EBay asking for national insurance number

[raik1performance]

Hi everyone, I recently joined for like 1 month and I start selling as a private seller , and now eBay is asking me to provide national insurance number.

"New UK digital sales reporting legislation requires sellers with 30 or more sales, or who have sales exceeding £1740 in a calendar year, to register this information"

[jckl1957]

This is a legitimate request from Ebay.  If you choose not to give them your NINO, they will not allow you to use your account any more and, if you have any payments pending, they will hold your funds.

Even if you have no tax liability, Ebay have to ask for and pass on your details if you sell more than 30 items.

Of course it is your choice, but if you choose not to give this information to Ebay, they will still pass your details to HMRC and you won't be able to use your Ebay account.

[specialk1937]

There are conflicting views on this. Some say that eBay are now legally
entitled to ask for NI Numbers. I have not put this to the test for two
reasons:-
1. I was told once that your employer is the only person should ask for
this, and eBay is NOT my employer
2. I had already reached the end of my tether with eBay because of the
imposition of a Buyers Protection Fee on Private Sellers which has crippled
my sales. So much so, that I ceased selling on eBay on 19th May, my 88th
Birthday, after 21 years! They can now sing for my NI Number and I have
informed HMRC accordingly!
What used to be an enjoyable thing, has now been marred by corporate greed
and has become a pain in the backside!

[jonatjonatjonat]

Then if eBay do ask for it, and you don’t provide it, then eBay will block your ability to withdraw funds.

provided you are selling your own second hand belongings, you wouldn’t be taxed. But HMRC state that eBay are required to provide them your NINO (this is genuinely on the HMRC site)

[jckl1957]

Giving your NI number to Ebay does not mean HMRC will contact you and it certainly does not mean you will have to pay tax on your sales.

But the request from Ebay is legitimate.

HMRC have instructed Ebay to pass information from any seller who passes specific thresholds.  This is part of what is required:  (Direct from gov.uk website)  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-goods-or-services-on-a-digital-platform

Information you must give

Digital platform operators will ask you for certain details.

If you’re an individual seller, they’ll ask for your:

• full name
• address where you normally live
• date of birth
• tax identification number (National Insurance number if you live in the UK)

If you don't give Ebay your NINO they will most likely restrict your account and hold your funds.  There is evidence in the forums that this is already happening.

They will still pass the details of your sales (with your full name, home address and bank account details) to HMRC.  Of course, with those details HMRC will easily be able to match your NINO to you and your Ebay sales.

[jonatjonatjonat]

I don’t think you are likely to get it at this point to be honest.

[crn303]

Hello specialk …. Agree with your comments. Several of us are now finding the enjoyment has gone and several have left or are thinking about it.

Congratulations on your recent 88th birthday. Best wishes moving forward.

[wil-805468]

What if you are clearing your mothers home because of fathers death and subsequent downsize ? It’s not a business 

[strangelysane]

Then you are either acting as an Executor of a Will / or merely assisting a parent.  Both are acting as a private seller.

[p.c.for44]

Forgive me but I can't remember if someones asked this or not? But why is it just ebay and of a couple of other sites are asking for NI numbers? I've not heard anyone say they've been asked for NI at e-bid or lesser known marketplaces.

[jckl1957]

All of the online selling sites have to ask for your NI number and then forward details of sales etc. to HMRC.

They don't need your information until you have either sold 30 items or your sales for the year total about £1700.

It is possible that sellers on those 'lesser known marketplaces' don't pass those thresholds as quickly as a seller on Ebay would.

[jonatjonatjonat]

Vinted and Etsy have help pages stating they will ask for that info.

other sites like facebook don’t ask for it as they don’t actually handle a transaction.

note if ebid aren’t asking for this, that isn’t some get out that eBay also shouldn’t. It would be far more likely to mean that ebid aren’t in the wrong to not be asking for the data.

[p.c.for44]

Do people have to class themselves as trader or private on all those other marketplaces too?

I find it a bit harsh that you have to do it on ebay if you just want to sell a few handmade items but within your trading allowance you're ok to sell down the craft fair or bootsale without all the red tape.

[papso22]

Etsy is for businesses, Vinted have a pro/business section.

[wil-805468]

Thankyou ….im selling on my mums behalf, i dont want stinging with a tax bill
Sent from my iPhone

[the_north_star]

So eBay get my national insurance number, what if they get hacked? it's a hackers dream a national insurance number and I don't want to provide it for that reason alone. 

[kath3735_wxmjn]

In my case i was a civil servant, did not 'love' regulations (but liked the salary/benefits) and you are right in that i cannot stand 'side-hustlers'!   I have paid my taxes all my life and still pay some because of my two works pensions (not large ones as i was a lowly civil servant).   If i have to end up paying tax on e bay (I also sell for my family - they get the money) then so be it.  I might not like it but then again i do not like the fact that i do not get the WFA anymore or that i have to pay tax on an income that even in total is less than some of the scroungers who have never worked get because of pension credits.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

then you will not be selling on e bay for very long then!

[kath3735_wxmjn]

E Bay do not say 30 items or £1700, that would be HMRC!  Behind them are the Government and the OECD.  Also as has been stated already, what are you worried about if you are a genuine private seller with no other complications you would not pay any taxes anyway.    Some people just seem to complain over nothing!

[wil-805468]

Yes I believe your account will be frozen until you provide it. It will be a condition set on them by HMRC not something they’re choosing to do themselves …..best just giving the information they requested as delaying will only suggest sellers withholding it aren’t strictly legitimate ….
Sent from my iPhone

[steve.hrs]

Oh, the aspersions... I guess you'll be ok with Government surveillance  cameras in your house then, if you've nothing to hide?
The UK Government won't stop intruding into everyone's lives and take every penny they can squeeze. Setting the declaration limit at a lowly £1700 turnover over in a year is ridiculous and only shows their eventual  intention to ignore the purchase costs of the items and grab tax on the full £1700 as if it was all profit.  And once the furore dies down they'll then dicker with it and demand a tax on every sale regardless of the amount.
But what the Government and eBay fail to appreciate is that people like myself will simply stop selling anything online other than FBM (where they don't control the money transaction) and we'll also resurrect the card in the shop window or supermarket noticeboards when there's no shops left! Only when eBay's profits suffer will they lobby Government to stop meddling in their marketplace and therefore the only way we can fight is to bring a good bit of anarchy to their business model and also force the Government to become less bloated and get back to living within it's means without shafting the citizens who actually build the economy (meaning the private sector and not the public sector parasites). Which of these are you?
Only government employees who live off the overtaxed private sector would see this rule as reasonable.