HMRC Targets Online Traders

HMRC is handing down harsh penalties to those who have unpaid tax from trading goods online.

Online traders who use websites such as eBay, Gumtree and Amazon to trade goods are now being targeted by HMRC in a bid to recover unpaid tax.

Many online traders may not be aware of their tax liabilities, especially if they consider their trading activity to be a hobby. However, as of April 2017, online traders are only permitted to earn a maximum £1000 without being taxed.

It could be the case that many online traders perceive their earnings to be low enough to avoid HMRC’s attention. This is not true, and now HMRC is taking a tough approach with online traders in a bid to recover unpaid tax, and in some reported cases, fining individuals up to almost 60% of the unpaid tax as a penalty.

HMRC is targeting both individuals and small businesses that trade goods online and it suspects have undeclared tax from the sales.

At Forths, we have an experienced team of tax investigations and disclosures professionals who assist individuals in bringing their tax affairs up to date with HMRC. We have handled cases for online traders whereby tax has been undeclared for a number of years. We are able to clarify your position and work with you to make voluntary disclosure of unpaid tax to HMRC.

If you have received correspondence from HMRC notifying you of their intention to launch a tax investigation into your affairs, then you should talk to our team.

Likewise, if you are looking to make a voluntary disclosure of the unpaid tax, you can talk to us in complete confidence, and we can explain how best to approach this.

For a free initial consultation with our experienced team of tax investigations and disclosures professionals, call us on 0113 387 5670, email us at enquiries@forthsonline.co.uk or fill out an Enquiry Form and we will contact you directly.