UK Tax Toolbox
Reseller Tax Calculator UK
Use this calculator to estimate whether your reselling activity may create a UK tax bill after expenses or the trading allowance.
UK Tax Toolbox
Reseller Tax Calculator UK
Estimate your tax liability for reselling clothes, trainers, collectibles, electronics or other goods online.
Important income assumption
Examples: platform fees, software, postage, internet, equipment, advertising, tools or subscriptions.
Most people with low expenses compare this against actual costs. Do not claim both for the same income.
Do I pay tax on Vinted sales in the UK?
Understand when casual selling becomes taxable trading activity.
Do eBay sellers pay tax in the UK?
Separate personal clear-outs from trading stock, fees and profit.
What expenses can resellers claim?
Learn which reseller costs may reduce your taxable profit.
Do live sellers pay tax in the UK?
See how Whatnot, eBay Live and TikTok Live selling can affect tax.
Trading allowance vs expenses
Compare the £1,000 trading allowance with actual reseller costs.
Need more context?
Read our practical UK tax guides for resellers, creators and side hustlers.
Visit tax guidesHow this guidance is reviewed
Author
Written and maintained by UK Tax Toolbox, led by founder Conor Dwyer. Calculator assumptions are checked against the public sources linked on the page.
Last reviewed
12 August 2026
Basis of guidance
Public HMRC and GOV.UK guidance, published tax thresholds and the calculator assumptions stated on each page.
Useful official references
Spot something that looks out of date? Use the contact page to flag corrections. Important tax decisions should still be checked with HMRC or a qualified adviser.
Practical calculator guidance
How to use the reseller estimate
This estimate is designed for people who buy, make or source goods to sell at a profit. It is not intended to turn an ordinary clear-out of personal possessions into business income. Separate personal items from trading stock before entering figures, and combine trading sales from every marketplace used during the same tax year.
Start with gross marketplace sales
Use completed trading sales before platform fees, postage labels or payment charges are deducted. A payout to your bank can combine several orders and may be reduced by refunds or fees, so it is rarely a reliable substitute for a transaction report. Include sales from Vinted, eBay, Depop, Whatnot, social media and direct payments where they belong to the same reselling activity. Keep personal possessions labelled separately with a note explaining why they were not bought for resale.
Match stock costs to the activity
Record the purchase cost of items acquired for resale, together with platform fees, payment processing, postage, packaging, cleaning and repair costs. Stock timing can become more involved where goods remain unsold at the year end, bundles are split across many listings or high-value inventory is held. The calculator provides a planning estimate rather than an inventory accounting decision. Keep purchase evidence and a consistent method for allocating bundle costs.
Compare expenses with the trading allowance
The £1,000 trading allowance test uses gross trading income, not profit after costs. Where reporting is required, a person may compare the allowance with actual allowable expenses, but generally cannot deduct both from the same income. Resellers often have material stock, postage and marketplace costs, so the actual-expense route may produce a different result. The calculator comparison is only useful when the expense total is supported by records.
Worked example
A seller records £8,400 of completed marketplace sales. Stock allocated to sold items costs £3,100, platform and payment fees are £720, postage and packaging are £860, and cleaning supplies used for stock cost £120. The provisional profit before wider tax adjustments is £3,600. The seller should use £8,400 as gross trading income, retain the underlying reports and compare actual expenses with the trading allowance rather than entering the £3,600 profit as sales.
Best for
- Vinted sellers
- eBay resellers
- Depop sellers
- Facebook Marketplace sellers
- Sneaker and clothing resellers
- Part-time online sellers