Profit calculator
trueprofitcalc.co.uk
List £18.34 to keep £10.00
List £22.35 to keep £10.00
List £18.34 to keep £10.00
List £19.20 to keep £10.00
List £21.48 to keep £10.00
List £18.72 to keep £10.00
List £18.34 to keep £10.00
List £23.46 to keep £10.00
List £21.25 to keep £10.00
List £20.92 to keep £10.00
Break-even on Vinted: £8.34
Pro tip: eBay Private, Vinted & Gumtree all pay £0 seller fees in 2026 — Vinted buyers pay protection at checkout.
Trading allowance headroom: ~£980.00 of £1,000 left (if trading).
DAC7 headroom: ~£1680.00 sales or 29 items before platform reporting.
UK Reseller Tax Spreadsheet
Same fee logic as this calculator — full-year tracking, tax export, and HMRC-ready P&L. £15 one-off via Gumroad.
Get the spreadsheet — £15Or leave your email for updates:
The calculator stays free forever. What's in the spreadsheet
Why most resellers get their profit wrong
You only subtract the item cost
“I bought it for £5, sold it for £20, I made £15.” But you forgot the £2.94 postage, £0.40 packaging, and the 20 minutes you spent listing and packing.
You don't know which platform is cheapest
eBay Private and Vinted charge sellers £0. Etsy takes 13%. On a £20 sale, that's the difference between £11.66 profit and £8.71 profit.
You don't track your time
A £10 profit feels great until you realise it took 2 hours. That's £5/hour. You'd earn more stacking shelves.
The £1,000 tax rule
You can earn up to £1,000/year from side income tax-free. This is called the trading allowance. Go over it and you owe 20% tax on your profit above £1,000. Separately, platforms now report sellers to HMRC when you hit €2,000 or 30 sales (DAC7). These are not the same thing — you can be under the reporting threshold and still owe tax.
2026 UK platform fees at a glance
| Platform | Seller fee | Who pays postage | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBay Private | £0 | Buyer or you | Anything |
| eBay Business | ~13% | Buyer or you | Volume sellers |
| Vinted | £0 | Buyer | Clothes |
| Depop | ~3% | You | Fashion |
| Etsy | ~13% | You | Handmade |
| Facebook Marketplace | 0–2% | You | Local |
| Gumtree | £0 | Buyer or collect | Local / bulky |
| Amazon Personal | ~15% + £0.75 | You | Occasional |
| TikTok Shop | ~11% | You | Viral / video |
| Whatnot | ~10% | You | Live auctions |
Deeper dives: eBay fees 2026, Vinted seller fees, best platform to sell clothes.
When does HMRC get involved?
£1,000 trading allowance
Earn more than this from trading and you owe tax on the profit above it. Personal wardrobe clear-outs are often not trading — but if you're buying to sell, this applies. Full trading allowance guide.
DAC7 reporting
Sell ~£1,700 (€2,000) or 30+ items and the platform tells HMRC automatically. This is not the same as owing tax — reporting and tax liability are separate. DAC7 reporting explained.
Crossed the allowance? File a self-assessment. Taxd can help.
How to use this calculator
Enter what you sold it for and what you paid for it
Add your postage cost and how long it took you
See your true hourly rate and which platform would have paid you most
What does this mean?▼
- Net profit
- The money left in your pocket after EVERYTHINGMost people only subtract the item cost. They forget postage, packaging, petrol to the post office, and their time.
- Effective hourly rate
- If this was a job, this is what you'd be paid per hourThe gut-punch. £11.66/hr sounds okay. £3.20/hr makes you question your life choices.
- ROI
- For every £1 you spent, how many £s did you get back?233% ROI looks amazing. But if it took 3 hours, your hourly rate is still terrible.
- Break-even price
- The minimum you must sell for to not lose moneyIf you list at £8 and your break-even is £8.34, you're paying 34p to give away your item.
- Trading allowance
- You can earn £1,000/year from side income before paying taxCross £1,000 and you owe 20% tax on profit above that. Most people don't know this until January.
- DAC7 / Platform reporting
- From 2025, eBay/Vinted/Etsy tell HMRC how much you soldPlatforms report at €2,000/30 transactions. This is SEPARATE from the £1,000 allowance. You could owe tax even if you're under the reporting threshold.
- Platform fees
- What the platform charges you to selleBay Private / Vinted / Gumtree = £0. Etsy & Amazon Personal take a big cut. TikTok Shop & Whatnot sit around 10%. Most people guess wrong.