A few questions regarding tax and centrelink

[andrew0123]

Hi guys. I am starting to make a profit over what i'm allowed to earn on my DSP; i'm on a centrelink disability pension and am preparing to hand in all the relevant forms. I am going to get an ABN, report every 3 months, fill in a tax return and centrelink forms. Do you guys have any general advice? 

An accountant is a possibility but I also have some questions - I have receipts from online banking for petrol from 2014 when i found items in hard rubbish. These items were listed online from mid 2019. Some have sold and some are still listed online. Can I claim petrol deductions from online bank receipts and do i have to wait for each item to sell before I can claim? How do i calculate deductions when i have thousands of vastly different items and different travel times? I also buy and sell from op shops, cash converters and never kept physical receipts, but payed for most with online banking? I had never tracked any of this stuff until 2019 when i decided to sell it. 

Also, how do i value these items? Can i value the stock based on how much i got it for? (cost of petrol/ car expenses only?) - how far back can i claim deductions? Can i value this at market price and claim a deduction based on it's value or cost to find or buy? 

I also have plenty of childhood football cards I want to sell which I payed quite a bit for as a kid - all my pocket money and I may not make a profit (no evidence or receipts of these purchases other than my brother/ parents vouching for it).  Can I claim any of this?

Do deductions have to directly relate to a sold item. for example. If i found 100 items in hard rubbish and spent $4500 in petrol, can i claim all the petrol in the first year's profit and loss? 

Also, with the balance sheet for inventory - I have my stock at very inflated prices because I’m not really ready to sell it. My overall inventory price is much higher than what it is actually valued at. Do I have to put on the balance sheet the price I have items online or can i do a retail value of item or can I include it as 0 (for the items i didn't pay for). 

Thanks.

[lyndal1838]

You are way overthinking this.....at this stage you do not need a Commissioner's Ruling.

But you do need an appointment with an accountant URGENTLY!!!

[andrew0123]

the reason for the rule is not so much to determine whether it's a business but to be able to get deductions for past years. It seems the ATO have this to encourage hobbyists to get an ABN among other reasons. 

So can you operate a business and sell as a hobby too? This may be overthinking things and I will ask an accountant. 

At the moment the valuable stuff that I spent a lot of money I am either a) not going to sell b) sell with cash and not declare c) declare it (but I have put the price up on these things as to deter any sales which is working). 

[padi*0409]

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@andrew0123 wrote:

At the moment the valuable stuff that I spent a lot of money I am either a) not going to sell b) sell with cash and not declare c) declare it (but I have put the price up on these things as to deter any sales which is working). 

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Not a good idea to state that on a public forum - who knows who might be reading here....................

[lyndal1838]

You do not want an ABN to sell your private items from around the house.

An Australia Business Number is for Businesses!!

An accountant will tell you how separate to two forms of selling.

How do you expect to get a ruling on anything until you have your current returns in order?

[andrew0123]

i'm not going to fill in form yet. Going to show accountant all receipts, forms and questions. Just getting aquainted with the whole process as this is a huge change for me. 

[andrew0123]

And I may not need to fill in form as past year losses can be included if you pass one of four tests. 

[lyndal1838]

Please stop this overthinking.

See an accountant and actually listen to him with an open mind or you will be wasting your money.

[davewil1964]

Is there any particular reason why you are (constantly) asking these questions on the eBay boards? Nobody here, even if they are qualified, is going to provide free advice. The rest of us, while seeming to have more knowledge than you, are not going to guarantee any advice given here.

You keep saying you're going to consult an accountant. Do so.

[chameleon54]

Anyone who has not been involved in business before would find the tax system challenging. Heaven knows even after 40 years in business I still find it difficult enough. Posters are quick to point out that as soon as some-one sells anything at all, they should be declaring it. The Op is looking into doing just that and deserves credit for trying to do the right thing.

An accountant is a must in this situation, but if the regulars can answer some of their questions it may help the OP get some grounding before they visit the accountant at x dollars per minute.

Andrew, I respect your decision to try to work through the Tax legislation and Centrelink requirements. The DSP is a lot harder to get now than it was a few years ago. Once off of it, it may be hard to get it back again. All power to you for having a go and working on building your ebay sales. I hope it works well for you. Just keep some of that DSP eligability for now, while you work on building your ebay business.