Tax Office to use online sales platform information from January

Platforms for selling used products are used as an alternative for anyone who wants to sell an object or product that they will no longer use. But it is also used to trade with completely new ones.

Listen to this article

There are users who, because their activity of buying and selling second-hand products has reached a certain ‘habituality’, have had to register in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers, as required by Social Security.  In these cases, they must comply with obligations as a self-employed seller, which include payment of Social Security contributions, IVA and personal income tax returns, among others.

But both for those who sell through these platforms sporadically and regularly, Directive 2021/514, commonly known as the European DAC7 Directive, requires this type of website to collect, verify and report to the tax authorities of the country the information of sellers who carry out transactions of goods or services, as long as they exceed established limits.

The new regulations, which came into force in 2023, indicate that the digital platform operator must communicate various data related to economic activities, called “relevant activities.”

The data that platforms such as Wallapop, eBay, Vinted or Milanuncios will have to send to the Treasury include bank details, income obtained in each quarter, number of sales made per quarter and fees, taxes and commissions collected or withheld.

Is it necessary to become self-employed to sell second-hand products online?

The DAC7 regulation will not affect all users and freelancers of sales portals. The platforms must send this information from those who meet the conditions of being a resident in the EU, having earned more than 2,000 euro throughout the year from sales on the platform or having made 30 or more sales during the year.

If the freelancer who sells his products through Wallapop, Vinted or another page meets the requirements mentioned above, the platform in question will have to provide the identification of the sellers, details about the activities carried out, the payment to the seller and the identification of the accounts used to receive payment. This declaration must be submitted in January of the year following the period to which the information refers, so the first deadline ends on January 1, 2024.

“It is not a question of controlling, but of facilitating the collection of information more” report from the Tax Agency, who also affirm that the objective of European regulations is to prevent tax fraud, tax evasion and avoidance.

The taxes payable by the self-employed will not be affected

This reporting obligation does not imply changes in the taxation of second-hand purchase and sale operations; taxation remains the same. The regulations establish that taxes must only be paid when there is a capital gain, which is calculated with the difference between the purchase price and the sale price of an item.

Regarding the amounts, the Tax Agency establishes several tax brackets. For profits of 6,000 euro or less, 19%, while for profits up to 50,000 euro, it is taxed at 21%. If the gain is in the range between 50,000 and 200,000 euro, 23%, and for those over 200,000 euro, the tax is 26%.

If, on the other hand, the money received from the sale of an item does not exceed its original price, it will not be necessary to tax it, since the law considers these operations as “losses derived from consumption.” Experts remember that it is important to preserve the tickets or invoices in the event that the Treasury requires them “at the time of carrying out a review.”

The post Tax Office to use online sales platform information from January appeared first on Spain Today – Breaking Spanish News, Sport, and Information.