Do selling platforms report you to HMRC?
Short answer: yes, the big platforms now share data with HMRC once you sell enough. But here's the part that gets lost in the panic, being reported is not the same as owing tax. Here's what the rules actually say, who gets reported, and what it does and doesn't mean for you.
What the rules actually are
Since 1 January 2024, online platforms have had to collect information about their sellers and send it to HMRC once a year. The official UK name is the "reporting rules for digital platforms". You'll often see it called "DAC7", which is the European shorthand for the same idea, now rolling out across many countries.
The key thing to understand: this is not a new tax. Nothing about what you owe has changed. It's a data-sharing rule, designed to help HMRC see income that people were already supposed to be declaring.
Who gets reported: the 30-items rule
A platform reports you for the year only if you cross one of two lines:
- you make 30 or more sales, or
- you take around £1,700 (about €2,000) or more in total.
Stay under both and you're left out of the report entirely. Cross either one and your details go in: who you are and what you took, filed with HMRC the following January.
Which platforms are doing it
All the big ones. eBay, Vinted, Etsy, Depop and Amazon, plus the likes of Airbnb, Uber and the food-delivery apps. The simple rule of thumb: if a platform handles your payments and you're selling in the UK, assume it reports. This is also why a few of them asked for your National Insurance number recently. That's just the tax reference they need to file the report, not a sign you've done anything wrong.
Being reported is not a tax bill
This is the bit worth holding onto. The report is just data moving to HMRC so it can check it against tax records. If you were selling your own used things, you owe nothing, however much it came to, and the report changes nothing for you.
How big is this, really?
Big. HMRC received reports on nearly 4 million sellers for 2025, a sharp jump on the year before. So if you got a notification or a request for your details, you are one of a very large crowd, and the overwhelming majority of that crowd owe nothing at all. It is a wide net, not a targeted accusation.
What HMRC is doing with the data
Being straight with you: HMRC is still building the systems to match all this data against tax records, and it has said more checks are expected. It has not sent out a mass wave of penalties off the latest data yet, but the direction is obvious. If you were genuinely trading over £1,000, the sensible move is to get registered and keep things tidy rather than wait to be contacted. If you only sold your own belongings, there is nothing to do.
If you get a letter
Sometimes HMRC sends a "nudge" letter to people whose reported data doesn't obviously line up with their tax record. A letter like that is not a fine or an investigation, it's a prompt to check. We've got a calm step-by-step for that in our HMRC letter guide.
Reported, and not sure what it means for you?
Soldly asks a few plain questions and tells you straight: were you trading, do you need to register, and roughly what (if anything) you'd owe. Two minutes, no sign-up, nothing saved.
Check where I stand →Common questions
Does eBay or Vinted report my sales to HMRC?
Yes. Since January 2024, the big platforms including eBay, Vinted, Etsy, Depop and Amazon report sellers who pass 30 sales or around £1,700 (about €2,000) in a calendar year. It's a data-sharing rule, not a new tax.
What is DAC7?
DAC7 is the common shorthand for the rules that make online platforms report seller data to tax authorities. In the UK they're officially the reporting rules for digital platforms, in force since 1 January 2024.
Does being reported mean I owe tax?
No. Being reported just means your data has gone to HMRC to check. If you were selling your own used belongings, you owe nothing, however much it came to. You only owe income tax if you were trading, meaning buying or making things to sell, over the £1,000 trading allowance.
Why did a platform ask for my National Insurance number?
It's the tax reference HMRC needs to match the platform's report to the right person. It's admin, not a sign that you owe tax.