Key points
- Since 1 January 2024, online platforms collect sellers' details and sales figures and send them to HMRC every year. The first reports reached HMRC in January 2025.
- A report does not mean you owe tax. Selling your own unwanted things is usually tax-free. Buying or making things to sell is trading, and trading income is taxable.
- If your trading income is over £1,000 a year, register for Self Assessment by 5 October after the end of the tax year.
- If you do nothing, HMRC can work out the tax from the platforms' data and collect it from you. Filing your own return keeps you in control.
What platforms report
Under rules agreed by OECD countries, platforms such as eBay, Vinted, Etsy, Depop and Airbnb must check who their sellers are and report them to the tax authority each January, for the previous calendar year. In the UK the report goes to HMRC.
- Your name, address and date of birth
- Your National Insurance number or UTR
- The number of sales you made
- The total you were paid, each quarter
- The fees and commissions the platform kept
- Your bank account details
A platform does not have to report a seller who made fewer than 30 sales and was paid no more than €2,000 (about £1,700) in the year. Above either figure, you are reported.
HMRC matches these reports with the tax returns and payroll records it already holds. When someone has regular platform income and no return, HMRC writes to them. In 2024 and 2025 many sellers received exactly these letters.
A clear-out or trading?
This is the key question. HMRC itself says that people who are just selling their own unwanted belongings do not usually pay tax on them. The tax position depends on what you sell and why, not on how much the platform reports.
Usually not taxable
- Clothes, toys or furniture you bought for yourself and no longer need
- Selling them for less than you paid
- A one-off clear-out, for example before a move
Usually trading
- Buying things in order to sell them at a profit
- Making things to sell: crafts, prints, cakes
- Selling regularly, in volume, in an organised way
HMRC decides using the "badges of trade": why you bought the item, how often you sell, whether you improve or repair items before selling, and whether you act like a business. No single point decides it.
Anna sells her own wardrobe on Vinted: 45 items for £1,200, all for less than she paid. She will appear in Vinted's report because she made more than 30 sales, but this is not trading and she owes no tax. Her friend Kate buys clothes at charity shops and resells them on Vinted for £1,200 a year. That is trading, and because it is over £1,000 she must register for Self Assessment.
A single personal item sold for more than £6,000, such as jewellery or a painting, can carry Capital Gains Tax even when it is not trading. Cars are exempt.
The £1,000 trading allowance
Everyone has a £1,000 trading allowance each tax year. If your total trading income, before any costs, is £1,000 or less, you do not need to tell HMRC or pay tax on it.
If it is more than £1,000, you must register for Self Assessment by 5 October after the end of the tax year (the tax year ends on 5 April). On your return you choose what is better for you: deduct £1,000 from your income, or deduct your actual costs, such as the price you paid for the stock, postage and platform fees.
Two ways to pay: control or be controlled
If you are employed and your extra income is small, you have two practical routes.
You file a Self Assessment return
- You see exactly how the tax is calculated.
- You claim the trading allowance or your real costs.
- You can pay in instalments through a monthly payment plan, so nothing builds up.
- You have tax calculations and a record of your income, which lenders and estate agents ask for when you buy a home.
HMRC works it out for you
- You phone HMRC, or HMRC uses the platforms' data.
- HMRC may collect the tax by changing your tax code, so more tax comes out of your salary until it is paid.
- You save on an accountant's fee.
- But HMRC works from its own figures, your costs may not be taken into account, and it is harder to prove this income later.
HMRC's own rule is that self-employed people with income over £1,000 should file a return. Even where HMRC agrees to collect the tax through your tax code, a return means you decide, rather than HMRC deciding for you.
Letters you must not ignore
The most common problem we see is not the tax itself, but letters that never reach the person. People move house and forget to update their address with HMRC. Letters asking for tax go to the old address, the debt grows with interest and penalties, and HMRC moves to debt recovery.
If a tax debt goes unpaid, HMRC can take court action. A county court judgment is recorded on a public register and can harm your credit rating, which matters when you apply for a mortgage or a loan. Many people only find out at that point.
Check your address in your HMRC online account today. It takes two minutes.
Amazon sellers
Amazon is a different story. Selling on Amazon is almost always a business from the start: you register a seller account as a trader, and the account checks your identity and turnover. VAT is closely managed there too. For VAT and selling abroad, read our guide on VAT for Amazon, eBay and Shopify sellers.
A real story
One of our students told us about friends who sell on eBay. They do not want to register for Self Assessment or file returns. HMRC already receives eBay's report, sends them a calculation at the end of the year and collects the tax.
They do not see how the tax is calculated, their costs are not deducted, and they will struggle to prove this income when they need to, for example for a mortgage.
Do you control your taxes, or do they control you?
Our own clients do not receive these letters, because we raise this at the first consultation: we work out whether it is trading, register them where needed and file their returns on time.
Check your position
General guidance, not advice for your situation. Tax depends on your other income.
What to prepare before your consultation
To give you the right answer, we need the whole picture. Tick off what you have:
0 of 5 ready
One piece of advice
Keep an eye on your taxes and do not assume nobody sees these sales. Many people got used to not declaring them for years, but the platforms now report to HMRC every year, and HMRC will see this income anyway. Do not ignore it: it is better to file a Self Assessment return.
Test yourself
1. You sold 40 of your own old clothes on Vinted for £900. What happens?
Over 30 sales means Vinted reports you, but selling your own unwanted things is not trading.
2. You buy and resell trainers, and earned £1,800 this tax year. What must you do?
This is trading income over £1,000, so you need to register and file a return.
3. Trading income £3,200, real costs £700. What is the lowest taxable profit?
The £1,000 allowance is better than £700 of costs: £3,200 − £1,000 = £2,200.
4. You moved and did not update your address with HMRC. What is the risk?
Letters go to the old address, and you may only find out when the debt reaches court.
Law and sources
- The Platform Operators (Due Diligence and Reporting Requirements) Regulations 2023UK rules for platforms reporting sellers to HMRC, from 1 January 2024
- HMRC: selling goods or services on a digital platformWhat is reported, thresholds, and personal possessions
- Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, Part 7AThe £1,000 trading allowance
- Taxes Management Act 1970, section 7Telling HMRC about new income by 5 October
- HMRC Business Income Manual BIM20205The "badges of trade": is it trading?
- Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, section 262Personal possessions sold for £6,000 or less
- HMRC: check if you need to send a Self Assessment tax returnSelf-employed income over £1,000
This guide explains the rules in general terms as at 4 October 2026. It is not advice for your situation. Rules change.
