selling personal items

[goldofold]

In regards to the ATO, does anybody know if there is a defined period of time between when they define you purchase something to resell or you are just selling a personal item from your collection or house. thank you

[lyndal1838]

You would be best to ask the ATO directly.  They will tell you exactly what are considered personal items for your own collection and what is bought for resale.

As a general rule of thumb if you buy 2 of an item for a collection and resell one of them then it is bought for resale. 

[zelly888]

I was told that if you sell anything that you have made a profit on then you need to declare that profit as an income

[lyndal1838]

Not quite true Zelly.

If it is a personal possession it does not matter what you paid for it or what you got when you sold it....it is not income.

However, if you buy an item with the express intention of reselling it then the profit you made is income.

Just as an example....if I bought 2 of the same coin for my collection and later sell one of them, then it is considered a business transaction and the profit will be taxable.

If I have just one of a coin in my collection but sell it then it is a personal possession and not taxable.

[chameleon54]

The tax office has a range of indicators it uses to ascertain if you are carrying on a business on ebay. I saw the list somewhere a couple of weeks ago when researching something else. From memory the criteria included

1) buying items with the express intention of reselling them for a profit

2) selling a number of items in a regular consistant manner

3) being a powerseller

4) paying monthly fees for an online store

5) keeping records of sales & purchases ( ebay records for store sellers meet these requirements )

6) If you make a profit now or plan to make a profit from your activities at some future time. 

There where two or three others I cant recall. Not all of the criteria needed to be met, they where considered indicators or guides.

[mikisftf]

Thanks for that list.  Very good considering it was from memory.

By the way ->

>"There where (sic) two or three others I cant recall. Not all of the criteria needed to be met, they where (sic) considered indicators or guides."

It is "were", not "where".

[davewil1964]

And that is your issue?

You never made a spelling mistake?

Mi vocabulry iz probly betta then yourz an I stil mayk tha od misteak.

But I can see the context through the letters. And I rarely misspell wordz.

[chameleon54]

Thanks for the advice. I have to admit as a kid at school, I was the one sitting at the back of the class staring out the window during spelling lessons. ( and now I collect antique books for a hobby )