As the festive season approaches, HMRC’s Help for Hustles campaign is reminding anyone earning extra income from activities like making Christmas decorations, upcycling furniture for seasonal sales, or running market stalls, that they will need to tell HMRC if they earn more than £1,000.
The campaign’s guidance explains the important distinction between simply decluttering homes by selling unwanted personal belongings – which doesn’t usually require reporting to HMRC – and trading activities like making items to sell for profit, which may be taxable.
Anyone who earned more than £1,000 from side hustles in the 2024 to 2025 tax year will need to register for Self Assessment as a sole trader, file their return and pay any tax due by 31 January 2026. This £1,000 threshold applies to all trading activities combined – so someone earning £600 from craft sales and £500 from content creation would need to register as their total exceeds £1,000.
People can use a free online checker on GOV.UK to find out if they need to tell HMRC about additional income.
To discuss your specific circumstances, please contact your usual A C Mole contact or any member of the tax team based in our Taunton office.
