A mum who used Vinted to sell her son’s old clothes was worried it could affect her Universal Credit. The benefit claimant sold 249 items throughout 2024, with sales adding up to £1,245.
Taking to Reddit to ask for advice, she explained: “None of it was profit and was mainly selling my son’s old clothes and then buying him new ones. Will this affect my Universal Credit in any way? I’m not actually buying to sell, I was innocently trying to get rid of my son’s old stuff to buy new, pay off debt etc.”
She added that “at no point” did her capital exceed £6,000 and she was “lucky to be left with £50 at the end of the month”. Questioning whether she should let the Department for Work and Pensions know on her journal, she said: “I just didn’t want to end up in trouble for selling my son’s old clothes to buy him new ones.”
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One commenter thought it “might flag up for questioning” as Vinted notified HM Revenue & Customs when users sold at least 30 items or earned roughly £1,700. However another said: “It isn’t earned income so unless your capital went over £6,000 as a result, no effect on UC. You’re just selling your old stuff, it isn’t trading. Neither HMRC or UC have different rules about that.”
Vinted states that the UK reporting rules for digital platforms requires platforms like Vinted to provide sellers’ information to HMRC if users made a certain amount of sales. However it said that even if a user met one of the criteria and was required to complete a seller report, it didn’t mean they would be obliged to pay taxes, as selling your personal items was not taxed.
The gov.uk website has information for online sellers here, and Universal Credit claimants can also ask questions via their online account. People can also contact the Universal Credit helpline for further information on 0800 328 5644.