If you sell on Vinted, eBay, Etsy, Depop or Airbnb, you may have had an email from the platform asking for your National Insurance number. That is because, since 1 January 2024, online platforms have to send HMRC the details of their busier sellers.
Here is the short version:
- Clearing out your wardrobe or loft? There is almost always no tax to pay, and nothing to tell HMRC.
- Buying or making things to sell at a profit, or selling a service? That is a side hustle. If it brings in more than £1,000 in a tax year, HMRC needs to know.
- Being reported by a platform does not mean you owe tax. HMRC has said so very plainly.
The rest of this guide explains each point, with examples, and what to do if you are over the limit.
What the platforms send to HMRC
The rules cover any website or app that lets you sell goods, offer a service (for example delivery driving, cleaning or freelance work) or rent out a property or a car.
For each seller who is caught by the rules, the platform sends HMRC:
- your full name, home address and date of birth
- your National Insurance number
- how much you were paid through the platform in the year
- for rentals, the address of each property
The first reports covered 2024 and went to HMRC by 31 January 2025. They now go every January, for the calendar year before.
Who is not reported: if you sell goods, your details are not sent if you make fewer than 30 sales in the calendar year and receive less than €2,000 (about £1,700) for them. Sellers of services, such as lifts, deliveries or holiday lets, can be reported whatever the amount.
The platform should give you a copy of what it sends. Keep it: it shows your takings for the year, quarter by quarter, after its fees.
A report is not a tax bill
When the rules started, there were stories about a "side hustle tax". There is no such tax. HMRC's own press release in December 2024 quoted its Deputy Chief Executive, Angela MacDonald:
"We cannot be clearer – if you are not trading and just occasionally sell unwanted items online – there is no tax due."
What decides whether you owe tax is what you are doing, not whether a platform reported you.
Clear-out or side hustle? The simple test
| What you are doing | What HMRC calls it | Tax? |
|---|---|---|
| Selling your own old clothes, toys, furniture or gadgets | Selling personal possessions | Almost always none |
| Buying things at car boot sales or charity shops to sell on at a profit, regularly | Trading | Possibly, over £1,000 |
| Making things to sell, even from a hobby (cards, candles, crafts, upcycled furniture) | Trading | Possibly, over £1,000 |
| Selling a service through an app (delivery, tutoring, design work) | Trading | Possibly, over £1,000 |
| Selling one item, or a set, for more than £6,000 | A capital gain, even if it was yours | Possibly Capital Gains Tax |
HMRC's own examples make it clear. Someone who clears out old jumpers and household bits is "nowhere near" needing to tell HMRC. Someone who earns £600 from t-shirts on one site and £900 from vintage jackets on another has made £1,500, and must tell HMRC.
The £1,000 trading allowance
You can earn up to £1,000 a year from trading without telling HMRC. A few things catch people out:
- It is £1,000 of income, not profit. It is what customers paid you, before your costs.
- It is one allowance for all your side hustles together. £800 from content creation plus £500 from craft sales is £1,300, which is over the limit.
- It runs by tax year, 6 April to 5 April. Platforms report by calendar year, so you may need to add up your sales again for the tax year.
- It does not cover income from your own company, from a partnership, or from your employer.
If you earn more than £1,000, you choose one of two ways to work out your taxable profit:
- Take the £1,000 off your income and claim no costs, or
- Take off your real costs (stock, materials, postage, platform fees, a share of your phone).
Pick whichever gives the lower profit. If you buy stock to resell, your real costs are usually more than £1,000, so option 2 tends to win. That is why keeping receipts matters.
Will you actually pay tax?
Being over £1,000 means you must tell HMRC. It does not always mean there is tax to pay. Tax depends on your total income for the year. Most people pay no Income Tax on the first £12,570 of all their income put together (the personal allowance).
So if you have a full-time job, your side hustle profit is usually taxed at your normal rate, because your job has already used up your personal allowance. If you have little other income, you may owe nothing, but you still have to file.
Your employer's payroll does not cover side hustle income. You have to report it yourself.
What to do if you are over £1,000
- Check with HMRC's free tool. Search GOV.UK for "check if you need to tell HMRC about your income from online platforms". It takes a few minutes.
- Register for Self Assessment as a sole trader by 5 October after the end of the tax year. For the tax year ending 5 April 2026, that means 5 October 2026.
- File your tax return and pay by 31 January after that. For the 2025–26 year, that is 31 January 2027.
- Keep records from now on: what you sold, what you were paid, and what you spent. A spreadsheet and photos of receipts are enough to start.
If you missed earlier years, it is better to put it right yourself before HMRC writes to you. Penalties are lower when you come forward first. If you cannot pay at once, HMRC can agree a Time to Pay plan.
HMRC has also said it plans a simpler online way for people earning between £1,000 and £3,000 to report without a full tax return, expected by 2029. Until then, Self Assessment is the route.
When your side hustle gets bigger
Once your side income goes past £50,000 a year (from April 2026), £30,000 (from April 2027) or £20,000 (from April 2028), you also come into Making Tax Digital: four short updates to HMRC a year from approved software, then a final return. Our guide to Making Tax Digital for sole traders explains it.
Your first tax bill can also be bigger than you expect, because HMRC may ask for part of next year's tax in advance. See payments on account explained.
Want it done for you?
If your side hustle is small and simple, you can file your own return. When it grows, or you would rather not think about it, we do it for you: your bookkeeping from your bank statements, the Making Tax Digital updates and your tax return, checked by a chartered accountant. It is £30 a month for turnover up to £50,000, with no VAT to add. See the sole trader prices.
Quick answers
I sold my old things on Vinted and got an email asking for my NI number. Do I owe tax?
Almost certainly not. The platform has to collect your details once you make 30 sales or about £1,700 in a year. Selling your own unwanted things is not trading, so there is normally no tax and nothing to file.
I make and sell crafts as a hobby. Is that a business?
For tax, usually yes. HMRC says making goods to sell counts as trading, even from a hobby. Under £1,000 a year in total, you do not need to tell HMRC. Over £1,000, you do.
Is the £1,000 per platform?
No. It is one allowance for all your trading income in the tax year, from every platform and every side hustle added together.
Do I pay tax on the whole £1,000 if I go over?
No. Once over, you either take £1,000 off your income or take off your real costs, whichever is better, and only the profit is taxed.
What if I sold a watch or a painting for a lot of money?
If one item, or a set, sells for more than £6,000, Capital Gains Tax may apply, even if it was your own. It depends on what you paid and the gain you made.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Check if you need to tell HMRC about your income from online platforms
- GOV.UK: Selling goods or services on a digital platform
- GOV.UK: No tax changes for online sellers (HMRC press release, 4 December 2024)
- GOV.UK: Tax-free allowances on property and trading income
- HMRC: Tax Help for Hustles: buying or making things to sell