Do I need to declare my earnings from Vinted?
Many of us earn a little extra cash by selling clothing and items we no longer want or need, and recently there has been some speculation around what the HMRC rules on this mean. As usual there’s a lot of misinformation and panic-mongering out there so we’re going to try and clear things up a little for you. As ever, if you’re in doubt, always check with HMRC before you check with anyone else as you are guaranteed to get the correct information from them and not somebody’s own interpretation of the rules.
Firstly this is not a new rule, all that has changed is that platform operators will be required to share information with HMRC. The rules around this are as follows (taken straight from the HMRC website):
Digital platform operators in the UK will report your details and your income from selling goods or services on their platform to HMRC. They need to collect this information yearly and send to HMRC by the following January. For example, information collected about you between 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 will be reported to HMRC by 31 January 2025. They will also give you a copy of the reported information. This can help if you have to make tax returns.
Your details will not be reported if you:
make fewer than 30 sales of goods
receive less than 2,000 euros (about £1,700) for those sales
HMRC will share your information with your country’s tax authority if you live in another country that follows these rules.
So if you make more than 30 sales or have sales over £1,700 then you should declare this income to HMRC. Even then, it’s not a given that you’ll have to pay tax. To pay tax you must either be trading or making a capital gain.
In general, if you’re just selling things here and there then it’s unlikely you will have to pay Income Tax on these sales as you probably won’t make £1,700 from these sales, however, depending on what you sell and how much you sell them for, you may have to pay Capital Gains Tax if an item is worth more than £6,000. For example, if you sold an antique vase or a rare book for more than £6,000 then this will probably be liable for Capital Gains Tax.
If you sell an item for profit, then you should declare this income to HMRC. So if you bought a painting for £1,000 ten years ago and you want to sell it and the current market value is £10,000 then you should declare this profit to HMRC.
If it is not just casual selling you are doing, then you may need to tell HMRC about the income you make from online sales. For example, if you buy clothing from thrift shops or charities with the aim of upcycling and selling on for a profit then this income should be declared to HMRC.
Have a think about what your doing too, in most cases this can probably fall into two categories.
Getting rid of unwanted items to bring in a few extra pounds. You wouldn’t be liable to pay tax on this.
Purposely buying or acquiring goods to sell on at a profit. This is the makings of a business with the aim of making a capital gain, so it would be likely that you would have to declare this income to HMRC.
This is a simplification but it gives you the general idea. I don’t think any of us are going to have to pay tax if we want to get a few pounds from selling some clothes we no longer need or unwanted Christmas gifts on Vinted.
Remember though, if unsure, always check with HMRC.