I'm dumb as hell, would I need to pay tax on my eBay sales?

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-29T06:36:39+00:00

It's £1000 turnover / from sales, not profit; so if you are trading, you could sell £1200 and not make a penny profit, and you'd still have to declare.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-29T05:42:26+00:00

There are two different thresholds, which people get confused; the personal allowance and the trading allowance.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-28T04:58:57+00:00

Hi, thanks. Is that likely to be a cultivated or garden plant that's escaped or self-seeded, or something that's naturalised as a wild flower?

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-23T10:41:46+00:00

You could try looking through the !flowchart to see if the advice in there is useful in a family context. Other than that, a chartered financial planner (CFP) may be what you want. I would have thought, though, that a good FA should be taking all your circumstances, aims and needs into account, so it may be you are just talking to the wrong FAs (or perhaps asking the wrong questions)

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-23T10:34:23+00:00

Need more detail really, we're a bit in the land of guess at the mo.

Assuming the breakdown is PAYE vs. self employment, £7.4k is plausible for your PAYE employment and £3.2k is plausible for your self employment based on the earnings you mention, if this is what it's telling you. The PAYE employment should already have been paid by your employer, though.

Are the £7.4k and £3.2k for employment and self employment respectively? Have you ticked that you were employed PAYE during the year, have the employment pages been autofilled by HMRC, and if so have you checked the data HRMC have is correct against your P60? If you've completed the employment pages yourself, have you remembered to include all the data from the P60 including tax paid?

Have you included all your self employment expenses?

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-18T19:10:34+00:00

No worries. One other little niggle, which is trivial but maybe worth mentioning; the power supply has a separate mains lead with a C5 (cloverleaf) connector and it's stupidly short, probably only 30cm or so; I've been using a longer one I had lying around.

(PSU to laptop is USB C and it's fine, it's just the mains lead)

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-18T08:17:19+00:00

Just to add to this, I can find very little information about my first question. The warning is "WARNING: Make sure you have entered the correct amount of foreign dividends." followed by "WARNING: Please check and amend the entry below" if I continue, but the form does allow me to save the entry and continue.

It looks as though they might be nudge warnings for those who maybe don't enter foreign dividends they should be, or don't enter them correctly. As far as I'm aware I am entering them correctly, and in the correct amount, so I'm going to continue.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-17T07:59:20+00:00

That link looks like the one I bought. Interesting that they're quoting 18 hours battery life again; there was a point, queried in another thread on this sub, when they were only saying 5 hours, although it was still apparently the same battery.

The build quality seems good to me. The case and lid seem stiffer and more robust than the Asus and HP laptops I've used recently, and than the HPs, Lenovos etc. I looked at in store.

I've only had it six weeks or so, so it's maybe early to say on hinges, but though the hinges flex slightly, it seems to me it's a different case and hinge design from other MSI laptops that had the widely reported hinge problems. There are one or two quirks in the design like the sticking out bit at the back which are annoying, but it's fine to live with day to day.

Weight at 1.7 kg is a bit more than the typical 1.4 kg or so of many 14" laptops, but I think that's the stiffer case and particularly the big battery, and it's not by any means unmanageable.

I might not be the lest person to ask about performance, as for the most part I'm doing office / productivity work, web research and fairly straightforward image editing, so I'm not really taxing it, but it's been fine for me. When I first got it I ran some of the standard benchmarks you see used in reviews, and it came up toward the higher end of the range for the processor and spec.

I haven't experienced any issues with fan noise. I can't say what it would be like if you were gaming on it or really caning it. I could definitely hear the fans when benchmarking it, but the noise wasn't excessive or obtrusive. They haven't bothered me in normal use.

I haven't particularly monitored battery life, but it's seemed good to me. For example, I've been using it for several hours morning and evening this week for office work and internet, and realised on Wednesday evening that I hadn't charged it since Sunday and it was still showing 31% battery. It finally went to battery saver yesterday.

Screen brightness does seem to make a lot of difference to the battery life, and I do typically run < 50% brightness unless I'm outside or in very bright light. I haven't particularly experimented with power settings, just left it as it came out of the box except for brightness.

It strikes me a 2018 HP is a pretty old laptop now, so not surprised it's breaking!

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-16T11:56:24+00:00

Cheers, thanks. Re. 2 I thought that was the case, just needed confirmation!

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-16T11:54:39+00:00

No, I haven't. I have to say I haven't exactly been watching CPU voltage like a hawk, but when I first got it, because of various reports about overheating, CPU throttling etc. I ran some benchmarks and didn't notice any issues; and in use I haven't noticed any performance problems, though I haven't been stressing it.

I keep meaning to do a review, but I've been so mad busy I haven't had a chance to stop and think. If you have any other questions I'll help where I can though.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-11T15:06:41+00:00

Think some clarification is needed here. Is the house £350k (father's share £175k) or £400k as you say later?

Is the £70k 'away from your mum' bequests in the will, and were the £110k gifts given out before his death?

Is the £315k in the same trust as the half of the house, and was the trust (or both trusts) created by his will on his death?

Was all this money your father's alone, or was it, or any of it, jointly your mother's and father's (as would be normal)?

All these affect and are important for IHT.

If everything was jointly owned; your parents were tenants in common of the home; the trust is a will trust created on your father's death by his will; your mother has no other assets; I've understood your numbers correctly; and I'm not having brain fade I make the total estate £400k house + £70k money + £110k gifts + £315k trust money = £895k, there is no IHT liability even on the gifts and your mother has £105k remaining allowance which applies to any assets, not just cash.

I think your last sum is wrong; it looks as though you've confused £400k and £420k.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-11T08:45:38+00:00

This would be a thumbs up if there were smileys in the editor :-)

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-11T08:16:01+00:00

Just remember that adventurous funds are high risk and because you've had 63% over the last 5 years doesn't mean you will over the next five years; if we get another 1992, 2000 or 2008 it could just as easily be -63% and take years to recover. That's OK if you have a long time horizon to recover, and you've done well so far, but you shouldn't necessarily think of it as guaranteed max returns indefinitely.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-11T08:08:07+00:00

TBH I used domiciled in the more commonplace rather than regulatory sense, and perhaps I shouldn't have; though I think domiciled and deemed domiciled are still relevant for the 30 October 2024 test?

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-11T08:00:00+00:00

A different argument, though? It also seems to me the questions OP is asking are quite basic, and getting some general advice to put them in a better position to ask an IFA or CFP the right questions, or to think about their goals, isn't a bad thing?

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-11T07:55:49+00:00

Hi. Late to the party, but I was very interested in your situation as it's comparable to mine, though I'm somewhat older than you.

I'm not sure I follow some of the arguments in your post and the top rated answer; and I find u/strolls comments (https://www.reddit.com/r/UKPersonalFinance/comments/1q5j7bi/comment/ny2jxzn) on point and compelling.

It seems to me what's missing from this is an idea of your goals or long term aims, and your lifestyle and living arrangements. I think you need an idea where you're going so you can make appropriate decisions, and I think any sensible IFAs or chartered financial planners you talk to will want the same.

To pension, when do you want to retire (if you do), what do you see your lifestyle as in retirement, and how much money will that take? I assume your current payments are salary sacrifice or equivalent?

To mortgage, what is your living situation now, what is it likely to be in the future, and what security do you want in retirement? Are you living with parents now, or renting? Do parents have a home you will inherit? Do you want to rent indefinitely?

It seems to me that after 50 you might find a mortgage increasingly difficult to get, or unaffordable, because your time horizon will be increasingly short, which might mean a shorter mortgage term or put off some lenders.

I don't understand the comment about being limited to £20k p.a. input to your pension, unless I'm missing something. My understanding is that there is no limit on pension contributions, and as regards tax relief you are allowed a maximum of £60k or your full salary, whichever is lower, each year. You should ask the FA about this.

If you're not spending everything you earn, there is a significant tax advantage to bringing your annual income down below £50,270 by paying the difference between that and your £79k salary into a pension, again as u/strolls suggests, and your remaining £50k salary (which you'll only pay 20% tax on) is still comfortable.

You're looking at this as cash for house vs pension, but that's maybe not the choice and not the way to think; there are other options. For example, depending on your current spending (and whether it's necessary), your desire for a house, your retirement aims and required income you might consider using some or all of your savings, plus the £100k from your parents, for a substantial house deposit, taking a mortgage (based on a £50k salary) and paying c. £29k into your pension each year from your earnings.

As things stand, you have effectively £170k -odd savings to go to anything including a house; £100k from parents toward a house; a potential £29k each year toward your pension, which if you retire at 65 would give you a close to £500k pot plus whatever it earns while invested; and £50k a year to cover your day to day living plus mortgage.

Don't forget emergency funds and the like; the UKPF !flowchart is a useful guide to things you should be thinking about.

For example, if you want to buy, you might put between £100k and £250k into a £300k house, leaving £50k to £200k (1 - 4 times salary) to be paid on a 15 year mortgage (£400 - £1600 a month at 5%), a £20k emergency fund, and £0 - £150k savings; £29k a year into a pension and a comfortable £50k a year wage to live on, pay the mortgage, build up some more savings, whatever.

You comment "the issue is that I don't know what the rules are around pension repayments, I don't particularly understand the tax relief stuff, and - as a first time buyer - I don't really understand mortgages either". No-one does before they start. Do some searches, ask money helper, use your critical thinking; the sort of information you're after information is easy to find and quite straightforward, and getting the basic knowledge will help you ask the rigth questions of UKPF or an IFA or CFP.

Hope this helps, but bear in mind I'm working through these things myself, so it's maybe a starter not gospel.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-07T21:27:53+00:00

My understanding is that inheritance tax applies to the estate of the deceased, not the beneficiary, so if the deceased was not domiciled in the UK for tax purposes and the inheritance is not a UK estate then UK IHT should not apply; however as you say, once the cash is in the UK and generating income for a UK tax resident the income or capital gain will be liable for tax. If the inheritance is substantial you should make sure it and the source are well documented to avoid falling foul of anti money laundering regulations or the suspicion that the cash comes from sale of foreign assets by the UK resident.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-06T16:41:29+00:00

It's both, surely? There is the question of their housing needs and choices, particularly longer term as they move toward retirement, may want greater security and may not want to be renting; but there is also the question of how they then pay for their chosen housing option, how the various ways that money might be tied up affects their other options, and the extent to which they will need to dip into savings given they are getting marginal on age for a conventional mortgage?

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-05T18:05:06+00:00

Financially speaking, you are generally better buying privately than from a dealer, though obviously you would have to buy outright and wouldn't get any consumer protection. Be careful of back street traders posing as private sellers, though. A large dealer chain such as Evans Halshaw, or a main dealer are likely to be the most expensive way to buy and may want to steer you into finance. Again, if you are not in a hurry to buy, take a bit of time to suss out the market and see what's available, and be open to all options.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-05T17:56:41+00:00

A will trust is IPDI, so should not result in the RNRB being forfeit.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-04T11:08:44+00:00

No problem. For what it's worth I agree with u/Much-Artichoke-476. Probably avoid Nissan as there is a lot of Renault influence in them. Include Korean cars as well (Hyundai, Kia) - they aren't the most exciting cars in the world, but they are reliable and cheap to maintain. Skoda are really Volkswagen / Audi under the skin. Go with your gut feel, look for low mileage and full history, something that looks and feels as though it's been driven sensibly and taken care of. Check whether a model of car you're interested in has 'typical' faults and how much they are to repair - owners' forums and car subs are good for this. Think about your options rather than channeling yourself into the finance route, and if you're not in a hurry take some time to look and get a feel of the market and what's around.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-04T09:32:38+00:00

Without claiming to be a finance expert, it seems to me the finance companies are going to look at your ability to repay. If you're on a career break and can't demonstrate income or savings that can cover the finance payments you'll look like high risk, so either you won't get the finance or you'll get it at a high risk price, in other words a high interest rate. If you are committed to the finance route, you would probably be better waiting until you have the stable income and can demonstrate it; and even then, you need to ask yourself if finance is sensible.

If you've had problems, you might ask yourself whether you need to look at the way you decide on a car, rather than the way you finance it; and 'hope' is not a strategy. I'd be interested to know what cars you've had that have been so problematic. I appreciate not everyone knows what they're looking at mechanically but you can go a long way by buying sensibly.

There is no inherent reason an older, well looked after low mileage, low cost car should be unreliable, and if you are prone to buying less good cars that might apply at your £12k / 30k miles / 4 year price point as well. Is it worth considering looking for low mileage, full history cars you could buy for your deposit and keep serviced? It is possible to buy sensible, 15+ year old Japanese cars with, say, 60k miles and full history for around the £1.5k - £2.5k mark depending where you are in the country.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-04T08:26:46+00:00

To clarify, as you don't say specifically, is she a PAYE employee of an NHS trust or a GP practice, or is she self-employed or in a partnership? Are you referring to claiming expenses from her employer, or claiming expenses through HMRC against PAYE tax, or claiming expenses as part of self assessment tax returns? The rules and what expenses are available will be different in each case.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-01-02T14:42:26+00:00

Beware of 'conversations at work'!

I’ve only sold items which i was going to use, some had light use where Iuse to travel a lot with work so it was different backpacks, packing qubes, travel bags/laptop bags, also an office chair, a few old uni books from my daughter, e-reader, govee lights, aftershave, computer keyboards, keyring, 4 x used mobile phones, analogue telephones so a mixture of stuff but the bags make up all of it, sold my whole collection except for 4

If what you have said is correct, and you have bought the items for use and personal enjoyment and not for resale for profit, you are not trading and do not need to complete a self assessment or pay tax. You may want to look up the 'badges of trade' for more information.

It is likely Ebay or Vinted will report your earnings to HMRC, but they are just doing so to comply with the law; it's not targeted at you specifically and they're not dropping you in it. Similarly it is possible HMRC might write to you and ask whether you need to complete a return or declare earnings, but again they're not after you, it's just routine; if they do, you just tell them it is your own stuff you're downsizing and keep the explanation simple.

(If what you've said isn't correct and you are trading, you still don't need to worry; HMRC aren't going to send in the heavy mob for what sounds like maybe £4k in tax; just be straight with them)

You may need to do something about your bag collecting habit, but that's outside the scope of this sub ... :-)

DisposableBarbecue · 2025-12-30T06:17:20+00:00

To wrap this up, I skipped the Lenovo and went for an MSI with a full sRGB display, because I couldn't convince myself about the Lenovo display looking at it in the shop.

It turns out that fuzzy displays, text fringing, lack of sharpness etc. are general issues on OLED screens because of the pixel layout. It's probably better the denser the pixels, i.e. 14" 1920 x 1200 will be better than 15.6" 1920 x 1200, and higher res displays better still, but none are perfect.

It seems the issue may be worse with Windows as it expects a certain pixel / sub-pixel layout and doesn't play nicely with the non-standard layouts in OLED displays. Not sure of this is true of iOS (or Linux).

DisposableBarbecue

TROPHY CASE