HMRC data sharing

[charliestell]

Can someone confirm when they have stated "starting January 1st 2024" they will being to share all data with HMRC does that mean that all sales starting from Jan 1st 2024 will be shared in the new format? I know historically that they have shared data but is this new rule in relation to all sales from 1st Jan 24 or everything historically?

I'm not a master criminal or a huge fraudster I literally sell £200 - £300 a month on here so think I may be over this limit and fear a taxman letter. 

[jckl1957]

You can go back quite a long way yourself.

Go to seller hub, then all orders and choose 'custom'.  You can go back two years.

Also in seller hub, you can go back several years (at least 4) in 'payments' by choosing custom.  This will let you see all of your transactions.

A large number of sales does not necessarily mean you have to have a business account. Ebay state that you need a business account in these circumstances:

Do I need a business account?

If you plan to sell casually, such as selling items you no longer want, a private account is the best option. 

If you want to sell large quantities, if you have items that you've made or bought to resell or if you already have a business outside of eBay, you’ll need to register a business account.

In any case, having a business account on Ebay is separate to completing a tax return for HMRC.

I don't know how long Ebay will take to respond to you.

[*vyolla*]

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@wattiesdad wrote:

 My queries are- if I have made so many sales, why didn't eBay make me a business seller (I'm private) ? How long does it take for eBay to send the data after a request? Are HMRC able to see what I can't see?

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It's really down to sellers to understand if they're trading as a business i.e if they are buying items to re-sell at a profit or simply selling off their own personal possessions such as bits from their wardrobe/loft/garage.

I hope that you manage to get this sorted though, I'd be terrified if I got an HMRC letter asking for sales info. The worse part is, if you were never registered as a sole trader I don't believe that you can even offset any expenses.

It may be worth getting an accountant involved at this point.

EDIT TO ADD: If you are just listing and selling off your own personal coin collection then it shouldn't be taxable, maybe run that by an accountant. 

[wattiesdad]

"It's really down to sellers to understand if they're trading as a business i.e if they are buying items to re-sell at a profit or simply selling off their own personal possessions such as bits from their wardrobe/loft/garage."

I have been buying from auctions, picking out what I want and then selling what I don't want on here. What has triggered HMRC is the amount of sales, tens of thousands of pounds, but against all my purchases that is a loss. As a business. I would soon go under. The reason I could afford all the auction purchases in the first place was down to some inheritance when my mum died last year, and before was a lump sum from a pension, and then using money from eBay sales. It is the fact that they have only just let me (and others) know that is causing problems with trying to gather information from years ago. HMRC have always had the privilege of spying on us, if they had brought it to life years ago, we could all have kept records from the start.

[*vyolla*]

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@wattiesdad wrote:

HMRC have always had the privilege of spying on us, if they had brought it to life years ago, we could all have kept records from the start.

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HMRC will tell you that ignorance is no excuse, then come up with a figure, some interest on it and possibly a penalty too. Problem you have now though is that you can't offset the loss against the purchases, HMRC will base their calculations on money you've received. If you were selling on eBay when you received the pension, that will also be taken into account. 

Honestly, the best thing you can do in your circumstance would be to take professional advice from an accountant. 

[theelench]

I'm not an accountant and have never been in the position of having had HMRC looking at previous tax years income for unpaid tax so I'm not speaking from experience either.  But if HMRC judge that you are trading how can they then deny you the expenses associated with that trading?

I can understand that someone in that position may not be able to claim the £1000 Trading Allowance retrospectively but my understanding is that tax payers can also look back several years and if they (or an accountant) discovered they had over-payed tax, they could claim it back.  It always struck me as unfair that HMRC could look back 7 years, but a tax payer could claim overpaid tax for fewer years (I don't remember how many). 

If they are not allowed to claim their expenses aren't they being over taxed?  Especially if they will have to pay what is demanded, plus interest and probably also several fines.

As with other aspects of these reporting rules, their retrospective nature and the way the goal posts have been moved back in time, such as keeping receipts for purchases years or decades before the rules were applied, is especially true when it comes to selling collections where, until now, there has never been any requirement to keep any records.

It just doesn't seem right.

[*vyolla*]

Sellers have until a certain date each year (in October, I believe) to register as self employed sole traders, if they trade unregistered and get busted by HMRC they can't then go back and apply expenses and/or losses to that particular tax year,  the ball is well and truly in HMRCs court. 

[wattiesdad]

I have been going through my records as best I can, taking into account sales on here and receipts from auctions I've bought from, I am out of pocket, even before taking other costs such as postage and packing into account.  That is a cumulative figure though as some years were losses and some profits. I can't see sales before April 2021 though, even after asking for my data, I asked over a week ago and heard nothing, so I have asked again. Surely it is a bit off if eBay will give my data to HMRC but not to me, unless HMRC can only see what I can, but I doubt that. Has anyone else asked for their data, and if so, how far back did you go and how long did it take?

[susapric-68]

That 5th of OCT is following the end of the tax year. So it is possible to register now and say you started as a sole trader 6th Apr 2024 and put in a tax return for 24-25 in Apr. As the info will originally be for last year that will cover you and should stop the HMRC looking further back. If they question the sales JAN-APR they could just say they used up their personnel allowance and though as sales were good they better register

[*vyolla*]

Worth a try, but I honestly believe that once HMRC get in touch they are going to take a look at the previous tax years trading too, and if that looks interesting to them they'll go further back.