The short version: Usually not: HMRC says people who occasionally sell their own unwanted clothes online owe no tax. Vinted and eBay report sellers who pass 30 sales or about £1,700 a year, but a report is not a tax bill. Tax applies when you buy to resell or make to sell, above £1,000 of income.
The question comes back every time a wardrobe clear-out meets a news headline, and on 28 October it came back again. Chancellor John Healey used his Budget to announce that online marketplaces including Amazon, eBay, Shein and Temu will collect VAT for UK business sellers above £90,000 from October 2027, according to Reuters. For most people listing a coat on Vinted or a pair of boots on eBay, that rule — like the reporting rules before it — changes nothing about what they owe. The useful thing is to know which side of the line you are on.
What follows is a plain account of the UK rules as HM Revenue & Customs and tax specialists describe them. It is general information, not tax advice; if your situation is unusual, HMRC’s own tools or an accountant will give you a definitive answer.
Do you pay tax when you sell your own clothes online?
No, if you are selling things you bought for yourself and no longer want. HMRC confirmed this in December 2024, when its second permanent secretary, Angela MacDonald, said that if you are not trading and just occasionally sell unwanted items online, “there is no tax due.” HMRC said the tax rules had not changed for people selling personal items on eBay.
The logic is simple. Income tax applies to income, and selling a jumper you wore for three winters is not income in any meaningful sense — you are usually recovering part of what you spent, not making a profit. Rachel McEleney, a director in tax policy at Deloitte UK, told City AM that someone selling old garments bought for their own use is unlikely to be running a business.
Why did Vinted or eBay send my details to HMRC?
Because the law now requires platforms to report certain sellers, whether or not they owe anything. Reporting rules took effect at the start of 2024, and platforms began sending sales data and some personal information to HMRC in January 2025. A seller is reported if, in a year, they sell at least 30 items or receive about £1,700 (€2,000).
HMRC has been explicit that this is not a new tax and that being reported does not automatically mean you need to file a Self Assessment return. The thresholds exist to help HMRC spot people who are running a business without declaring it. A seller who clears out 35 old dresses in a year will be reported and, if those dresses were their own, will owe nothing.
When does selling clothes become a business?
When you buy goods to resell them, or make goods to sell at a profit. That is the dividing line HMRC uses. Someone who buys vintage jackets at car boot sales to sell on Depop, or who sews and sells their own designs, is trading. Someone who sells what they once wore is not.
Trading income only needs reporting above a threshold. HMRC says people who buy to resell, make to sell or offer services through a platform may need to register for Self Assessment and pay tax if their total trading income goes over £1,000 before expenses in a tax year. Below that, there is usually nothing to declare.
The grey zone is the person who starts by clearing out their own wardrobe and then begins buying stock because it sells well. Once you are sourcing items in order to sell them, you are on the trading side, even if the first hundred sales were personal.
Is the £1,000 limit per platform?
No. HMRC describes the threshold in terms of your total trading income in a tax year, before expenses, not your income on any one site. A reseller who makes £600 on Vinted, £300 on eBay and £200 at a market stall has £1,100 of trading income and is over the line, even though no single platform saw more than £600.
The reporting thresholds are a different test. They are triggered by your sales on a platform, and it is the platform that contacts you and sends the data. That is why the reports on their own say little about whether tax is due. What decides it is the nature of the selling and the total across everything you do.
What about capital gains on a designer bag?
For most clothes and accessories, capital gains tax does not apply. City AM, citing tax specialists, notes that most household items are exempt under the “chattel exemption” when each is worth less than £6,000. That covers almost every garment and most handbags.
The exception is the rare piece that has risen in value and sells for more than £6,000 — a sought-after bag, say, or a vintage watch. If you are selling something in that range for more than you paid, check the position with HMRC or an adviser before you sell. If you are buying at that level, the authenticity questions are more pressing than the tax ones; Faz’s guide to checking a designer bag before buying secondhand and our look at what a resale authentication guarantee covers are the place to start.
Does the new Budget rule change anything for Vinted sellers?
Not for people selling their own things. The October 2027 rule applies to UK businesses that are VAT-registered or that sell more than £90,000 a year on a single marketplace, according to Reuters. HMRC’s June consultation on the policy said people who are not in business, including individuals selling second-hand goods, were outside its scope.
For small resellers below the line, nothing changes either. The rule matters for larger trading businesses that sell through marketplaces and had not been charging VAT; from October 2027 the platform will collect it on their behalf. If you buy from such sellers, some prices may rise. If you are one of them, the time to talk to an accountant is before 2027, not after.
How to keep it simple: four habits
One. Keep a rough record. A note of what you paid for anything valuable, and what it sold for, settles most questions in a minute if HMRC ever asks.
Two. Know which side of the line you are on. Selling your own wardrobe is not trading. Buying to resell, or making to sell, is. If you do both, track the trading sales separately.
Three. If you are reported and unsure, use HMRC’s free online platform income tool on GOV.UK, which walks you through whether you need to register for Self Assessment. Do not ignore a letter; answer it.
Four. Consider giving instead of selling. If you donate to a charity shop that runs retail Gift Aid and sign a Gift Aid declaration, the charity can claim an extra 25% from HMRC on the sale proceeds you donate, according to City AM. For low-value pieces that take an evening to photograph and post, it is often the better trade.
Frequently asked questions
Will HMRC tax me for selling my old clothes on Vinted?
Not if they are your own clothes that you no longer want. HMRC has said there is no tax due on occasional sales of unwanted personal items, and the platform reporting rules did not change that.
Do I need to file a tax return if Vinted reports me to HMRC?
Not automatically. Being reported means you passed 30 sales or about £1,700 in a year. You only need to register for Self Assessment if you are trading — buying to resell or making to sell — and your trading income is above £1,000 in the tax year.
Do I pay tax on vintage clothes I buy to resell?
Potentially, yes. Buying items in order to sell them is trading. If your total trading income is above £1,000 before expenses in a tax year, HMRC says you may need to register for Self Assessment and pay tax on the profit.
Is it taxable if I sell handmade clothes online?
Making goods to sell at a profit is also trading, so the same £1,000 threshold applies. Above it, register for Self Assessment; below it, there is usually nothing to declare.
Does selling clothes for less than I paid count as income?
Not when they are your own clothes. Selling personal belongings at a loss is not trading income; it is getting some of your money back. HMRC’s concern is people buying or making goods in order to sell them at a profit.
Do I pay tax if I sell a designer bag for more than I paid?
For most items, no: personal possessions worth less than £6,000 each are generally exempt from capital gains tax under the chattel exemption. Above £6,000, check with HMRC or an adviser before selling.
What this means for you
The rules reward the habit Faz recommends anyway: buy fewer things, buy them well, and keep them long enough that selling them on is a clear-out rather than a business. Pieces from independent designers and craft workshops, vintage and estate finds, accessible luxury and selective mainstream luxury tend to hold some value when you pass them on. The mid-tier mass market is the universal skip, and the resale sites show why — it often sells for too little to be worth the postage. If a well-made coat no longer fits, a good tailor may solve the problem before a listing does; our guide to what alterations can and can’t fix explains where the limits are.
The next move is yours.
Sources: HMRC, No tax changes for online sellers · HMRC, Extending online marketplace liability factsheet · Reuters via Yahoo Finance · City AM
