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Business account question
 

Hi
Would be very greatfull if anyone can help.
I have been on ebay for 10 years plus.In the last 4 to 5 years I have been selling for just 6 months of the year, I sell alot of stuff but my turnover is not much.Recently ebay emailed me and said I need to "upgrade" to a business account my first thought was WHY ME !!!
I cant open another ebay account because I have 2 on my current address
I'm in the UK

Then upgrade your account - or am I missing something here?

Why wouldn't you want to upgrade?

same here. Just change it to a business account then. Not sure what you are so worried about.

You are not doing it as a hobby so a business is what it is.

It does not matter that you have two accounts at your residence, you can have more than two accounts at one address

if you do not want to open a business account for what ever reason then you still have few options.

you can open more than one ebay account to one paypal

you may be able to create another at your address


Spread the sales across accounts, open a couple of stealth accounts

thanks everyone
when I go on the upgrade page its asking for VAT reg numbers
I have no vat numbers its just a hobby
also it will put my address in my listings page
I sell high end mountain bikes and other stuff
pretty sure I would be getting visitors in the night.
My house in the UK is rented if I take the plunge
Mr Tax man would come knocking
has I have a full time job.
I'm trying to learn more about stealth accounts
thanks tizwoz

If you are selling items on e/b that you bought specifically to resell then you are a business. Not just in e/b's opinion but also that of HMRC.

It doesn't matter if you only sell for 6 months of the year or how little your turnover is you are still trading as a business so upgrade the account and be done with it. It's up to you whether you declare to HMRC or not but woe betide if they catch you not declaring any additional income.

HMRC are well aware of "hobby" business sellers on e/b and have teams trawling it all the time for these "hobbyists". They are fully in touch with e/b and can request any info they require if they suspect someone and e/b will give it to them. Be smart and pay the tax. If your not turning over that much then you probably won't have too big a liability.

If your serious about this the probably the correct way to go would be work full time and have this as a part time business. but you need to know its viable first, so you can legally trade online for a period of 3 months to find out if the business would be viable, hmrc deem that as enough time to find out, God knows how.

On another note can you pm me some info on what bikes you have, I'm currently looking for a new one, cheers.

I'm pretty sure the 3 month period HMRC allow is for registration of your business/self employment from it's inception, not a trial period to see if you like it or not before you decide to carry on. As far as they are concerned if you are trading then you are a business.

declaring any additional income and pay VAT IS diferent I heard you have to paid VAT If You exceeds £60.000 a year in Uk , Correct me if I'm wrong.

The VAT threshold for 2012 is £73k turnover (compulsory)

Declaration of any additional income is also compulsory through the Self Assessment scheme. If you do not declare and they subsequently find out then big trouble ahead, back payment of tax, fines and interest are all added. Best to keep it all above board and declare.

As I said before HMRC do not accept hobby/part time trading as an acceptable reason for not declaring additional income. Even bigger trouble can ensue for non declaration of VAT due, those guys can be just down right nasty.

I herd the same about earning 60K plus I'm no where near that amount.
I buy and sell.
Tizwoz tried to inbox you no luck :(
thanks for all the help

correct. when i was in business i had 3 months to tell HMRC. its not a 'trial period'

you are suppoed to notify them as sson as you start trading but you can gety away with upto 3 months by saying that you was testing the water to see if the business is a viable option for an income.

i did not say anything about not having to pay the tax though.

How do you guys go about registering a stealth account with hmrc ? i carnt find a answer anywhere

You don't need to register your stealth account with hmrc. You just need to inform them you are earning additional income being self employed as well as your usual income.

Not being rude but if you don't know much about it you really need to do some research into it all. You will need to keep accounts and do self assessments. You will also need to keep an eye on your turnover to ensure you don't reach £73k in a rolling 12 month period.

Thanks for the reply and i have researched thats what i do all day, i carnt research information that isnt there i have searched google,wholesale forums,business forums everywhere,so you mean i dont have to tell them where iam making my income from as ebay is my job?and what if i dont have reciepts for items say that i bought in cash in hand

You need to keep receipts or records of all cash transactions for your accounts. Be methodical and keep accurate records for your own sake. If HMRC came calling or decide to look at your accounts (which they will do eventually) then woe betide you if they suspect you've been holding out on them.

You could end up having a full tax investigation which can go back 6 years and believe me they will find everything, including e/b trading. These guys are no fools and are well aware of every trick in the book including e/b and what goes on. They can request and will receive any and all info they want from any source e/b, p/p, credit cards and banks.

If your going to trade on e/b then be upfront with HMRC. Register your business or file Self Assessment and declare the extra income.

The HMRC website will tell you all you need to know, sorry that's where I meant when I said to do research.

£73K per year turnover?!?! I should be so lucky!

I think my annual turnover last year wasnt even £5K! about £3K of that was profit, yikes, now I know how Lester Piggott felt....!

I could think of a lot of easier ways to make an extra £3k a year without all the hassle of e/b p/p and ste alth but I appreciate its all needed.

Like what for instance? Delivering leaflets? doing another part time agency job for minimum wage?

I enjoy dabbling in selling collectables cos its my hobby too so its not all bad.