Vinted, Etsy, eBay, a bit of freelancing — exactly when HMRC needs to hear from you, and the twenty-minute system that keeps you clean.
- £19
- 6 modules
- 6 templates
- Updated at every Budget
- 30-day refund
Vinted, Etsy, eBay and the rest now send HMRC a summary of what you sold once a year, and the letters that follow frighten people who owe nothing. Selling your own used possessions is not taxable at any amount. Buying things to resell, making things to sell, or doing a bit of freelance work on the side is. The whole problem is knowing which side of that line you are on, and the platforms will not tell you.
This is the cheapest course on the site because it is the first one most people need. It answers, in one evening, whether you owe HMRC anything at all, whether you need to register, and what the £1,000 trading allowance actually does to your position, including the trap inside it. Then it sets up a routine that takes twenty minutes a month so the question never comes back.
What’s inside
- The nine badges of trade, as questions you can answer about your own income
- Exactly what the platforms collect and send, the small-seller exemption, and three reply letters for when one arrives
- The £1,000 trading allowance and the trap inside it — claim it and you cannot claim a penny of expenses
- The £1,000 / £3,000 filing decision tree, registration, and the five dates
- A job and a side hustle at once: which band your side profit lands in, why Class 4 NI often does not apply, and the 80% test that decides whether you pay half of next year in advance
- The twenty-minute monthly system — one sheet, one folder, one date
The templates
A five-sheet toolkit — sales log with a running £1,000 alert, costs log, an allowance-vs-expenses sheet that tells you which route leaves less taxable, a tax set-aside calculator at 2026/27 rates, and a year checklist — plus four editable documents including the badges-of-trade worksheet and the platform-letter replies.
What the first evening looks like
Work through the nine badges of trade as questions about your own income, then the £1,000 and £3,000 decision tree. If you are over the line, the sales log with its running alert and the allowance-versus-expenses sheet tell you which route leaves less taxable. If a letter has already arrived, three reply templates cover the usual situations.
Buying more than one? All ten 2026/27 courses, 262 pages and 44 templates, are £119 against £328 at full price. See the full course list.
Not for you if: you are already over £30,000 of turnover, VAT-registered, or invoicing overseas clients — start with HMRC Tax & Expense Mastery instead.
Common questions
I have a full-time job as well. Does that change things?
Yes, and the course covers it directly: which band your side profit lands in, why Class 4 National Insurance often does not apply, and the test that decides whether you pay half of next year in advance.
Is this enough if my side income is growing fast?
Up to around £30,000 of turnover, yes. Beyond that, or once you are VAT-registered or invoicing overseas, start with HMRC Tax & Expense Mastery instead. The course says so on the page rather than after you buy.
Does it tell me how to register with HMRC?
Yes, with the five dates that matter and the form that applies to your situation.
What is in the toolkit?
A sales log with a running £1,000 alert, a costs log, the allowance-versus-expenses sheet, a tax set-aside calculator at 2026/27 rates and a year checklist, plus four editable documents including the three reply letters.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Figures checked against HMRC and other primary sources at publication — see our editorial policy.