HMRC DONT BELIEVE WHAT THE MEDIA AND SOME PEOPLE ARE SAYING

[jackstackcornwall]

some media outlets and miss informed people are spreading the word that the Tax man is after you ,no they are not, scare mongering is doing the job it self ,its nothing to worry about , the tax people only know what you tell them and as long as you are an honest seller and do your tax return from the details on your ebay then you have nothing to worry about  the fear is far worse than the truth 

[*vyolla*]

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@jackstackcornwall wrote:

 the tax people only know what you tell them

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They'll know what eBay and the other selling platforms tell them.

Starting 1st Jan 2024 eBay will pass on data to HMRC automatically if you're selling 30 or more items a year OR have total earnings over the equivalent of £1,770. eBay will automatically share this information with HMRC by 31 January 2025.

Even though the above data is being shared, it doesn't mean that you will owe tax if you're a private seller.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/account/regulatory/uk-digital-sales-reporting?id=5454&st=3&pos=1&query=U...

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@jackstackcornwall wrote:

 as long as you are an honest seller and do your tax return from the details on your ebay then you have nothing to worry about  the fear is far worse than the truth 

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Yes, spot on.

[floral.lines.supplies]

But a lot of private are trading as businesses and going well over, they have very little paper trails and don't keep simple bookkeeping and may not paying the correct taxes....these are the accounts that are most scaried. Seen a private account who has made over 3k in one month and sold nearly 500 items in that month....clearly running a business and sounded worried.

If you're selling your dust covered tat from under the bed....you have nothing to worry about!

[simplyessential_uk]

what a strange post!!  Obviously honest sellers have nothing to worry about, but thats not what is being reported in the media and on forums.  Its those who are using selling platforms (ebay, etsy etc)  delivery companies (just eat, deliveroo etc) to earn extra money ontop of their benefits or not declaring their income to HMRC as a business (if over the allowance) this is not scaremongering its always been the case, but now companies are compelled by law to give details to HMRC if requested,  whereas before it they didnt need to be comply with.

the tax people only know what you tell them -  True to an extent if its "cash" transactions but online platforms are digital (money in and out of bank accounts) not something you could "hide" if audited. Granted, HMRC are less likely to audit a digital platform business but certainly wouldnt take my chances, tax evasion is not taken lightly.

[the_book_seekers]

It will do no harm for all sellers to know exactly what HMRC is doing. Fore-warned it fore-armed. 

[myriad*seller]

eBay will be sending all sellers sales data to HMRC if you sell over 30 items, or items above a certain value. 

It's not a myth, it WILL happen. 

Many sellers masquerading as private sellers are in for a big shock.

HMRC will look into past sales data too, if they find someone failing to declare their income correctly. 

eBay has digital records of all sales every seller has made, so these can and will be shared with HMRC. HMRC can also ask for past sales data, so some sellers are in for a BIG tax bill and penalties. 

[floral.lines.supplies]

HMRC can go back decades if they think tax evasion or fraud has been commited. Some sellers have a reason to be worried, especially those running businesses and not doing their self assessments.

[iew-signed-books]

With the greatest of respect, you haven't a clue about what you are posting. It is far, far more complex than that, and to state such things on a public forum is both naive and potentially harmful.

[myriad*seller]

I don't think OP has taken on board the new changes eBay and HMRC have made

eBay WILL be reporting all sales data to HMRC, whether sellers like it or not

They WILL know how much you have sold online.

If people do not submit self assessment returns they will be chased by HMRC for payment for taxes owed. You cannot hide. eBay will give all sales data to HMRC, and you will be required to pay the correct taxes, regardless of what you put on your tax return (or don't) as all sales data will be sent to HMRC by eBay. 

[plpmr]

"some media outlets and miss informed people"

Indeed, such as -

"the tax people only know what you tell them"

[simplyessential_uk]

I think their comment "the tax people only know what you tell them" Is jaw droppingly naive... I know Ebay is a cashless site, so harder to be "creative" with the book keeping,  especially as money is traced in and out of bank accounts so to think HMRC only know what you tell them is a strange thing to announce.  I know of 4 people this year under a review for claiming furlough payments during Covid, granted they are B&M but  HMRC are desperate to claw back as much money as they can at the moment (and pay out less benefits to those having sideline businesses)  The posts on this forum lately, of some worried people, shows its clear, easy money on Ebay etc will soon be ended (thankfully imo)

[iew-signed-books]

And Lester Piggott didn't tell them very much at all.

[*vyolla*]

It is possible that we're misreading this - the title of this thread is 

 HMRC DONT BELIEVE WHAT THE MEDIA AND SOME PEOPLE ARE SAYING

which means that HMRC don't believe what the media and some people are saying, they are doubting what is being mentioned in the media and what is being said by some people, but it's not clear what the media and some people are saying and why it's only some people and not others. 

Just saying.

[555njp]

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@jackstackcornwall wrote:

some media outlets and miss informed people are spreading the word that the Tax man is after you ,no they are not

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Dangerous assumption and not actually true....

If you are a registered business seller and complete your returns to HMRC, or if you are a registered private seller and only sell personal items you no longer want then yes, of course you're fine to continue doing so.

HOWEVER, and this will affect a significant number of people selling on here! - If you are a business (buying or making anything to sell) likely hiding on a private account, as soon as you hit one or both of the trigger points (30 items or £1770 turnover) ALL of your sales information will be automatically sent to HMRC. So those people may well have HMRC all over them if they are not already correctly declaring their income.

The key things to be aware of are 1/ HMRC now have a dedicated department to look at online sellers and 2/ Data will be sent to them for investigation AUTOMATICALLY, so they are no longer relying on someone reporting these people to HMRC or talking to trading standards.

The data trigger points are quite low so what thresholds HMRC apply before investigating further is anybody's guess.

I imagine the number of accounts across all online platforms will run to several million, so even with decent software, I doubt it'll be an easy task.

But it's not a myth, it will happen and they aren't doing it for fun.
The department will no doubt be tasked to pay for itself through additional revenue collected through tax, penalties and fines.

[papso22]

I bet HMRC doesn't believe very much of it at all!

[iew-signed-books]

The OP appears to have done a runner - just like Lester on Nijinsky.

[simplyessential_uk]

Oh the importance of good grammar and a comma can make the world of difference in respect to a sentences  meaning (and agree it reads as you suggest)

however the body of the post makes it quite clear what OP meant, but in true Ebay forum style, he's gone quiet and "done a runner" as he now has probably realised his comment didnt get the kudos he thought it would.

[555njp]

Don't want to offend by making assumptions or using the wrong pronoun, but it appears op is female and running what appears to be a perfectly legitimate business. I checked in case they were another panicked private seller who'd been breaking the rules, but not the case this time.

Not sure why they didn't come back though? I think she was just trying to say that if you were behaving correctly then there's nothing to worry about which of course is correct.
Just misses the much bigger issue of thousands that have been cheating the system for years that might just get caught out now 😄

[simplyessential_uk]

You know we all checked to see if jack "jackie" was business registered and read their about page 😆😉

[555njp]

Yes, plus of course Jackie can be male or female, but not really relevant I know lol.

Obviously they're too busy selling to be posting on here......!