Tax and N.I. Ebay

petunia100

So I have a banner on my private account telling me to give Ebay my N.I. and Tax info. Why should I when I am a private seller only selling things and clothes that I no longer want? Although I have sold more than 30 items in the last year, they are all small amounts and totall approx. £500 in the last year and a lot less in actual profit. I don't know what my profit is anyway as I don't keep accounts. I thought that you only had to declare these details if your profit was over a £1,000 per year.
Why should I give Ebay highly sensitive info about me, which I believe could put me at risk of identity theft if there was a data breach? 
Can anyone advise me please?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

petunia100 said:

So I have a banner on my private account telling me to give Ebay my N.I. and Tax info. Why should I when I am a private seller only selling things and clothes that I no longer want? Although I have sold more than 30 items in the last year, they are all small amounts and totall approx. £500 in the last year and a lot less in actual profit. I don't know what my profit is anyway as I don't keep accounts. I thought that you only had to declare these details if your profit was over a £1,000 per year.
Why should I give Ebay highly sensitive info about me, which I believe could put me at risk of identity theft if there was a data breach? 
Can anyone advise me please?

Your post is very contradictory.

Are you just selling personal belongings you no longer need?

Or are you trading?  If you aren't trading then what on earth makes you refer to profit and accounts 🤔

MSE_James

MSE has a guide here which may be relevant: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-online-declare-tax/

petunia100

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

petunia100 said:

So I have a banner on my private account telling me to give Ebay my N.I. and Tax info. Why should I when I am a private seller only selling things and clothes that I no longer want? Although I have sold more than 30 items in the last year, they are all small amounts and totall approx. £500 in the last year and a lot less in actual profit. I don't know what my profit is anyway as I don't keep accounts. I thought that you only had to declare these details if your profit was over a £1,000 per year.
Why should I give Ebay highly sensitive info about me, which I believe could put me at risk of identity theft if there was a data breach? 
Can anyone advise me please?

Your post is very contradictory.

Are you just selling personal belongings you no longer need?

Or are you trading?  If you aren't trading then what on earth makes you refer to profit and accounts 🤔

I am not trading so I'm wondering why I am being asked for my tax details? That is why I don't have accounts.That is why I'm referring to profit.

GadgetGuru

Just provide your NI number. That doesnt necessarily mean you will be automatically liable for tax. 
Some of the items I sell can be expensive (IT or camera stuff Im clearing from my stash of stuff that I rarely use!). This year so far my balance is at £2300 - so over the threshold already, although as Im a private seller and these are single one-off items (never sold multiples of the same item etc) I'm not too worried......

Spoonie_Turtle

petunia100 said:

So I have a banner on my private account telling me to give Ebay my N.I. and Tax info. Why should I when I am a private seller only selling things and clothes that I no longer want? Although I have sold more than 30 items in the last year, they are all small amounts and totall approx. £500 in the last year and a lot less in actual profit. I don't know what my profit is anyway as I don't keep accounts. I thought that you only had to declare these details if your profit was over a £1,000 per year.
Why should I give Ebay highly sensitive info about me, which I believe could put me at risk of identity theft if there was a data breach? 
Can anyone advise me please?

If you are trading then the £1,000 threshold for reporting is based on gross receipts not profit.  But obviously you would only potentially be taxed on profit.

If you're not trading then you don't need to report anything to HMRC.  You do still need to comply with what eBay request of you though in order to continue using their platform.

soolin

As per Spoonie_Turtle everyone needs to give these details as HMRC can then allocate your sales to your tax account. However if you aren’t trading then you have nothing to fear.

if you prefer not to give these details then I would suggest you pull any remaining money from eBay as they will likely suspend your account at some point  until you comply . Your sales will be reported regardless if they exceed the reportable limit without an NI number it just means it will take HMRC a bit of effort, perhaps manually checking rather than allowing a simple BOT programme to do it. 

petunia100

I have not got a shop. Think I would rather stop selling if I have to give out my highly sensitive data.

petunia100

TimeLord1 said:

soolin said:

TimeLord1 said:

Quick question: are you paying monthly for a shop as a private seller? 

I don’t see that OP mentioned a shop at all and I can’t see it being cost effective if they were on their level of sales they mention. Both business and private sellers can have eBay shops, so it is immaterial anyway. 

You would be surprised how many there are; many did so after the vouchers for packaging materials and better options for selling. 

He also stated more than 30 items in the last year? That would be January depending on whenever he joined. But how many more than the 30 items again he could be way over?

I have been selling since 2014. So when is the year end for ebay?

TimeLord1

This reporting requirement came into effect in January 2024 and applies to all digital platforms, including eBay, in the UK For new customers and existing customers, it started in January 2025. So as you're over the 30 items now, eBay will share that with HMRC. And are requesting your NI details as required.


Anything you sold previously from 2014 selling personal items wouldn't count; only buying to sell for profit activity would be classed as trading and require you to submit a self-assessment once the £1000 pounds was passed.

AndrewJB

Digital platforms are required to ask for the information if certain thresholds are breached. Here's the press release from HMRC: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/no-tax-changes-for-online-sellers