Since 2015, the Spanish Tax Agency has been conducting a campaign against tax fraud and closely monitoring applications such as Wallapop and other portals where electronic transactions for the sale of second-hand items take place.
In recent years, online marketplaces and peer-to-peer sales of low-value secondhand items have become increasingly popular. This has led to uncertainty among individuals who may be unsure whether they need to declare or pay any taxes on these sales.
What obligations do I have if I sell online?
We need to distinguish whether our sales are to individuals with the aim of making a profit, or whether we regularly buy wholesale for resale. In the latter case, we would be considered to be carrying out a business activity, and therefore we would need to register, apply VAT to the sales, and pay the corresponding taxes as a business owner.
Conversely, if the sale is between private individuals, of low value, and unrelated to a professional activity, there is no need to declare anything. If the sale exceeds €1,000, the law requires it to be declared, and the tax authorities could claim a portion of the profits.
In other words, when you trade these items, you'll generate a capital gain or loss that will be added to your savings income on your tax return. To determine if there's a gain or loss, we need to look at the difference between the purchase price and the sale price: If Purchase - Sale = positive, there's a gain; if Purchase - Sale = negative, there's a capital loss that isn't subject to tax but must be included on your tax return.
What obligations do I have if I buy from a private individual online?
When we buy something new in a store, we pay VAT. In the case of second-hand goods, we must pay Transfer Tax (ITP). There is a recent binding ruling from the Directorate General of Taxes that addresses this issue (DGT CV 22-8-17).
In this second case, therefore, the buyer, as the acquirer, is obliged to pay the ITP, taking as the taxable base the real value of the object and as the tax rate that corresponds to the class of property that is transferred, which, currently, for movable property, is 4%.
What happens if I don't declare it?
There has been little news of cases where the Tax Office pursues an individual for selling online, but if the Tax Office detects that capital gains are not included, the difference that was not included in the income tax must be paid, along with a fine and a surcharge that could reach 150% of the amounts owed (the same applies to the buyer who does not declare the ITP).
If the loss is not included, the Tax Office will also consider that you do not have (or have not declared) the data correctly and this could result in a fine of €200.
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A graduate in Business Administration from the University of Barcelona, she supplemented her studies with courses in customer service and corporate tax. While working and studying, she worked in sales and teller operations at La Caixa d'Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona (now Caixabank) in 2007. From 2010, she worked as an advisor and accountant at Fiscalsegur and PKF Asesores. In March 2017, she joined Àmbit Assessor, SL as a tax and accounting consultant.
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