Even as a private individual you can still be taxed on goods you sell on line.
and example of many articles about this to be found on line.

Venta por Internet como particular: ¿Tengo que pagar impuestos? - Ambit Assessor

La compra-venta de artículos de segunda mano entre particulares mediante portales de internet ¿se debe pagar algún impuesto?

mgiambit.com

Personally so I do not fall into a dispute with the Hacienda I would seek advice from my Gestoría.

 

I am in a similar situation as the OP and I have consulted two gestores regarding my situation. The key criteria as to whether you must file as an autónomo is whether any part of the transaction takes place in Spain. In your case,
1. Are you buying any goods in Spain?
2. Are you selling any goods in Spain?
If so, you must file as an autónomo. Regardless of whether you are an autónomo or not, you must declare your income in Spain as you noted in your original post.

 

I sell the odd bit of artwork, still repair jewellery and buy and sell old stereo gear, cassettes and mini disks.

As long as its an occasional thing you can just put the income on the annual tax return.
The accountant we use just wanted a list with amounts and as long as I was selling to private individuals, he said the tax office would be OK. And so far so good.

I have also returned to the uk for a contracting job and that income was put through as other income as well. No uk tax or NI paid.

I know a few people who sell on Vinted and Wallapop here in Spain who just do as I do. One has been doing it for around five years and makes a couple of grand a year (obviously you can't claim any costs).
She just puts this on her tax return.

The problem is more of not paying SS contributions, which you would have to do if autonomo. As well as IVA.

 

All sales my an autónomo must pay IVA. These have to be done every quarter.

IVA: definición, concepto y funcionamiento

Te contamos todo lo que debes saber sobre el IVA si eres autónomo o pyme: qué es, quién debe presentarlo, cómo se calcula, tipos de IVA y cuáles son los libros obligatorios, entre otras cosas.

www.infoautonomos.com

This is the list of what goods fall into what level of IVA.

BOE-A-1992-28740 Ley 37/1992, de 28 de diciembre, del Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido.

www.boe.es

What I am driving at is, at what point might it be necessary to register as an autonomo?

Went to search for an answer to that. There is a judgement of what is considered "habitual" more than how much. The law is complicated and like I suggested above you do need to consult a Gestoría. There you can discuss the issues about what you sell, what you earn etc in private.

 

thank the new EU directive for this..

Si vendes por Ebay, Wallapop o Vinted cuidado porque Hacienda tiene novedades (y no te van a gustar)

Una directiva europea obliga a estos servicios a notificar al fisco los ingresos que perciben los usuarios por la venta de productos a partir del 1 de enero

www.levante-emv.com

 

I think the acid test here is if you're simply selling off surplus or unwanted personal items or buying items for resale.

The latter is clearly and undeniably a 'for profit' activity which should be declared and taxed accordingly.

 

Thank you everyone for your comments!

I think I need to clarify a bit on the following:

• I have no issue with paying any tax due. I simply want to understand what I am required to do, to comply with the law.
• I am resident in Spain. The items in question were purchased at auction in the UK, and sold on ebay.co.uk. so from the UK
• Before I left the UK and moved to Spain, I had a eBay sole trader business, so did a tax return every year. That sole trader business has been closed for some time now.
• This year I attended one auction. The temptation was too difficult to resist and I splashed out on second hand electronic equipment (not phones).
• I have resold some of this but given the turnover will run into 4 digits I feel best keep things above board and pay the tax due.
• I am not clear if I need to declare in UK or Spain, but my guess is as I am resident in Spain, I would probably need to declare there.
• I can of course go to a gestor, but some of the folks on here are fairly knowledgeable, so hence my question.
• Buying this gear is no more than a bit of fun and a side hustle, but I absolutely want to be compliant with the application laws, in whatever jurisdiction.
• It is a bit of a one off as it does create a lot of extra work, so it would not be a habitual activity, as I have a full time job in Spain.
• I do not want to have to register as having a business, so I would be looking to pay it off taxes due as part of my normal annual Spanish tax return, if that was possible.

I hope that clarifies.

 

1. Ok.
2. World wide income in Spain is taxed. This is where good advice professional advice comes into play.
3. Good. |
4. However, there maybe something you have not disclosed here. And that could affect how you approach your taxation in Spain.
5. You have to refer to the law to see what is defined as habitual. You idea maybe differ to the ruling.
6. You do not have to start an SL (although a person running an SL is also called autónomo). That can confuse some members here. Running an SL means you do have some tax advantages over a person who is autónomo without the SL. In either case it would seem you could still be liable for payment of IVA

 

You have two issues: autónomo and taxes.

With respect to autónomo, as I said earlier, if you are neither buying nor selling goods in Spain, you do not need to register as an autónomo. By your description, you are doing neither.

With respect to taxes, there is very likely a tax treaty between Spain and UK. Your answers will be there. Since I am a US citizen, I know nothing about a UK treaty. As an example, in the US-Spain treaty, as a resident of Spain I need to declare my taxes first in Spain. I then need to declare in the US and I can deduct my Spain taxes as per the treaty. Since Spain taxes are much higher, I pay nothing to the US. In your case, I bet as a resident of Spain you must first pay Spain taxes. However, I have no idea if you need to declare in the UK. Find the tax treaty.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies.

So in fact the new OECD rules are applicable to any countries which are signed up...

Digital platforms will be required to report information to their tax authority on all registered sellers, except those with fewer than 30 transactions a year and earning no more than 2,000 euros (£1735). So that also means anyone in Spain also exceeding either of those thresholds, will have their bank account details, number and value of ebay* transaction and NIE all sent to the Haçienda, on the 01/01/25, for the period 01/01/24 to 31/12/24.

* also other online trading platforms

In my case I will keep a record of the sales and engage a Gestoría to file a tax return that also includes information about my earning in the UK.

But having reflected on the topic, althoght I do enjoy buying and selling, it is starting to get too involved if I have to declare this on an annual basis, especially as this increases the risk that the Haçienda might spontaneously take a notion to do a deeper dive into my tax affairs, which they are of course entitled to do, but I wouln't wish it on my worst enemy.

The only bit I am not clear about now is if I have to inform HMRC about my earnings. Above £1000, you need to inform HMRC, but as I am not resident there I am doubting I will have to tell them anything. Other thing is that the it will apply to any sparrows from the UK, who spend part of the year here in Spain.

 

Hi everyone. we are moving back to UK and wanted to sell our furniture etc in a kind of garage sale. does anyone know if you need any kind of licence to do this? It will be on private land. But I wanted to advertise to gain some momentum for this. Any help would be great.

 

Ask at your local council. Maybe a market stall locally is available.
On-line alternatives are advertise on Facebook, ebay, milanuncios or wallapop

 

Hi, I'm from Ireland. Living in France at the moment and want to move to Spain or to live between both. I want to bring used items to Spain like vintage clothes and antiques to sell online as a side hustle as I want to get a full time or seasonal job too. Obviously I have no problem paying any taxes but curious of what I need to do to make sure I'm legal. Thanks in advance folks.

 

sell online as a side hustle as I want to get a full time or seasonal job too.

Welcome to the forum.
Selling on line is not a side hassle in Spain you have to pay taxes.
This not the official tax office (Agencia Tributaria) website but it does give an overview of the system.

¿Tienes una tienda online? Estas son tus obligaciones fiscales

¿Vendes por internet? Lee esta guía de nuestros gestores en Valladolid sobre las obligaciones fiscales de tu tienda online. ¿Las cumples?

www.gestoriacastillayleon.es

The Agencia Tributaria has the same information but it is fragmented. Below are just two of the many pages they have on this subject.

https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/no-residentes/iva-empresarios-profesionales-no-establecidos/ventas-distancia.html

https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/no-residentes/iva-empresarios-profesionales-no-establecidos/ventas-distancia/gestiones-ventas-distancia.html

You may need professional advice from a Gestoria in Spain.

 

the online sites for selling used items has to report to the tax authorities your details if you pass the 2000 eur threshold in a calendar year. So I would expect that to be the limit of when it is a business or hobby.

 

The new new Europe wide regulations require online trading platforms to report seller details if either 2000 euros OR 30 transactions per year, are exceeded.
It is worth nothing that it is also per online platform. So you could trade on multiple platforms under the limits above.
However, per country tax reporting and tax thresholds do vary, so in fact are independent of the new regulations.
But as I understand it in Spain any level of online or indeed offline sales are liable to taxation, as what falls within scope of being taxable.
For example resale of personal goods is exempt up to 6k I recall, whereas I think that resale of personal goods in Spain attracts tax.

The net effect of these new regulations is that it will smother start up businesses.
The burden of starting your own business in Spain is horrendous already.


The type of goods that [U]Irish Bobby[/U] described could be sold a markets, where everything can happen in cash.

 

Various online forums have a constant stream of UK ebay users who have hit either the 30 transactions or 2000 euro threshold, have their accounts frozen, funds locked and demand they provide their NI numbers be provided to ebay, so they can share it with HMRC. Those who do deliveries for UBER and lots of other online platforms have been hit the same way. Ebay insists you switch to a business account to recommence using the account. Many folks have stopped trading as a result, as they don't want to go down the route of tax returns for what might have been a hobby or a small earner on the side. The new reporting regulations are pan European, so it will be identical in Spain. If you have crossed the threshold to pay tax, the right thing to do is declare it, and pay what is due!