Side hustle tax: do you actually owe anything?
If you make a bit of money on the side, selling online, a little freelancing, a small creative thing, the tax question is usually simpler than the headlines make out. Plenty of people owe nothing. Here's the quick version, with links to the detail wherever you need it.
Are you selling your own things, or trading?
This is the biggest factor, and it splits everyone into two groups. Selling your own used belongings isn't taxed, however much it adds up to. You only step into tax territory if you're trading: buying or making things to sell, freelancing, or providing a service for profit.
More on the clear-out side, including the one £6,000 exception: tax on selling your own things →
The £1,000 you can earn tax-free
If you are doing a bit of trading or freelancing, the first £1,000 of that income each tax year is covered by the trading allowance. Under £1,000, there's nothing to report and nothing to pay.
How the allowance works, including the allowance-or-costs choice: the £1,000 trading allowance, explained →
When you need to tell HMRC
Once your trading income for the year goes over £1,000, you usually need to register for Self Assessment (by 5 October after the tax year) and report it. You're taxed on your profit, not your turnover, at your normal rate.
The full process and the deadlines that matter: do you need a tax return? →
What about the platform reporting you keep hearing about?
Since 2024, the big platforms report their larger sellers to HMRC, anyone who passes 30 sales or around £1,700 a year. It sounds ominous, but being reported is not a tax bill. It's just data moving to HMRC.
Who reports, and what it means for you: do platforms report you to HMRC? →
Does it affect my main job?
If you've got a job as well, your side hustle profit sits on top of your wages and is taxed at your normal rate. Your £12,570 personal allowance is usually used up by the job, so side income tends to be taxed from the basic rate up, and a large amount could nudge you into a higher band. You report the side hustle through Self Assessment, and your job's PAYE carries on as normal. The two don't get tangled.
Skip the reading and just get an answer.
Soldly asks a few plain questions and tells you straight: are you trading, are you over £1,000, do you need to register, and roughly what you'd owe. Two minutes, no sign-up, nothing saved.
Check where I stand →Common questions
Do I have to pay tax on a side hustle?
Not always. If you're selling your own used belongings, that isn't taxed. If you're trading or freelancing, the first £1,000 of that income each year is tax-free under the trading allowance, and you only pay tax on profit above it.
How much can I earn from a side hustle before paying tax?
The first £1,000 of trading or freelance income each tax year is covered by the trading allowance. Go over £1,000 and you usually need to register for Self Assessment and pay tax on your profit.
Do I need to register my side hustle with HMRC?
Only once your trading income for the year goes over the £1,000 allowance. Then you register for Self Assessment by 5 October after that tax year and file by the following 31 January.
Does a side hustle affect my main job's tax?
Your side hustle profit is added on top of your job's income and taxed at your normal rate. Your personal allowance is usually used up by your job, so side income is typically taxed from the basic rate up, and a large amount could push you into a higher band. You report it through Self Assessment; your job's PAYE is unaffected.