UNITED KINGDOM / AGILITYPR.NEWS / August 27, 2026 / From TikTok Shop and Vinted to Whatnot and Depop, the UK's fastest-growing selling platforms are creating a new wave of tax mistakes as thousands of people unknowingly turn hobbies and side hustles into taxable businesses.

Millions of entrepreneurial Brits have started making money through TikTok Shop, Vinted, Whatnot and Depop, but many don't realise that each platform has completely different tax rules, potentially leaving sellers with unexpected bills from HMRC.

As TikTok Shop, Whatnot, Vinted and Depop reshape how people trade online, eAccounts says the varying accounting rules attached to each platform are catching sellers - and even accountants - off guard.

On TikTok Shop, creators who receive free products from brands may need to declare the market value of those gifts as taxable income. Any affiliate commission earned alongside those products also creates additional tax obligations that many new creators are unaware of.

Example: A creator receiving £500 of gifted products per month and earning £200 in affiliate commissions is generating £8,400 of taxable income per year, well above the £1,000 trading allowance yet many never consider the gifted products as income at all, since no cash changes hands for those items.

Whatnot presents an entirely different challenge. Sellers disposing of a personal trading card or Gold/Silver coin collection may fall under Capital Gains Tax rules, but anyone buying and selling regularly could instead be treated as running a trading business, bringing income tax and National Insurance into play.

Example: A seller who flips 100 Pokémon cards a month is likely to be treated as a trader by HMRC, meaning income tax and National Insurance rather than the lower CGT rates, a distinction that can cost thousands.

Vinted and Depop are creating another common misconception.

Many people still believe selling unwanted clothes is automatically tax free. However, platforms have been required to report seller information to HMRC since January 2024 under UK digital platform reporting rules. While casual sellers clearing out personal possessions usually have nothing to worry about, those regularly buying items to resell or operating at a commercial level may have tax obligations they hadn't anticipated.

eAccounts says that sellers in this fast-growing space often cross the £90,000 VAT threshold quickly and need to choose the right VAT scheme early, while those earning above £50,270 alongside a full-time job could lose 40% of additional income to tax, making a limited company structure, making a limited company structure worth considering for the tax efficiency it can offer.

Kris Corbisiero, eAccounts Co-Founder said: "Five years ago, most people selling online were using eBay or Amazon. Today, people are earning money through TikTok Shop, Vinted, Whatnot, Depop and dozens of other platforms, each with completely different rules."

"The problem is that the technology has evolved much faster than most people's understanding of tax. We regularly speak to sellers who genuinely believed they were just making a bit of extra money, only to discover they've unknowingly created tax obligations they never expected."

"Most people don't deliberately get it wrong. They simply don't realise that receiving free products, earning affiliate commission or regularly reselling goods can all have different tax consequences. The sooner sellers understand those rules, the easier and cheaper they are to manage."

eAccounts works with sellers across these emerging platforms to get ahead of these issues before they become problems. From registering for VAT at the right time and choosing the most efficient business structure, to making sure gifted stock, affiliate income and platform reporting are all declared correctly, the eAccounts team will take care of everything - and avoid nasty surprises down the line.

For more information, visit: https://www.e-accounts.co.uk https://www.e-accounts.co.uk/ecommerce-accountants/