Retired and selling privately -small volume- on eBay - any TAX implications?

NeverOutOfWork

My missus and myself are retired, receive State Pensions and have sold some collectables from our own collections on eBay over the last 12 months or so. Is there a limit which we need to stay below to avoid tax implications ?  Combined we would not be anywhere near £4k per annum.
Thank you for any advice.

Brie

There's something about a £1k limit per person but I don't know if that applies if you are simply selling off bits and pieces.  I would take care if SP is otherwise your only income and you might be eligible for pension credit as well as that is worth much more than the extra income it might bring.  

soolin

There is no income tax liability for selling off your own unwanted items. 

Spoonie_Turtle

Brie said:

There's something about a £1k limit per person but I don't know if that applies if you are simply selling off bits and pieces.  I would take care if SP is otherwise your only income and you might be eligible for pension credit as well as that is worth much more than the extra income it might bring.  

Just for clarity, any money from selling off unwanted personal possessions would count as capital for Pension Credit, not income.

[If they both have full or fairly full state pensions then they would very likely not qualify for SP, as the couple amount for that is c.£350/wk - but if in doubt they should do a benefits calculation to be sure.]

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/benefits-entitlements/benefits-calculator/
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/
https://benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk/

Brie

soolin said:

There is no income tax liability for selling off your own unwanted items. 

But does it count as income in a way that it might effect pension credit?  or is it the same as using money in a savings account??

Spoonie_Turtle

Posted simultaneously, no it doesn't - see above

kimwp

When would capital gains be applicable - what id the collectibles have grown in value?

kimwp

https://www.saga.co.uk/money-news/decluttering-uncovered?srsltid=AfmBOopD6GOXm4zmjW1q6Jx8kwuGbNu9mpQlvsmvJBmc94WAYEdPLsbw

Maybe not

Spoonie_Turtle

https://www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax

You pay Capital Gains Tax on the gain when you sell (or ‘dispose of’):

• most personal possessions worth £6,000 or more, apart from your car
• property that’s not your main home
• your main home if you’ve let it out, used it for business or it’s very large
• any shares that are not in an ISA or PEP
• business assets

These are known as ‘chargeable assets’.

NeverOutOfWork

Zero chance of Pension Credit or anything else, we worked all our lives, own our own home and have a small private pension plus modest savings and zero debt.

VERY many thanks to all for the replies, much appreciated, none of what we've sold or may yet sell would be in any way captured by the list provided by Spoonie-Turtle directly above.

THANK YOU

TimeLord1

The limit on sales before Ebay report to HMRC is 30 items about £1740 (2000 Euros).

Most sellers, even if they have given their NI number to Ebay will find that Ebay has reported their sales as they are legally obligated to do if exceeded the above totals.

You can check to see if your details have been forwarded to HMRC  here.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/mes/transaction-reports?q=tax

Check if you need to tell HMRC about additional income.


https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/guidance/check-non-paye-income/start/how-did-you-receive-additional-income

Guidance HMRC
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-need-to-tell-hmrc-about-your-income-from-online-platforms