Doing tax online through Mygov...

[kitty-kat-kollection]

Soooo...I just got back from 7 weeks overseas and had a quick look at the Mygov online tax thingo.

It has all my information filled in, and my income is around $13,000 not including anything ebay related.

This is the first time I've done a tax return since selling on ebay, and I fully expected to find some sort of earnings or mention of my ebay income in there. But there's nothing. Is this normal?

Have I simply not earned enough?

Or do I have to enter ebay income myself (and then obviously the deductions)? If so, which income section would I enter this in? The only relevant one seems to be "business / sole trader", of which I am not.

Thanks for your help! Once I know what section to enter my ebay income into, I'll be good to go!

[davewil1964]

If you're selling for profit (trading) you are, by definition, a business or sole trader.

[lyndal1838]

The ATO has no information on your ebay income and expenses.....just income that is already documented such as wages or Centrelink benefits.

You need to enter your own figuress for ebay income and expenses.....and be sure you can prove the amounts with proper documentation.

[kitty-kat-kollection]

Thank you so much for your help! I can now forge ahead. 😀

[porcelain_dolls_by_me]

Ebay provide to the ATO details of sellers who generate over $20.000 of sales a year.

Beyond that you need to determine whether your avtivity is as a "hobby" or a "business" when preparing your tax return

[davewil1964]

It's been $10,000 for several years

[love_of_cars]

How does that affect it, just out of curiosity? Does it disallow claiming expenses if it's a hobby?

[kitty-kat-kollection]

In terms of general stuff, I've heard that you can earn up to $8,000 for those earnings to be classed as a hobby, but above that...not really.

[collect247]

If it's a hobby then yes you can't claim expenses.

If you buy to then resell for a profit/loss then yes you can claim expenses.

[collect247]

$18000 is the tax threshold.

I don't earn the same income every year,one year I could earn $20K and the next I could earn $5K.

I still declare it as an income with expenses but I'll then pay more or less tax depending on what I have earned.

I don't like the term hobby because if you're buying and then reselling then it's an income.

A hobby is if you sell some stuff around the house that you no longer want just like a garage sale.