Sidetally

The £1,000 trading allowance, explained for Vinted sellers

Updated 6 November 2026.

Short answer: your first £1,000 of trading income in a tax year is tax-free, and you do not need to tell HMRC about it.

What counts towards the £1,000

• It is what buyers paid you, before any costs. Sell £1,200 of stock that cost you £900 and you are over the limit, even though your profit is £300.
• It covers all your side income from trading together: Vinted, eBay, Depop, Etsy, odd jobs and so on.
• It runs per tax year, 6 April to 5 April.
• Selling your own unwanted things does not count, because that is not trading.

Over £1,000: allowance or real costs

Once you go over, you register for Self Assessment by 5 October after the tax year ends and file by 31 January. On your return you choose one of two things to take off your sales:

• the £1,000 allowance, or
• your real costs: what you paid for the items, postage, packaging and similar.

Pick whichever is bigger. Resellers who buy stock often have costs above £1,000, so keeping a record of what you paid can save real money.

Example

You sell £2,500 of clothes you bought at car boots for £1,400. Taking off your real costs leaves £1,100 profit. Taking off the allowance would leave £1,500. Real costs win. If you are a basic rate taxpayer through a job, the tax is about £220.

When you cannot use it

You cannot use the allowance against income from a business you own or work for, or from your employer. That rarely affects Vinted sellers.

A guide, not tax advice. Check GOV.UK before you file. Not part of Vinted.
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