Since HMRC announced a new mandate around the ‘side hustle’ tax, business owners have understandably been worrying about whether paying a ‘new’ tax might tip the balance for them financially.
But as someone who runs a business collating the works of thousands of small business owners, I can reassure you: nothing has changed.
There are no new tax requirements for individuals who sell items on digital platforms like ours. The amount of tax paid on side hustle earnings and when it needs to be paid hasn’t changed at all under the new rules. Instead, digital retail platforms are now being told to collect and report earnings effectively to HMRC.
So the existing rules are still in place: if a person’s total income from trading or providing services online was less than £1,000 before deducting expenses in any tax year, they will not be required to inform HMRC of their side hustle income and won’t pay any tax on the profits. However, if a small business owner were to earn over this threshold, it’s likely that they would need to complete a tax return. If unsure, it is worth speaking to a solicitor or qualified professional for advice.
The crux of the HMRC announcement centres around digital retail platforms [such as NOTH, eBay, and Vinted] which are now required to collect and report information about seller transactions and income to HMRC by January 2025, one year after the rule change.
This issue has once again highlighted how challenging being a small business owner can be. Not only do you need to focus on your craft and doing what you love, but also to become a business expert, keeping on top of changes to regulation and making sure you don’t fall foul of any rules or requirements.
I have been at Not On The High Street for twelve years, joining as an Account Manager and now running the business as CEO. What has been absolutely central to all of my roles here is the supportive approach to small businesses. At Not On the High Street, we currently have up to 5000 applications to join our platform each year - but only around 14% are accepted. That’s because we want to ensure that our partners aren’t competing with other small businesses who sell similar products. We are proud to back solely British and Irish-based sellers and we are always on the hunt to bring in new, quality products to the Not On The High Street marketplace: join our gang!
