HELP Please, im worried sick.

willowdog9

Hi, I am in the support group on contribution based esa for GAD and depression, i also have ME.  I have had a clear out this year and sold some stuff on vinted.  Made about £280 which i have spent on vinted! Because I have sold 30 things (31 actually) I have had to do a tax return and I'm now worried sick that it will flag something up with DWP and i will be in trouble.  Should i contact dwp and tell them of my sales? Will it trigger an investigation? I dont think i have done anything wrong in selling my own things but  i literally cant sleep at night im so worried. I would not have bothered selling my stuff if i had known i had to do a tax return for such little money, just needed some new clothes, so sold my stuff to get them. Any help or advice would be very welcome, i feel like i have this hanging over me now and i dont know what to do, my anxiety has gone through the roof again. Thanks x

itsthelittlethings

Why have you had to do a tax return if you’ve only made £280?

Do not panic! As I understand it if you are reselling your own stuff and not making a profit, DWP will not care in the slightest.

willowdog9

apparently, if you sell more than 30 things, you have to tell hmrc, regardless of the amount, what im most worried about is how will dwp know i have just sold my own stuff, they always think the worst so im scared stiff they will think i have been "trading".when i have literally just sold my old clothes to buy new ones.

itsthelittlethings

willowdog9 said:

apparently, if you sell more than 30 things, you have to tell hmrc, regardless of the amount, what im most worried about is how will dwp know i have just sold my own stuff, they always think the worst so im scared stiff they will think i have been "trading".when i have literally just sold my old clothes to buy new ones.

I know it’s really hard especially when you suffer from anxiety but even the DWP at their meanest are not going to go after you for £280.

willowdog9

should i contact them and tell them anyway do you think? i dont have anything to hide but they terrify me, my last assesment nearly killed me, literally.

Muttleythefrog

Yes nothing to worry about here. If they query your income from selling things then as you've said here just state it is personal possessions you were selling as one offs namely clothes you no longer need following a clear out. 

willowdog9

thats what im worried about though, them querying it, it will cause me a lot of distress, do you think i should just contact them (as much as that fills me with dread also) and tell them?

itsthelittlethings

You can if you want to but I think it would be a waste of time. They’re 100% not going to query it.

willowdog9

Believe me its the last thing i want to do but im just so worried about what will happen when they get the tax return, i wish i had just made do with my old stuff and not sold anything, i really do. 

BrimfulofSascha

Hi. Don't panic,

Selling personal effects does not count as earned income from a UC perspective.
Below are the rules as stipulated on Vinted site (their own reporting isn't linked to need to report to HMRC)

Selling your personal items on Vinted is generally not taxed.

In the UK, if the money you make on Vinted over a year is less than what you paid for the items, you pay no tax.

The only time that an individual item might be taxable is when you sell it for more than £6,000 and there is a profit from the sale (i.e. it sells for a higher price than you paid for it).

🇬🇧 Check our Tax Rules for the UK page to see examples of how taxes work when selling on Vinted.

The UK reporting rules for digital platforms requires platforms like Vinted to provide sellers’ information to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). If you make a certain amount of sales on Vinted, you’ll need to complete a seller report for HMRC.

Completing a seller report and sharing information doesn’t mean there’s an obligation to pay taxes on your Vinted sales. HMRC reporting also doesn’t require you to do anything new regarding your taxation obligations.

Selling your personal items on Vinted is generally not taxed.

In the UK, if the money you make on Vinted over a year is less than what you paid for the items, you pay no tax.

The only time that an individual item might be taxable is when you sell it for more than £6,000 and there is a profit from the sale (i.e. it sells for a higher price than you paid for it).

🇬🇧 Check our Tax Rules for the UK page to see examples of how taxes work when selling on Vinted.

The UK reporting rules for digital platforms requires platforms like Vinted to provide sellers’ information to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). If you make a certain amount of sales on Vinted, you’ll need to complete a seller report for HMRC.

Completing a seller report and sharing information doesn’t mean there’s an obligation to pay taxes on your Vinted sales. HMRC reporting also doesn’t require you to do anything new regarding your taxation obligations.

Do I need to complete a report?

If you don’t hear from us, you don’t need to do anything!

If you reach the thresholds for reporting, we’ll reach out to you by the end of the year. There’s no need to contact us if you reach the thresholds earlier in the year.

Reporting criteria

We’ll automatically contact you if you meet at least one of the following:

• Completed 30 sales or more within the calendar year
• Sold over €2000 (~£1,700) within the calendar year

Even if you meet one of these criteria and complete a seller report, it doesn’t mean you’re obliged to pay taxes, as selling your personal items is generally not taxed.

Spoonie_Turtle

The reporting thresholds are just so HMRC can more easily catch people who are trading (buying or making things to sell, not selling their own stuff) without having registered.

You are not trading.  Even if you were (which you're not), you are nowhere near the £1,000 threshold at which a trader would need to register, so HMRC really truly will not be interested.  At all. 

Since HMRC will not be interested in the slightest, they certainly won't flag you to DWP.

I do understand the worry with DWP because they can mess things up and cause stress and hardship before it all gets sorted in the end.  But it is clear-cut in your case, there is no logical reason at all that HMRC would flag you to DWP in the first place.