eBay beware

The taxman is most definitely chasing people who sell things on eBay, and similar sites, to demand tax. So should you expect a knock on the door from him?
The first question to ask yourself is whether you are ‘trading’ or not. There are certain badges of trade which will help you decide:

• Are you buying and selling with a view to a profit?
• Are you buying and selling regularly?
• Are your activities connected with another trade you run? E.g. you buy and sell rugs on eBay, and also run a carpet shop.
• Do you modify things you buy in order to make them more valuable? Such as buying wool and knitting jumpers?
• Do you sell in a businesslike fashion? E.g. bulk-buy and sell smaller lots?
• Do you borrow money for goods and sell them to repay the loan?
• Do you turn the items over rapidly?

No one answer will be conclusive, but be honest and you will get a feel for whether you are trading or not. It’s like the elephant – difficult to describe, but unmistakable when it’s in the front room!

Expertise in any aspect of the tax regime, for example:

• Self-assessment enquiries or compliance checks for the self employed
• Civil investigation of fraud enquiries (CIF)
• Company tax investigations
• Employer compliance (PAYE) reviews, status & IR35 disputes
• Amnesty & Voluntary Disclosures
• VAT disputes
• National Insurance /minimum wage enquiries by HMRC

As soon as you get a letter from the Tax Man you need to understand what is happening and how you need to deal with this. At this moment the last thing you want to do is wait until the morning or even worse after the weekend.

Call Lindsay now on 07584 706 664 to get the answers you need quickly. We offer a free, no obligation initial consultation don’t forget out of hours calls are always welcome.