Ebay and tax

[Nanodust]

Does anyone know whether you need to declare money made on EBay?
I’ve had a massive clear out and I mean massive. I’ve been hoarding things clothes and accessories for years but I’m in a much better place now and selling over 50% off my stuff on EBay. Whilst a lot is being sold for a lot less than I bought it for, therefore I am not making any profit I am generating money from the sales.
I haven’t bought anything especially to sell or made anything, just stuff from my wardrobe. I’m a bit worried as I’ve now generated 1.5k over the last 8 months. I also have some more things to sell as a final declutter.
Do I need to declare this or pay tax? I don’t want to get in trouble but equally I am not selling on a regular basis and I am not making any profit as items are selling for a lot less than I bought them for. Does anyone know?

Google Capital Gains tax.

If you buy and sell as a business it's a different matter I should think.

That looks completely fine to me, assuming you're in the UK.

I sell on ebay things bought specifically to sell and declare the profits (sale price minus RRP) made doing that to HMRC as part of my income.

If you had somehow made extraordinary profits of thousands then there could have been capital gains but that's not relevant here.

Thank you, I only list occasionally but this time I’ve listed over 50items. None were bought to sell, most have been worn by me and gathered over the last 10 years.

I plan to list the rest which will probably at most only be another £100or so, however I just don’t want to be breaking any tax rules.
I’m in the uK.
So far, whilst I have generated money, I’ve not made any profit. Regrettably I’ve probably lost against original price I paid- I’m working in this and am no longer comfort buying.... The whole selling things on EBay is part of my getting better process

You'll only be taxed if you are "trading", i.e. buying or making things to sell. It's all about intention. If you're just selling off your own personal possession, you're absolutely fine. (Unless you sell something really valuable for a profit, like an antique watch etc where capital gains tax may come into force).

HMRC won't be interested if your listings are obviously things you could reasonably have as an individual's possessions, i.e. a wide variety of clothes, DVDs, ornaments, etc. It's only when you start "looking like" a trader that you'll draw their attention, i.e. lots of stuff listed as "new", or multiple items of the same things, i.e. several listings for the same dress, or things which look suspiciously like a business, such as the same dress of pairs of shoes in several different sizes. HMRC are on the lookout for what looks like "trading" and aren't interested in people just selling off old/unwanted stuff.

If it's your own stuff then you don't need to declare. Also, I'm pretty sure the current government brought in a £1000 per year allowance for small traders/airbnbers/etc where you don't need to include annual earnings below that amount.

Ah no, apparently that was quietly dropped! Shame.
www.telegraph.co.uk/tax/income-tax/government-quietly-drops-ebay-airbnb-tax-break/

AFAIK if you are selling your own second hand things that you don't want any longer, that's fine. Buying to resell on Ebay is totally differnet.

Hi OP - As discusses no need to worry, as you’re selling your own stuff there is no need to declare the income or pay tax.

Things only change is you start buying stuff with the intention of selling it on.

The only thing I would watch out for is ebay deciding that you’re now a business seller, and then in theory the HMRC could ask for your records and if you are listed as a business by eBay then the HMRC will expect you to declare the income. However the chances of the HMRC stumbling across your account, even if ebay did change it, are slim to none. They just look for large sale businesses that aren’t declaring.
And besides from the sales info you’ve provided I can’t see ebay wanting to change your account over, you really need to be selling over 100 items a month as a rule of thumb before your account gets flagged up.

Thank you for all the advice. I’m selling less than 100 items a year I think.
Also, not everything sells anyway 🙂

For many years I had a "me page" on Ebay that explained tax for sellers
the final incarnation of it was backed up here
talkinpeace2.blogspot.co.uk/

What you are selling are "chattels" so outside the scope of tax