Got an HMRC letter about online selling? Read this first
Updated 29 July 2026. Figures checked against the GOV.UK pages linked below.
An HMRC letter about your online selling lands hard. It is worth saying immediately: the letter is not an accusation, it is not a fine, and for many of the people who receive one, no tax is due at all. Here is why the letter exists and how to deal with it without panic.
Why you got the letter
Since January 2024, platforms like Vinted, eBay, Etsy and Depop have had to send HMRC annual reports about sellers who pass either 30 sales or roughly 2,000 euros, about £1,700 to £1,735, in a calendar year on that platform. That is the 30 items rule. HMRC compares those reports with its own records, and where it sees selling activity it cannot match to a tax return, it sends what is often called a nudge letter. The letter usually asks you to check whether you needed to tell HMRC about the income, and to reply either way. So the honest translation of the letter is: a platform reported your sales data, and HMRC is asking you to check your own position. The rules behind the reports are on GOV.UK.
What the letter does not mean
Being reported is not the same as owing tax. Platforms report everyone who passes the thresholds, whether or not any tax is due, and the thresholds catch a lot of people who were just clearing out their own things. Selling your own possessions is generally not trading and generally not taxable, however many items were involved. The letter does not mean HMRC has decided you owe something. It means HMRC has data and wants you to check.
Step 1: work out what kind of selling it was
Everything turns on one question: were you selling your own possessions, or were you buying or making things in order to sell them? Clearing your wardrobe, selling outgrown kids' clothes, or shifting unwanted gifts is generally not trading. Buying stock to resell, flipping bundles, or making things for sale would normally be trading. Be honest with yourself here, and remember mixed years happen: some people do both in the same year, and the two kinds of selling are treated differently.
Step 2: put numbers on it
If any of it was trading, add up your gross trading income, the total before any fees or costs, for the relevant tax year, 6 April to 5 April. Note that platform reports cover calendar years, January to December, so the letter's figures will not line up neatly with tax years; that mismatch is normal and catches everyone out. If your gross trading income was £1,000 or less in a tax year, it would normally be covered by the trading allowance and there would usually be nothing to pay. Over £1,000, registering for Self Assessment would probably have been needed, per GOV.UK.
Not sure where you stand? The free check asks a few questions about your selling and gives you a straight answer: were you reported, would tax normally be due, and what to do next. Every figure links to its GOV.UK source. Nothing is sent to HMRC.
Run the free checkStep 3: reply, and disclose if you need to
Do not ignore the letter, even if you are confident nothing is due. It normally includes a way to respond and a date to respond by, and replying "this was my own stuff, not trading" is a perfectly good answer when it is true. If you conclude that you did have trading income you should have told HMRC about in an earlier year, there is an established route for putting it right: the digital disclosure service on GOV.UK lets you tell HMRC about income from previous years and settle what is due. Coming forward yourself is consistently treated more favourably than waiting.
Keep the letter and your numbers
Whatever your answer turns out to be, keep the letter, note the date you replied, and keep the workings that got you there: item counts, totals, and which platform they came from. Your platform should have sent you a copy of what it reported, which is the same data HMRC is looking at; our DAC7 seller report guide explains how to read it. If your situation has layers, an accountant is worth an hour of their time.
Quick answers
Is an HMRC letter about online selling an accusation?
No. It is usually a nudge letter: HMRC received data about your selling from a platform and is asking you to check whether anything needed reporting. Many recipients were selling their own possessions and would normally have nothing to pay.
What happens if I ignore the letter?
Ignoring it is the one clearly bad option. The letter normally gives a response date, and replying is straightforward even when your answer is that no tax was due. If tax was due, coming forward through the disclosure route would normally lead to a better outcome than waiting for HMRC to follow up.
I only sold my own things. Do I still need to reply?
Reply if the letter asks for a response. Selling your own possessions is generally not trading and not taxable, and telling HMRC exactly that, within the letter deadline, would normally close the matter.
How does HMRC know about my online selling?
Platforms are legally required to report sellers who pass 30 sales or roughly 2,000 euros in a calendar year, including identity details and sales totals. HMRC matches those reports against tax records and writes to people it cannot match.