Professional sellers, advice please?

[Meddy]

So, I have a full time job, pay taxes etc (uk based). I am starting to have a bit of luck with some low profile commissions and requests. Not mega money by a long shot, but maybe on average £10 a week, when I can fit the painting in.

Should I be declaring this to the taxman?

I am morally neutral on this, so reply freely. I just wondered the legality re: tax and the website is of no use

Thanks in Advance.

 

[Bloodhowl]

I run a small business in the US. If my sales are less than $100/quarter I do not have to report it for tax purposes. Check with your small business regulatory agency. They should be able to tell you what your sales have to amount to before reporting for tax purposes.

 

[Chrispy]

I have an old copy of the Artist's & Graphic Designer's Market and I don't know about the UK but even in the US the tax on pieces can be weird. You can probably find a slightly older version for cheaper on Hamilton books or some other place. You may actually benefit from being in the UK, as here you have to deal with the Feds and State- sometimes it works for you. In Texas you can be exempt from paying taxes on art materials if it will be for a commissioned piece - but then your client has to pay tax on the finished product. Like I said- weird. I wasn't worried about it when I was doing a mini for ebay here and there because I maybe got $150 a year from it. If I can sell a mini for more than I bought it for, I'm happy.- Because then I can buy more!

 

[Meddy]

Nice, thanks both or the replies. If it really picks up I will go talk to the taxman, but at this rate he will probably laugh at me! worth checking though, thanks.

 

[RuneBrush]

In the UK, any earnings should officially be declared (have a read on this HMRC article). For very low earnings, you can actually tell your employer and they can adjust your tax code to offset the amount you're earning. However for £120 a year I think you're pretty safe from being nobbled for running a fraudulent business. Personally once you're looking over a thousand a year that's when you need to think about setting yourself up as a sole trader and declaring things.

 

[nels0nmac]

I can echo what RuneBrush has said. Technically any earnings ... even from things like going to car boot sales on a regular basis have to be declared. That said how many people actually do declare earnings on small amounts - probably very nearly zero.

Bear in mind that you get taxed on profits - not on turnover. So if you are running commission painting as a business then everything you need to run that business i.e. your paints, brushes, decals, things like reference material ( such as White Dwarf), the cost of the miniature if the client is not supplying it themselves, etc,etc does count as expenses and you can deduct them from your turnover to get your profit. Once your profit hits the £1,000 mark then that is the time to think about going the whole hog and declaring yourself to the taxman.

Good luck with your commission work.

 

[RuneBrush]

One thing I discovered the other day (and didn't know), is that if you're flogging personal belongings then that doesn't need to be declared although there is clearly a fine line between selling the pair of shoes you bought a year ago and the two-dozen you bought last week

Also if/when you start to declare, you will have to pay National Insurance contributions (Class 2, just shy of £30 a quarter), but you can get a small earnings exemption if your earnings are below a certain amount.