Why do ebay want my national insurance no.

[paul2012-2013]

hi why do ebay want my NI number i dont like giving out this info

[jckl1957]

The government has instructed Ebay to pass this information onto HMRC when sellers have more than 30 transactions, or total sales exceeding about £1740.

[deanem72]

eBay ask you to provide your NI number on behalf of HMRC

It is so they can marry up online sales for tax purposes, but if you have sold less than £1000 in a year it doesnt need to be reported, upto £3000 you need to fill in a tax form but should have nothing to pay, over £3000 you are liable for tax 

[deanem72]

Link to HMRC Trading Allowances

Tax-free allowances on property and trading income - GOV.UK

[jckl1957]

'but if you have sold less than £1000 in a year it doesnt need to be reported, upto £3000 you need to fill in a tax form but should have nothing to pay, over £3000 you are liable for tax '

None of this information is accurate.

[deanem72]

I can only say what I have been told by my accountant, if you know better please  educate me

[deanem72]

Also taken from HMRC site

Trading allowance

The trading allowance is a tax exemption of up to £1,000 a year for individuals with trading income from:

• self-employment
• casual services, for example, babysitting or gardening (helpsheet 325 has more information about other taxable income)
• hiring personal equipment, for example, power tools

If your annual gross income from these is £1,000 or less, you do not need to tell HMRC, unless:

• you cannot use the allowances
• you must register for Self Assessment and declare your income on a tax return

You must tell HMRC if you have:

• gross trading income over £1,000 - register for Self Assessment
• other gross income over £1,000 up to £2,500 - contact HMRC
• other income over £2,500 - register for Self Assessment

[lucy_farmer]

'i dont like giving out this info'

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I can sympathise with you!

Your National Ins number was one of those things you were  told not  to hand over to anybody other than your employer, HMRC etc.......

But the world has just changed.

 Now Global govts are catching up with online money making/transferring etc. So rules are coming in to help prevent 'Online Money Laundering' . (it's a program brought in by the OECD and is basically the whole western world's  financial agreement)

*All* online money making sites- airB+B, Uber, e*sy, v inted, etc etc *and * ebay are handing over all your money making information to the relevant financial authorities.

And in this country that's HMRC.

If you're selling oveer a certain amount (about £1700.00 or 30 sales) per year, you have no choice.

Hand over your NINO or don't sell online....

[jckl1957]

This confirms that the request is legitimate.

If you are selling your own, unwanted items, you won't have a tax liability.

Digital platforms must share sales data and some personal information for 2024 with HMRC by the end of January 2025. If you have sold at least 30 items or earned roughly £1,700 (equivalent to €2,000) using platforms like eBay or Vinted, or provided a paid-for service such as a holiday rental through Airbnb on a website or app in 2024, your platform provider will let you know that your information has been shared with HMRC.'

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/information-for-online-sellers

[deanem72]

Think you might find this changed in the last budget statement  (MAR 2025), there is now an allowance of £1000 where you dont have to inform HMRC, self assessment for upto £3000 with potentially no additional liability, over £3000 Self assessment with potential additonal tax liability.

[jckl1957]

You may need to get a new accountant.

This is from the link you provided and is contrary to what you stated, ' if you have sold less than £1000 in a year it doesnt need to be reported'.  Wrong.  In fact, you may have to tell HMRC.

If your annual gross trading income is £1,000 or less, from one or more trades you may not have to tell HMRC, however there are circumstances when you must register for Self Assessment and declare your income on a tax return.

I don't know where your figure of £3000 comes from.  It is a completely arbitary figure.  Essentially, if you are buying to sell on and potentially make a profit, you should keep records (HMRC state) and may have to complete a self assessment and pay tax.

[lucy_farmer]

'.....self assessment for upto £3000 with potentially no additional liability, over £3000 Self assessment with potential additonal tax liability'

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That £3000. thing hasn't happened *yet*..... the govt announced it would happen at *some point* in this govt. (i.e. somethime before 2029)

[moldosgifts]

And no where in the link they supplied has any mention of £3000.

That comes from a Possible raise of the allowance that could be in place before 2029.

But is NOT in place NOW

The accountant need retraining. He's a fortune teller

[jckl1957]

They said they would bring that in at some point in this parliament - before 2029.

[deanem72]

Hes a former tax advisor for HMRC, so will stick with him.

The link actually shows £2500 so replace the £3000 with that and the rest is valid

[jckl1957]

But that £2500 is not trading income.

It is income that is not from Ebay sales but other income.

[deanem72]

It is a £2500 'trading allowance' 

If ebay sales are not trading then what are they?

[reasonable.robert]

its also to catch people out trying to supplement their meagre u/c pension etc by making a few quid extra each week by that i mean £20/30 not vast amounts just enough to buy a bit of comfort.

yet this greedy government wants a  slice of the cake as well and we know full well what that will go on our guests. 

[jckl1957]

There is not a £2500 trading allowance.

From the link you provided, that £2500 is 'other income' - that is why there are 3 separate bullet points.  The first point is gross trading income over £1000 and the third point is other income over £2500.  That does not mean MORE gross trading income.  It could mean income from an AirB&B, casual employment etc.

You must tell HMRC if you have:

• gross trading income over £1,000 - register for Self Assessment
• other gross income over £1,000 up to £2,500 - contact HMRC
• other income over £2,500 - register for Self Assessment

[deanem72]

No it is a trading allowance,  ebay sales are trading, as are hiring yourself out for babysitting, dogwalking etc.  So if your gross income from all those sources together are less than £1000 then HMRC dont need to know, however they have asked ebay to provide them with NINO's to help facilitate their efforts in ensuring people are paying the correct tax.

there is a seperate limit for property so your point about AirBNB is moot.