Do you realise you have to report your ebay earnings to Centrelink?

[joan.lesley]

Had some dealings with centrelink this week and blow me down I have to report my earnings for my HOBBIE every item sold each fortnight. No deductions, if I have something up with FREE postage I have to include the postage  as earnings also. So have had to end all items with FREE postage and alter them before relisting with postage extra, bang goes this ebay Top Seller sh....t.

I am so deflated.

Please beware all you ebay sellers on centrelink/pensioner payments.

[lyndal1838]

I am the same Stawks.....I have a housefull of collectables, some bought on ebay, some not.

I have a large coin collection.  Some of the sovereigns date back to my great grandmoither...they have been handed down to my grandmother, my mother and now me.  Neither of my daughters are interested in them and a few years ago I thought about selling them.

I asked the ATO about my tax liabilities and was told that it would be taxable if I was selling several of the same coin as they would deem that I had bought duplicates for resale, but if I was just selling one off items then it would be looked on as private collectables being sold.

There was also a time component...if I had held the coins for (I think) 5 years or more they were more likely to look on them as private collectables rather than bought just to turn them over for a profit.  I think I will get away with 150 year old gold coins.....it is hardly a quick resale.

[jessicadazzler97]

Don't class your eBay earnings as hobby money, tell them it's a genuine income stream for you. But only if that's not a lie 😛

[clarry100]

Hi Stawks....

Neither ATO nor CentreLink will be the arbiter.

Their position by default is that all income is declarable.

If you are audited, then they will simply ask you to justify why you think it should not be declared.

If your explanation is plausible to them then they will accept it.

You may need the help of an experienced tax agent who will be able to help you with that plausible explanation.

If your total income is below the taxable threshold and you would pay no tax anyway, then better to declare it as then there are no questions and you have still paid no tax. So no problems.

However, if it is above those thresholds then you had better seek advice from a tax agent before you do not declare it.

[chameleon54]

Clarry, mou-momiche is on centrelink benefits, which have very restrictive rules on how much can be earned before benefits are reduced. The tax on income side of things is an issue, but the bigger concern is wether centrelink will reduce payments for very minor earnings on ebay and how to define what are personal sales as opposed to conducting a business.

I have the same issues as stawka and lyndal in that I have large sheds full of old stuff. When I was in my twenties, I used to play around with old cars and motor cycles. I would go to auctions of car wrecking yards and garages when they closed down and buy pallet loads of old parts for a few dollars. I even purchased a full shed of very old parts from one wrecker that wanted them gone to make way for newer stock.  I used the couple of items I wanted and threw the rest in large wooden crates in my farm sheds ( stacked high ). Now all of those old Holden and Ford parts from the 1950,s and 60,s are worth a squallion. I also used to buy ( read hoard ) anything old, such as type writers, old ornate sewing machines, old cameras etc. when you could buy them for a dollar or two.  I am in the process of going through the boxes and  trying to clear some of the stuff on our private account on ebay. I sell more than $10,000 a year and have to admit at first glance it looks pretty suss. This is seperate to my two ebay business accounts.

At present I declare all income from my two business ID,s on ebay to the ATO, but the private account is a worry. It is genuinely private sales, but looks so suss, I am thinking of declaring it as income just to avoid having to try to justify it if audited. The only saving grace is the businesses ID,s have reasonably good sales figures and quite high profit margins which are being declared to the ATO, so profit on total sales ( including private account) would still look very good at first glance from the ATO.

[imastawka]

I don't think I will be selling my hoard of stuff, really.

Will probably leave it all to my daughter who knows

the value of stuff

I brought her up well   

(Then it's her headache)   

[chameleon54]

Its a standing joke in our house. If the teenage kids are around when I,m going through some of the junk, I stand tall wave my hand in an ark and say, "just think kids, one day all of this could be yours" 

[imastawka]

I already tried palming some of it off by saying

"Hey, you want this?"

Answer - "I'm an only child mum,  I'll get it eventually"    

[diidii.b]

Thanks heaps for the advice as it has concerned me. I'm aware centrelink have access to my accounts but as all items i sell are my own possessions including the new fabrics i'd be really upset if they penalized me for selling my own belongings to buy other items i need more or to pay my bills.. I am a dressmaker by trade & purchased these fabrics years ago with the intention of making things out of them but then life & illness happened, grandkids happened & i also had to move to a much smaller home with barely any cupboard space for the necessities let alone my fabric stash therefore forced to downsize (hence the reason for now selling). All other items inc the glassware are also personal possessions (& collections) from over the years that i also now need to downsize (not by choice). There is also motorcycle items (& collectables) on occasion as i also ride & have a keen interest in bikes, but again some items i no longer have a use for, need or storage space & so it also now has to go. I really think it's be pretty mean of centrelink to say i'm not permitted to sell my own things to get some cash together for other things i might want or need but can't afford on a pension. Hopefully i won't have to worry about it but i suppose if ever questioned i could always show them photos of the items from years ago when it was all displayed in my cupboards etc... Thanks again for the great advice 🙂

[imastawka]

Mou, I wish I'd seen your carniival glass. 

There were some beautiful pieces there.  But, then, they would just be added

to the groaning cupboards with all the other carnival glass. 

[saffire41]

I agree .... I rang Centrelink a couple of years ago and asked the question.

I was told that there was no need to report to them.   They likened it to .... if you have a garage sale, or sell your own paintings or antiques ... this is the same.   I then asked what if they are items you are buying to sell on .... still the same answer ... once you purchase, they are your belongings and you own them.

Then at a later stage, I read a news item which said Centrelink was investigating eBay sellers.   Once again I rang and was told not to worry unless I was selling $20,000 per year.