Question 1

Do I need to pay tax if I only made a few hundred pounds on Etsy/eBay/Amazon?

Accepted Answer

If your total sales from trading in the tax year are £1,000 or less, you can usually rely on the £1,000 trading allowance and there is no tax to pay and nothing to report for that trading income. That £1,000 is about turnover (the money in), not profit, so it is before Etsy fees, postage, refunds, and other costs.

Once your turnover goes over £1,000, you normally need to register for Self Assessment and report it, even if the profit is small after costs. And even under £1,000, it can still be sensible to keep good records and check the numbers properly, especially if you have other income or you are close to the limit, because platforms like Etsy, eBay and Amazon share income data with HMRC.

Question 2

I do Uber Eats/Deliveroo as a second job. Why do I owe tax when tax comes out of my main salary?

Accepted Answer

Your main job is taxed through PAYE, so the tax and National Insurance come off your payslip automatically. Uber Eats and Deliveroo income is different. It is usually treated as self-employed earnings, so the platform pays you gross and does not take income tax off for you. HMRC then looks at your total income for the tax year, adds your delivery profit (income minus allowable costs) on top of your salary, and works out what extra tax is due.

In practice, this catches people out because your salary has already used up some or all of your Personal Allowance and basic rate band. So the delivery profit can end up taxed at 20% or 40% depending on your overall income, plus Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance if you are over the thresholds. If your delivery profit is under the £1,000 trading allowance for the year, you may not need to declare it, but once you go over that (or you already do Self Assessment), you normally need to report it and pay the extra tax separately.

Question 3

Is Airbnb income treated the same as selling on eBay?

Accepted Answer

Not always. Airbnb income is usually treated as property income (or in some cases furnished holiday letting rules, depending on the facts), while selling on eBay is more often trading income if you are buying or making items to sell, or running it like a business. That difference matters because the records and expenses you can claim are not always the same. With Airbnb you are looking at property-related costs like mortgage interest rules, repairs, utilities, cleaning and agent fees. With eBay trading you are looking at stock, postage, platform fees and other business costs. In practice, HMRC will want totals that make sense for the type of income it is.

It also matters for Making Tax Digital thresholds, because HMRC looks at your combined income from self-employment and property when deciding if you fall into MTD for Income Tax. So if you have a job and then a mix of Airbnb and eBay, those side hustle profits do not sit separately. They stack up. If you are not sure which bucket your eBay activity falls into, or your Airbnb setup is more than a simple occasional let, it is worth getting it classified properly before you build your numbers on the wrong basis.

Question 4

What if I’m on multiple platforms and each one is under £1,000?

Accepted Answer

The £1,000 trading allowance is not per platform. It is for your total trading income for the tax year across all your side hustle activity. So if you make £600 on Etsy and £700 on eBay, you are at £1,300 in total and you are over the allowance, even though each platform is under £1,000.

In practice, add up the totals from Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Airbnb, Fiverr, Upwork, Amazon, and anywhere else you sell or provide services. If the combined trading income goes over £1,000, that is usually the point to look at registering for Self Assessment and declaring it properly.

Question 5

HMRC hasn’t contacted me. Should I still declare previous years?

Accepted Answer

Yes, usually. HMRC not contacting you does not mean the income is fine to leave out. If you were over the £1,000 trading allowance (or you already file Self Assessment and did not include the profits), it is normally better to sort it proactively. In practice that can mean amending a tax return you have already filed, registering for Self Assessment if you should have been filing, or making a voluntary disclosure if it goes back a few years. Getting ahead of it tends to keep things simpler, and any penalties are generally lower when you come forward first.

If it is just one year and you have decent records, it is often straightforward. If it is multiple years, mixed platforms, or you are not sure what you should have reported (especially if you also have PAYE income or rental income), get advice before you do anything. A quick review can save you from amending the wrong figures or missing allowable costs.

Question 6

Does Making Tax Digital apply to side hustles?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it can. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is based on your total gross self-employed and property income, so your side hustle does count towards the threshold. In practice that means your Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Etsy, eBay, Airbnb, Fiverr, Upwork or Amazon figures can bring you into scope even if your main job is through PAYE, because HMRC looks at the combined totals across those self-employed and rental streams.

If you are getting close, do not assume it is “only a side thing” so it will not matter. Keep a simple record of sales and fees as you go, and check where you stand for the tax year. It is usually easier to plan early than to fix it once you have crossed the line and need to start reporting digitally.

Guides

Got a Side Hustle? HMRC Already Knows About It

Making Tax Digital 2026 – What It Actually Means for You (in Plain English)