Selling goods or services on a digital platform
Details you need to give to digital platforms when selling goods or services in the UK.
The UK is signed up to the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD) Model Reporting Rules for Digital Platforms. The rules started in the UK from 1 January 2024.
If you sell on digital platforms, the platform operator may need to:
- collect and check specific details about you
- report details to HMRC
A digital platform is any software, including mobile apps and websites, which allows you to offer services and goods to users.
If you’re a digital platform operator, check the UK reporting rules for digital platforms.
Who is a seller
You’re a seller if you register on the platform to sell goods or services, even if you’re not directly offering the goods or services yourself.
As a seller on a digital platform, you might:
- provide personal services, like delivering food, driving a taxi, or freelancing
- rent out property or transport
- sell goods
This applies whether you’re an individual, like a sole trader, or an entity, like a company.
Information you must give
Digital platform operators will ask you for certain details.
If you’re an individual seller, they’ll ask for your:
- full name
- address where you normally live
- date of birth
- tax identification number (National Insurance number if you live in the UK)
As an entity seller (such as a company), they’ll ask for your:
- legal business name
- main business address
- tax identification number (company registration number for a UK company)
They also need to know the country in which your tax identification number was issued.
If you sell as a UK partnership, they’ll need your partnership Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) — a reference number from HMRC.
If you rent property, they’ll need the address of each property for rent on the platform.
Platform operators may ask you for other information if they need it to register you on the platform, like a phone number or email address.
They may ask you for other details to help them to confirm your identity.
Reporting by platforms
Digital platform operators in the UK will report your details and your income from selling goods or services on their platform to HMRC. They need to collect this information yearly and send to HMRC by the following January.
For example, information collected about you between 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 will be reported to HMRC by 31 January 2025.
They will also give you a copy of the reported information. This can help if you have to make tax returns.
Your details will not be reported if you:
- make fewer than 30 sales of goods
- receive less than 2,000 euros (about £1,700) for those sales
HMRC will share your information with your country’s tax authority if you live in another country that follows these rules.
Selling online and paying tax
A platform reporting your details to HMRC does not automatically mean you owe tax.
To pay tax on the goods or services you sell online, you must either be:
- trading
- making a capital gain
You’re unlikely to pay tax if you sell personal items from your home, like contents of a loft or garage.
If you buy or make goods to sell at a profit, you’re likely to be trading and will have to pay tax on your profits.
Check if you need to tell HMRC about your income from online platforms.