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New tax rules for Ebay, Airbnb and Co.: What users should know now

2023-01-26T08:28:08.437Z


Many users can earn some extra money via platforms such as Ebay, Etsy and Airbnb. But since the beginning of the year, the tax office has also been involved. An overview.


Many users can earn some extra money via platforms such as Ebay, Etsy and Airbnb.

But since the beginning of the year, the tax office has also been involved.

An overview.

Munich – Since January 1, 2023, online platforms such as Ebay, Amazon, Etsy and Airbnb have had to cooperate with the German tax office.

They are obliged to automatically report regular users to the Federal Central Tax Office in Bonn, which then forwards the information to the tax offices.

They want to catch up with tax evaders.

Tax transparency law: the tax office wants to get involved in online trading

The background to the change is the new Platforms Tax Transparency Act, PStTG for short, which was passed at the end of last year and has been in effect since the beginning of the year.

With this, the government implemented an EU directive from 2021, which is about tax justice.

The goal: tax transparency in online trading - because there is a suspicion that some traders are posing as private sellers on the online platforms, although they are on the road commercially.

The law states: "There is reason to assume that the income generated is often not declared to the tax authorities at all or only incompletely."

Because: Individual, small sales by private individuals are usually tax-free.

However, anyone who uses the online platforms for commercial purposes – i.e. regular profitable sales – not only has to pay income tax, but may also have to pay sales tax and trade tax.

Tax law for Ebay, Airbnb and Co.: Which users are reported?

The regulation not only affects all users who sell something via classifieds portals or auction platforms (examples: eBay, eBay classifieds, Etsy, Amazon, Mobile.de).

It also affects people who offer services – such as renting out apartments or houses through providers such as Airbnb, Mobile.de or Booking.com.

Anyone who sells goods or services for more than 2000 euros within a year or makes more than 30 transactions must be reported.

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Since January 1, 2023, online platforms such as Ebay classifieds, Etsy and Airbnb have had to cooperate with the German tax office.

(icon picture)

© Silas Stein/dpa

Online sales: when will users be held accountable by the tax office?

However, this does not mean that if you earn more than 2000 euros, you are immediately considered a commercial dealer and will be held accountable by the tax office: "Indications for the tax office are the number of sales, many reviews, complex offer placements, high sales and the time of the sale sales”, according to Stiftung Warentest.

The recommendation of the portal for private sellers: clarify the tax consequences with a tax expert in advance if you want to sell higher-priced goods or services via the online platforms.

This could be the case with an inheritance, for example.

According to Stiftung Warentest, anyone who sells their clothes, furniture or their own car usually does not have to transfer any money to the state.

From around 40 sales in a few months, however, the tax office could prick up their ears.

Anyone who buys something within a year in order to then resell it at a profit could also be targeted by the officials.

Because then the speculation tax may apply if the tax-free amount of a profit of 600 euros is exceeded.

What can users do if they make more than 2000 euros profit?

Stiftung Warentest recommends that anyone who exceeds the annual revenue limit of 2000 euros should definitely state the profits in their tax return.

Because the tax office already knows about this income anyway.

This can help those affected to keep accurate records of sales or services made in case the tax office has further questions.

According to Stiftung Warentest, anyone who resells gold or jewelery at a high profit within a year should state their proceeds as "speculative profit" in Appendix SO of their tax return.

Are there any loopholes in this new regulation?

Many transactions are made in cash, especially on online platforms such as eBay classifieds.

The provider, who was then only used to make contact, does not notice anything about this and can therefore not report any data to the tax authorities.

The portal only receives information about the purchase price if users select the "Pay safely" function.

This means: Quite a few transactions that take place with the help of online platforms will continue to bypass the tax office.

List of rubrics: © Silas Stein/dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-01-26

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