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

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.

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

Hi all, i'm a little confused by all of this.... I am & have been selling items which are all personal belongings of mine. It is NOT a business or a hobby, it is simply due to starting life over again, replacing old belongings with new, paying bills by selling MY belongings & also downsizing. I am not making a profit in any way. How or why would this affect me?? Am i not permitted to sell my own things i no longer have a use for or a need to sell for survival??? TIA for advice on this 🙂

Message 41 of 72
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Do you realise you have to report your ebay earnings to Centrelink?

You can sell whatever you like....the crux of it is whether you are on government benefits where you have to declare any other income you are receiving.

 

I am not on any government benefits so have no idea of the amount you are allowed to receive before it will affect your benefits.  You could ask at Centrelink if you are not sure.

 

Message 42 of 72
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Do you realise you have to report your ebay earnings to Centrelink?

you can sell your belongings and it wont effect your pension or anything, but if you sell items you buy to sell then thats another story even your first dollar is clasified as income . its not an income if you are selling your own products,  i see you are selling new material on your site , it coud be alright , but maybe have it as never used , it can look like you have brought to sell .

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

Hi again, i'm a little new to these boards & think i replied to a particular person however this is a general thing for all on here. Sorry for any confusion....

 

I am on benefits BUT my selling is not to earn an income or as a hobby, it's something i NEED to do. Like i said i decided to begin all over again ie: replace all my furniture & decor etc, downsize & pay bills that putting aside enough money from my benefits just can't always do (such as expensive car repairs). There is no profit at all as they are my belongings so i really can't see how or why i should be penalized by centrelink if i do happen to sell over the threshold. I can't afford to just give away my belongings & replace them with money from my pension. I really don't see why i should report to centrelink everytime i sell something i own that i don't need to buy something else that i do need. Cheers

Message 44 of 72
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Do you realise you have to report your ebay earnings to Centrelink?

you dont have to report to centrelink you are getting rid of your old items. but once you buy something to sell and make a profit then you have to declare it being earning money.

Message 45 of 72
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Do you realise you have to report your ebay earnings to Centrelink?

THANKYOU 🙂
Message 46 of 72
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Do you realise you have to report your ebay earnings to Centrelink?

THANKYOU 🙂
Message 47 of 72
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Do you realise you have to report your ebay earnings to Centrelink?

It's only when you buy something with the intention of re-selling it for a profit then you need to decalre it as income.

 

If you are just selling off your old personal possessions then I'm sure that will be OK and not declarable. If you have a tax accountant ask him/her about it.

 

e.g. if you buy raw timber then make it into furniture for sale as profit then it would be declarable as a bisiness not a hobby.

Message 48 of 72
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Do you realise you have to report your ebay earnings to Centrelink?

Currently the ATO and Centrelink require ebay to automatically report all ebay ID,s and IP addresses of sellers who have more than $10,000 in total sales including postage costs PA. That does not mean this is some kind of limit that you can sell up to without being required to report income, just the limit that gets automatically reported. Centrelink may still require access to your bank account details and may see deposits from ebay sales there. 

 As others have noted if you are selling privately owned items, you should be OK. If any are purchased at a garage sale or op shop with the intention of listing on ebay to sell for a profit, that is declarable income.

Looking at your feedback from sales, I doubt you would exceed the $10,000 limit for mandatory reporting, but some may question the large numbers of new old stock fabric sales, and the number of collectable glassware sales you have on a repeat basis.  These could both be from years of private collecting or may have been purchased to resell.  You dont have a store with " buy it now" items, so this would help your argument that you are a private seller.

None of this is meant to make any assertions on your sales as I dont know your circumstances,  just offering some advice that may help with your question. 

Message 49 of 72
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Do you realise you have to report your ebay earnings to Centrelink?

If I started selling all the things I have collected over the years, it would seem

like I have been buying just to sell, too.

 

It would take me years to sell it all on ebay.

 

My house is chockers with collectables.

 

Who is the arbiter of how much is personal stuff?

 

Neither Centrelink nor the ATO can determine that one

 

 

 

 

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