charity. We are not part of HMRC or MSE. Although we can’t give individual advice, you might find our website information about whether there is a requirement to register for a tax return when you have no tax to pay useful: https://www.litrg.org.uk/tax-nic/how-tax-collected/self-assessment-and-tax-returns/who-has-complete-tax-return#4. If you require further help, we recommend that you contact a tax adviser, HMRC or one of the tax charities where relevant. You can find more information about where to get help with tax here: https://www.litrg.org.uk/tax-nic/getting-help-tax. Thanks.