I assume you need to pay tax on the money received after selling things on ebay?

[punchandjudy]

But how do you go about it?

It depends what you are selling. If it is your own things that you just dont want any more then you dont have to pay tax.

If you are doing it as a trader (ie buying stuff and then selling it at a profit) then yes, I think you just tell HMRC and they will send you a tax return at the end of the year, so you need to keep a record of all incomings and outgoings (with receipts)

If you are selling stuff like ond baby clothes and maternity stuff that you have used and no longer need then I don't think you are liable

you don't for selling items you've used yourself.

However you would just have to register as self employed and complete a tax return each year.

If you are doing it as a business ie then you would need to pay income tax on your profits. It is unlikely you would fall into this category, unless you are selling a lot of the same item that you had to buy elsewhere before you sold them on ebay. If you are, you should register as self employed and complete a tax return each year.

If it is items you already had, and then sold them at a loss, you have no tax to pay. If you had items and sold them at a profit, you could need to pay capital gains tax, but there is an exemption of (I think) about £9,000 before you need to pay any tax. If this is the case, I would get in touch with the Inland Revenue and see what they say.

It is unlikely that the majority of private sellers would need to pay any tax on their ebay sales.

Just having a clear out so loads of ds' clothes, some shoes and handbags of mine, unwanted gifts etc.

Hoping to make enough to put towards next years holiday..just didn't know if you had to pay tax on it.

Go about what?

Your post suggest you are just selling old stuff you no longer want - not buying stuff to sell on (ie trading).

Sorry - flipped this thread the wrong way!

P&J. It is a question of fact and degree as to whether what you are doing amounts to a trade. If it is just a one off clear off (even over a couple of months) of old clothes and gifts etc then you should not be regarded as trading and there should not be any need to pay tax.