eBay

trains-n-toys · ‎11-14-2022

Like many small (and GST unregistered) sellers, I was ( I guess still am) upset that my ebay sales now attract sales taxes and that I pay fees on those taxes, but I understand that's now the name of the game and I'm still listing/selling.

However, as I use Chitchats for my US bound packages, I was wondering if I should now voluntary register for GST, (I can supposedly do that if my sales are under $30k/yr) which would give me a business registration number and I can then ask for an import registration number so that if I had any US returns coming through Chitchats, they could actually get to me instead of being destroyed in Niagara Falls, NY.

I've gone through many of Velvet's answers to the many questions posted on the tax topic but couldn't find anyone who had specifically asked this.

So, has anyone, as a small seller with under $30k annual sales, bothered to now actually register for GST in order to further register for an Import number? And did this mean you have to now complete GST returns or does Ebay's reporting of taxes collected on my behalf, suffice the federal folks?

I do live just ten minutes from the US border in BC and if any buyer was going to return a shipment, I could ask them to send it to my mail drop in Blaine, but I'm thinking about shipments that didn't get delivered for some reason.

Just curious!

kawartha-ephemera · ‎11-15-2022

The CRA folks require submission of regular reports, ebay collection of sales taxes does not relieve the registrant of their duty to submit reports to CRA.
During the registration process the registrant is required to choose a reporting frequency, quarterly works well for smaller businesses.

flipistics · ‎11-15-2022

I'm HST registered with under $30k (right now), but I don't have an import number so I can't answer anything in that regard. One of the really nice benefits though is that you can get back a lot of the tax you pay for business related activities. Things like the eBay fees, tax you pay on shipping, supplies, etc. It really does add up.

You do have to fill out an extra form, but honestly if you keep decent records it doesn't take long. If you're a small seller, you should be able to file once a year basically around the same time as your taxes.

You should also note that if you register and also sell on other platforms (such as FB or Kijiji, etc), you would then have to charge tax (or eat the tax) there as well. You can't just pick and choose where to apply it.

trains-n-toys · ‎11-15-2022

Thanks flipistics! Given this is the first tax year since the govt implemented these digital marketplace tax collection requirements, I think I'll see what, if anything, shows up after I file my 2022 tax return. If they say there is eBay revenue I missed off my income, then I'll start the process. If not .....

Because you are registered and completing their form(s) you are rightly able to offset your expenses whereas I'm just clearing a smaller 'net profit' in my head as it were, with no expense deduction.

Is the CRA really going to spend the time to check every eBay small seller's situation? I would hope they'd spend that effort chasing the many bigger fish (outside of us digital marketplace small sellers (under $30k)), that they are missing out on.

I do appreciate your response.

trains-n-toys · ‎11-15-2022

Understood.

Thanks Kawartha!

marnotom! · ‎11-16-2022

@trains-n-toys wrote:
Is the CRA really going to spend the time to check every eBay small seller's situation? I would hope they'd spend that effort chasing the many bigger fish (outside of us digital marketplace small sellers (under $30k)), that they are missing out on.

My personal opinion is that as long as CRA is receiving revenue from the digital marketplaces themselves, nobody there could care less if the sellers on these marketplaces register or not as it's to the sellers' advantage to do so.

reallynicestamps · ‎11-16-2022

Friends who have worked on tax returns (I lived in Ottawa for 40 years) tell me they accept most at face value, but, like the census, there are random pulls which are looked at more closely.

And almost all of those are just fine.