It feels a bit silly: you get a salary on which you pay tax, buy a shirt on which you pay tax and then sell the shirt again, and… yes, you have to pay tax then too. At least… Not always. The Tax Authorities have said that they will keep an eye on what people sell on Marktplaats and Vinted. But what exactly is it?
Vinted and Marktplaats must inform the tax authorities of who has earned extra money on those platforms. If you put a saggy Poang on it once, that is of course no problem, but if you sell 5 pieces of furniture every month, then you have a chance of being noticed. As soon as you make more than 30 transactions per year on those platforms or earn more than 2,000 euros, it becomes a matter for the Tax Authorities. By the way, the tax authorities do not know what you trade, they only hear that you are above an x ​​amount and what the amount is.
Pay taxes through Marktplaats
It goes quite far. If you have a baby and you sell a romper for 2 euros to 30 different people, the tax authorities will hear this from Marktplaats or Vinted. But also if you run half a company that buys clothing on sale and trades it in large numbers on Vinted at 1,500 euros per month. This was also the case last year, but it only applied to people who registered for the first time. This year it really also applies to people who have been on Marktplaats for 10 years.
Can you get out of it? No. What you can do is sell for 1,900 euros on Marktplaats and another for 1,900 euros on Vinted: then the Tax Authorities would do nothing with it. You could also opt for cash payments or Tikkies, although in many cases this is less secure than doing so via the systems that the platforms offer. Sometimes it is not possible. You may also wonder whether you should want to get out of it: it is a rule that has existed for a long time, but due to a European rule it is now implemented in a slightly different way. You always had to give up this kind of income.
The fun from Vinted?
But there is a very big but, and that is sometimes a bit of a gray area. You will be reported if you sell your entire trousseau on Marktplaats: it does not mean that the Tax Authorities also believe that you should pay tax on it. If it is indeed your property and you have used it and sell it for less money than you bought it, and you have no other business, then you seem to be able to continue selling. Then these are private sales and they are assessed differently than when you really trade with the aim of making a profit. But again, it’s a gray area. If you buy sweaters with holes on Marktplaats, sew them shut and sell the sweaters at a profit, then you are a trader, no matter how sustainable and friendly your concept is.
In short, be aware of what type of seller you are and how you expect the tax authorities to see this: this way you ensure that you are not faced with unpleasant surprises when it is time to file your tax return again.
