Selling Online and Side Hustles: When You Need to Tell HMRC in 2026

Last updated: 17 June 2026

5 min read

You only need to tell HMRC about your online selling if it counts as trading and your gross income tops £1,000 in a tax year. Selling off your own used clutter is not taxed at all, no matter how much you shift. More people are getting HMRC letters now, though, because platforms like eBay, Vinted, Etsy, Airbnb and Uber hand over seller data automatically. Here is how to tell which side of the line you are on.

What has actually changed

The tax has not changed. Your visibility to HMRC has. Since January 2024, UK digital platforms have had to collect details about their sellers and report them to HMRC once a year. That includes your name, address, and the total amount you were paid. The first batch of reports landed with HMRC at the start of 2025, and it now happens every year.

So the question is not whether HMRC can see your sales. It usually can. The question is whether those sales actually create a tax obligation, and for a lot of casual sellers the answer is no.

Selling your own clutter is not trading

If you are clearing out the loft and selling old clothes, a used phone, furniture or unwanted gifts, you are selling personal possessions. That is not trading, and you will almost certainly owe no Income Tax on it, no matter how many items you shift.

There is one exception worth knowing. If you sell a single item, or a set of matching items, for more than £6,000, Capital Gains Tax can come into play. For most people selling secondhand household goods that is never an issue, but it matters if you are selling something like a piece of art, antique furniture or jewellery.

The £1,000 trading allowance

You are trading when you buy or make things with the intention of selling them at a profit, or when you provide a service such as dog walking, tutoring or food delivery. Online content creation counts too, including gifts and freebies you receive for promoting products.

The good news is the trading allowance. Every individual can earn up to £1,000 of gross trading income in a tax year without having to tell HMRC about it. Gross means the total before you take off any costs, so it is the figure the platform paid you, not your profit.

If your trading income across all your side activities stays at or below £1,000 for the year, you generally have nothing to report. Above that, the picture changes.

When you do need to tell HMRC

If your gross trading income for the year goes over £1,000, you need to register for Self Assessment and report it. You can still claim the £1,000 allowance instead of your actual costs if that works out better, but the income has to go on a return.

The deadline matters. For income earned in the 2025/26 tax year, which ran from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026, you must register for Self Assessment by 5 October 2026. Miss that and you risk a penalty, so if you crossed the £1,000 line last year, now is the time to act rather than waiting for the January filing rush.

One quirk catches people out. You can use the £1,000 trading allowance and the £1,000 property allowance, but you cannot use the trading allowance against money paid to you by your own company, a business you are connected to, or your employer. If that applies to you, the normal rules take over.

Renting out a room or property

Letting through a platform like Airbnb follows its own track. There is a separate £1,000 property allowance, so small amounts of rental income may not need reporting. Larger lettings do, and if you are letting a furnished room in your own home the Rent a Room Scheme may give you a much bigger tax-free figure instead. The right route depends on your numbers, so it is worth a quick check rather than a guess.

Watch the dates on your platform statements

Here is a practical trap. HMRC works in tax years, from 6 April to 5 April. Many platforms report your income by calendar year, from 1 January to 31 December. If you simply copy the figure off your annual statement, you can easily report the wrong amount. Work out what you actually received between 6 April and 5 April before you decide whether you have crossed the £1,000 line.

What to do now

• Add up your gross trading income from every platform for the 2025/26 tax year, using the 6 April to 5 April window.
• If the total is £1,000 or less and it is genuine trading, you usually have nothing to do, but keep your records.
• If you are only selling your own used possessions, relax, unless a single item went for more than £6,000.
• If your trading income went over £1,000, register for Self Assessment before 5 October 2026.
• Keep copies of payouts, invoices and bank records. HMRC can ask to see them.

Frequently asked questions

Not sure which side of the line you are on?

The grey area is usually whether your selling counts as a hobby or as trading, and that is exactly where people either pay tax they do not owe or miss a return they should have filed. If you have had a letter from HMRC, or you just want to know where you stand before the October deadline, get in touch with YF Accounting and we will give you a straight answer.

Written by Yoni Finke FCCA

Founder of YF Accounting — a fixed-fee, fully digital accountancy practice in Manchester serving SMEs, sole traders and landlords across the UK. One point of contact, unlimited support, no surprise bills.

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This article is part of our Self Assessment guide. See the full topic for related reads.