Selling on ebay

I have an ebay account used primarily to dispose of surplus household, diy, and other personal items (invariably for less than we paid for them), along with sales of similar items on behalf of family and friends who don't use ebay, and stuff we inherited from my late parents (proceeds split with my siblings). The probability is that sales from my account will exceed £1000 for the current and next couple of tax years. This is largely because we are selling a lot of items we have bought over the years for our (drawn-out!) house renovation but ultimately didn’t use, and because we plan to downsize in the near future. Unfortunately, as none of it was bought with the intention of selling, I have very few receipts. What I want to ascertain is whether the £1000 annual tax-free limit relates to profit or simply the total value of sales? I hope it is not the latter, as it would seem very unfair to have to pay tax on the proceeds from selling things bought new and upon which we are effectively making a loss.

Hi,

The £1000 applies to sales and turnover. If you claim this, you cannot claim any other expenses.

Please refer to:

Tax-free allowances on property and trading income

Thank you.

Thank you for your reply. However, I am not trading, simply disposing of surplus possessions. As I stated, the vast majority of items will be sold at a loss. Surely I cannot be liable for tax on such sales?

Hi John B54,
If your turnover is over £1000 per tax year you will need to declare this.
You can only claim actual expenses for the items you are selling if you have receipts for all of them.
Otherwise it would be the trading allowance of £1000 that would be allowable and anything above this would be liable to tax.
Thnak you. 

 

Hi. We downsized to a park home and I have been forced by my wife to sell stuff I've collected over the years as room is limited. I have sold things on eBay like my books, medals, toys, my two watches, photos and some household items. everything I am selling is my is my "JUNK" some items I've made a profit others a loss. I took early retirement and only get my private works pension which is under £10k p.a. and nothing else. From 1 Jan 2024 I've sold well over 30 items and made less than £6k up to now selling my own personal items and household stuff we have no room for. I am a private seller on eBay and wondered if I have to register with HMRC as a trader and if so how do I go about doing it or do I wait until HMRC contacts me at the end of the year. I know I am over the limit of 30 items a year and the £6k but I'm "NOT" buying stuff to sell on I'm just trying to get money back on the stuff I've collected over the past years. Hope someone can put my mind at reast. Thanks

Hi. I forgot to mention in my post that I've been selling my "JUNK" on eBay for the past 2 years since we downsized......nothing has been bought to resell its just stuff taking much needed room. Thanks.

Hi,

You can find guidance here:

Selling online and paying taxes - information sheet

Thank you.