You could face large fines
Tax professionals have raised the alarm while this year more residents in Britain are looking to the likes of Etsy and Vinted to make room in their wardrobes.
HM Revenue & Customs now can see your online selling activity, and non-compliance could lead to in-depth investigations or large fines that exceed your earnings.
HMRC started receiving data on sales and users from the beginning of 2026, for anyone who has more than 30 transactions per year.
Reporting thresholds were tightened especially on Vinted, and users must now have their data reported with HMRC, if they either do 30 sales per year or exceed £1,700 of gross sales over 365 days.
“HMRC uses the platform, whether this is Etsy, Vinted or even eBay, to match against each individual’s tax return”, according to Lee Murphy, Managing Director of The Accountancy Partnership, a leading accountancy firm that specialises in tax returns for Amazon and eBay.
Users who exceed an annual trading allowance of £1,000 and also fail to declare this may receive reminder letters to ensure that they get their tax return done.
According to Murphy, this is not just a scare tactic, as “ignoring these types of letters may lead to further full tax inquiries and criminal investigations.”
He also discusses if you’re at risk of being caught out, and which next steps you need to take if you’ve got a side-hustle.
“If you are selling unwanted personal items and not making repeat trades or dropshipping, then you’re unlikely to face HMRC scrutiny.
If you do, however, earn over £1,000 from your side hustle each year, or you exceed 30 sales within one year, then you must let HMRC know about this to avoid getting any fines or being under any sort of criminal investigation.
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