Yaerly sales total for Income tax

[keef120_2]

I've noticed that my total sales for year-to-date includes the cost of postage as well as the sales price, but this doesn't take into account the fact that I have to pay for the postage. I don't believe it is right that ebay includes this in the sales total, otherwise any income tax liability will be too high because I'm paying tax on the postage as well as the item. For example, if I sell an item for £2 (I sell a lot of cheap items) and the postage is £2.94 I will be taxed on £4.94, despite the fact that I'm only actually getting £2. Can anything be done about this?

[jckl1957]

You don't pay your tax to Ebay, but to HMRC.

When you complete your self assessment, you can deduct legitimate expenses, such as postage costs.  You just need to do a bit more work.

[keef120_2]

Yes, I realise that I pay my tax to HMRC but I'm retired and not self-assessment or PAYE, so i don't have the option of deducting expenses, all I get is a letter from HMRC at the end of the tax year telling me how much tax I owe. It's such a pain if I have to try to contact HMRC to reduce my tax liability, it can be horrendous.