SIN Requirement From Ebay. Thinking of changing to Business Account. Any advice?
Summary: stringers_books_and_collectibles expressed discomfort about providing their Social Insurance Number (SIN) to eBay for tax reporting purposes and is considering changing their account from Individual to Business, which allows the use of a Business Number instead of a SIN. femmefan1946 explained that providing a SIN to eBay is similar to sharing it with an employer or bank for income reporting. flipistics shared their experience as a sole proprietor, noting that eBay did not allow them to use a Business Number, implying it might only be for corporations. tryubik-useonlyasdirected and marnotom! discussed the legal standing of eBay regarding SIN requests, with emphasis on CRA requirements. stringers_books_and_collectibles reiterated their preference to use a Business Number due to trust issues with a US-based company handling their SIN, despite being informed that eBay Canada is based in Toronto. The conversation highlighted differing practices between platforms like eBay and Abebooks in reporting income to CRA.
I just received the notification from ebay for my SIN for CRA (or I can be fined by the CRA up to $500). I declare ALL my sales on all platforms so I'm not hiding any income. But I still don't feel comfortable at all giving ebay my SIN. I sell on another bookselling platform and there I'm using my business number which is fine. So, I'm thinking of changing my ebay account from Individual to Business (ebay business accounts enter the business number for CRA, not the SIN). Before I do though I just want to solicit any opinions on this, especially from sellers who have done this already. I'm wondering if it will affect any of my listings? My banking info will stay they same, will that work? What about fees and such?
Any help and info on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Norm
stringers_books_and_collectibles
OP1 year agoI list on a bookselling site owned by the river, the bookselling site is operated out of Victoria, BC.
marnotom!
·1 year ago@stringers_books_and_collectibles, I’m hypothesizing that CRA regards Abebooks as more of a network of independent booksellers that have an online presence as well as a more conventional retail presence rather than it being a facilitator in the platform economy that attracts a broader range of sellers from various and sundry backgrounds. As such, most sellers on Abebooks are more likely than most eBay sellers to have business licences and more likely to be reporting their income as part of their other business-generated income.
You didn’t say if Abebooks reports its sellers’ income to CRA the way eBay now has to do, but I’m guessing that it doesn’t.
My understanding is that it's the CRA that requires a SIN as part of the seller data collected by eBay, not eBay itself.
stringers_books_and_collectibles
OP1 year agoI understand the reason for the SIN to be required but I'm a sole proprietor and I have a CRA issued Business Number (BN) that I want to use in place of my SIN. I sell on other platforms and they are all fine with my BN. Why not ebay?
I'm sorry, but at this stage in time I do not trust a US-based company with my SIN. Not one bit.
marnotom!
·1 year agoAre those other platforms based in Canada and generating reports to you and CRA of income you've earned on those platforms?
eBay Canada Limited is headquartered in Toronto. My understanding is that seller data such as SINs remain in Canada.
tryubik-useonlyasdirected
·1 year agoI used a business number. (And may or may not have, at some point, provided my license as ID.)
eBay is NOT an employer and does not legally have a right to your SIN.
brettjet38
·1 year agoBut the CRA does and eBay will get it from you...
marnotom!
·1 year agoI'm not employed by my bank and credit union, either, but they have a right to my SIN as they have to issue me a T5 for interest income.
Any entity that generates on your behalf a report of income can legally request and obtain your SIN, not just employers. More info here:
https://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/2015/04/social-insurance-number/
flipistics
·1 year agoI'm registered as a business (sole proprietor) and it did NOT allow me to use my business number. I got the impression that option is only available for corporations, etc.
brettjet38
·1 year agoIt is the SIN or a possible fine, I used my SIN when I signed up (forced like us all) for MP and have not been asked since then...
This was planned back in 2021/22 OCED rules to be in place by the end of this year, 2025.
femmefan1946
·1 year agoBecause we are making money on eBay (and if we are buying for resale that is at least in theory what we are doing) giving eBay our SIN is no different than having it on an employer's records, or a bank's.
EBay is simplifying your income reporting by preparing a list of the customer payments you recieved.
For some sellers, this is the first time they have ever seen this. For others, it is a useful cross-check of their own records.
One purpose of the SIN was to coordinate taxation, pension, pogey, and other government programs.