Income from Selling Services Online

You may need to pay tax if you use websites and apps to sell services like: 

  • renting out your home to tourists 

  • renting out your business premises, home or any other property for business purposes 

  • doing tasks, eg cleaning or odd jobs 

  • renting out your personal equipment, eg power tools 

This may not be your main job or business. Selling services online like this is sometimes called the ‘sharing economy’ or ‘peer-to-peer’ (P2P) business. 

When you Pay Tax 

You pay tax if your income (external link) is more than your tax-free allowances (external link) and any reliefs you are eligible for. 

You can deduct allowable expenses (external link)of providing your service from your taxable income. 

When you do not Need to Pay 

You do not pay Income Tax on money you get from occasionally selling personal possessions online (but you may need to pay Capital Gains Tax (external link)). 

You usually do not pay Income Tax on anything you do where you just cover your costs, for example carpooling. 

You can contact the Income Tax Helpline (external link) if you’re not sure whether you should be paying Income Tax on any of your earnings. 

Paying Income Tax 

First work out if you need to pay Income Tax (external link)

If you do, you may need to complete a Self Assessment tax return or contact HMRC (external link) to declare all your income, including what you have earned through online networks. 

You can contact the Income Tax Helpline if you are not sure whether you should be paying income tax on any of your earnings. 

Rent a Room Scheme  

If you rent out furnished rooms in your home for non-business use, you may be eligible for tax relief through the Rent a Room Scheme (external link)