Sales figure wrong. Ebay HMRC reporting.

GrahamLM52

I've received a message that I need to update my details (NI number) as I have reached the giddy heights of selling £1740 in a calendar year. I wish I had. I have sold goods worth £579.51.

Even if I add all my Sales to the total value of all the items I am currecntly listing I can't get to £1740!

I have tried using the Help facility to get in touch with a human at Ebay but can't seem to find how to communicate with anyone at Ebay. Thh Chat Bot is of no use.

Any suggestions?

MyRealNameToo

Are you including the P&P and the ebay fees in your calcs?

GrahamLM52

Yep, including everything. Even if I add the value of items I listed that failed to sell I cannot get to £1740.

Ah.... Just spotted this on the Ebay and HMRC sites: If you complete 30 or more sales transaction you will be reported to HMRC, So it's probably that that triggered it as I just sold my 31st item today.

savergrant

Check your ebay sales history to make sure you haven't passed £1000 in the financial year 24/25 or 25/26. If you have you need to register for self-assessment and report your takings and profit to HMRC

soolin

savergrant said:

Check your ebay sales history to make sure you haven't passed £1000 in the financial year 24/25 or 25/26. If you have you need to register for self-assessment and report your takings and profit to HMRC

This is wrong, why would any private seller need to register as self employed , there’s nothing in the OP that suggests OP is a business seller.?

Theres plenty of threads about it already, plus eBay and HMRC have provided clarification about the differences between private and business sellers. Also the tax rules haven’t even changed, business sellers have always been required to report earning, private sellers don’t. 

RFW

savergrant said:

Check your ebay sales history to make sure you haven't passed £1000 in the financial year 24/25 or 25/26. If you have you need to register for self-assessment and report your takings and profit to HMRC

As Soolin says this is incorrect. Sellers selling their own personal items don't need to declare as a business, they aren't one. As the OP says, they're under £1000 anyway.
For the OP, as I understand, it isn't just Ebay, it's any marketplace, so Ebay, Amazon, Airbnb, etc.. If the message is just from Ebay, could it be that there is someone else at your address selling on Ebay? 
If all they want is your NI number then you can give it to them. If HMRC get in touch you can contact them and let them know you're a private seller, assuming you are.

soolin

RFW said:

savergrant said:

Check your ebay sales history to make sure you haven't passed £1000 in the financial year 24/25 or 25/26. If you have you need to register for self-assessment and report your takings and profit to HMRC

As Soolin says this is incorrect. Sellers selling their own personal items don't need to declare as a business, they aren't one. As the OP says, they're under £1000 anyway.
For the OP, as I understand, it isn't just Ebay, it's any marketplace, so Ebay, Amazon, Airbnb, etc.. If the message is just from Ebay, could it be that there is someone else at your address selling on Ebay? 
If all they want is your NI number then you can give it to them. If HMRC get in touch you can contact them and let them know you're a private seller, assuming you are.

The OP added a post later saying they had breached the '31' sales part of the reporting mechanism.

Despite most of the online sites issuing guidelines, some belter that others admittedly, and HMRC clarifying the position there is still a lot of misinformation out there. 

GrahamLM52

My fault as I did not read the message properly. All I saw was the "sales exceeding £1740 figure". If I'd read the entire message instead of jumping to conclusions I would have seen:

"We're getting in touch to let you know about the UK digital sales reporting law. This law requires marketplaces like eBay to collect and report seller information if you meet one of these thresholds: 30 or more sales, or sales exceeding £1740 in a calendar year.

Since you've reached this threshold, please update your account by providing your National Insurance number".

A quick check on my account and, yes, I'd just sold my 31st item this year.

RFW

soolin said:

The OP added a post later saying they had breached the '31' sales part of the reporting mechanism.

Despite most of the online sites issuing guidelines, some belter that others admittedly, and HMRC clarifying the position there is still a lot of misinformation out there. 

I get it more now. I'd assumed the figure was wrong but the £1740 is 2000Euros in sterling which is the threshold. 
For new viewers(!) the threshold for reporting is over 30 items or the equivalent of 2000 Euros, whichever comes first. Also, no sellers selling their own items need to worry about this. 
This is one of the few occasions lately that I'm happy to be a business seller!

GadgetGuru

Uploading your NI details doesn't automatically mean you will be liable for tax, or even contacted by HMRC. eBay are just doing what they are required to do by law. If they are rightly private sales and you are a private seller then you should be fine, even if contacted by HMRC. Upload your Ni number, and continue selling as normal. Genuine private sellers not trading should have nothing to worry about. 

messia07

GadgetGuru said:

Uploading your NI details doesn't automatically mean you will be liable for tax, or even contacted by HMRC. eBay are just doing what they are required to do by law. If they are rightly private sales and you are a private seller then you should be fine, even if contacted by HMRC. Upload your Ni number, and continue selling as normal. Genuine private sellers not trading should have nothing to worry about. 

I just don’t understand how we’re meant to prove that we are selling our own items?  I don’t have receipts for old or secondhand items.