How much can you earn as a hobby before paying tax UK?
In the UK, you can earn up to £1,000 per tax year from casual trading or side hustles (like selling crafts or services) without telling the GOV.UK website (HMRC) due to the Trading Allowance, but this only applies if you aren't already registered as self-employed and the income isn't from property or investments, with a separate personal allowance of £12,570 meaning total tax-free income is higher if you have no other earnings. If your earnings exceed £1,000, you must tell HMRC and potentially complete a Self Assessment tax return, though you only pay tax on profits above your allowances.
How much can you earn from a side hustle before paying tax in the UK?
You can earn up to £1000 per tax year from side hustles without paying tax. The trading allowance covers additional income outside your regular employment. This means: No tax on side hustle earnings under £1000.
Once your hobby income exceeds the £1,000 threshold, you may need to register for Self-Assessment with HMRC. This means you could be required to report your earnings, pay income tax (if applicable), and possibly pay National Insurance Contributions (NICs) as a sole trader.
If you craft items to sell or buy goods just to resell, you're likely trading. You can earn up to £1,000 without paying tax, but earn above this and you'll usually need to tell HMRC by doing a self-assessment tax return.
How much can I sell on eBay without paying tax in the UK?
We want to give you peace of mind that there's no new 'side hustle tax' or a change to existing tax rules for selling online. In general, selling personal items is not taxed if they're below £6,000 and you're not selling as part of a business.
How to Determine a Hobby vs Business From a Tax Professional
What happens if I sell more than 30 items on eBay?
As a UK resident, when you sell over £1,707 or more or complete 30 or more sales transactions within a calendar year, eBay is obliged to report certain personal or business information to HMRC in accordance with the UK digital sales reporting legislation. eBay will notify you when you have crossed these thresholds.
How much can you earn on Vinted without paying tax?
You can generally sell on Vinted without paying tax if you're just clearing out personal items for less than you paid, but if you're buying to resell (trading), you can earn up to £1,000 in profit/income tax-free under the UK's Trading Allowance before you need to tell HMRC. This £1,000 limit applies to your total income across all selling platforms, not just Vinted. Above this, you must register for Self Assessment, though you only pay tax on profits above the allowance.
Do I have to pay tax on selling my second hand clothes?
Selling your own used clothes for less than you paid is generally not taxed, but if you buy clothes to resell for profit (treating it as a business), you might need to pay Income Tax on profits above £1,000 and potentially VAT. Recent platform rules require reporting sales over 30 items/£1,700 to HMRC, but this mainly flags potential traders; you're usually fine if decluttering personal items.
Whether you get cash in hand or money paid straight to your bank account, you'll need to tell HMRC so you can avoid any tax surprises. We're talking about the total income from all your side hustles between 6 April 2024 and 5 April 2025. This is the amount you earn before factoring in expenses.
Hobby income is money earned from a recreational activity pursued with no intention of making a profit. Hobby income refers to the money you earn from an activity primarily for leisure or personal enjoyment, not profit. For example, if you enjoy painting as a hobby and sell some of your paintings.
Starting a side business based on a hobby is a good way to test out whether the entrepreneurial life is for you, and whether your hobby is profitable. In very general terms, your hobby is a business if you sell your products or services, and the income that you receive from doing so is more than £1,000 in a tax year.
There is no maximum amount set for hobby income. The IRS just considers it regular income, and it's added on top of whatever other income you have. You cannot take any deductions for it, other than your standard deduction.
What are the new rules? Starting from 1 January 2024, digital platforms such as eBay, Etsy and Airbnb are required to report users' income to HMRC. Prior to this, HMRC could only request such data on an ad-hoc basis. However, the new legislation mandates automatic sharing of this information.
Anyone who earned more than £1,000 from side hustles in the 2024-25 tax year (6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025) will need to register for self-assessment as a sole trader and file a tax return and pay any tax due by 31 January 2026.
If you're occasionally selling personal possessions via an online marketplace, perhaps old vinyl records or football programmes on eBay, clothes on Vinted or other unwanted things from your loft or garage at car boot sales, no tax is payable. You're just selling off your personal possessions.
What happens if I sell more than 30 items on Vinted?
If you sell over 30 items or earn £1,700 (approx. €2,000) on Vinted in a year, the platform will share your details (name, address, NI number) with HMRC for the UK, but this doesn't automatically mean you owe tax; it's to identify potential trading businesses, not casual selling of personal items, so you might get a letter asking for clarification, and you'll need to respond if you've been making a profit.
