Working out your real profit as a reseller
Your sale price is not what you keep. Fees, postage and the cost of your stock all come off, and for tax it is your profit, not your sales, that matters. This is the complete guide to working out your real profit, with detailed guides below on fees, expenses and the calculation itself.
General information, not tax advice. Check with HMRC or a qualified accountant before you act on it.
Why profit, not sales, is the number that matters
Two sellers can both turn over £1,000 and keep wildly different amounts, depending on their fees and what their stock cost. Your real profit is what you actually keep, and it is also what any tax is based on once you are over the trading allowance.
What comes off your sales
To get your real profit, take your sales and subtract: platform fees, postage you paid, packaging, any refunds or dispute losses, and what you paid for the stock you sold. What is left is your profit.
Platform fees are bigger than you think
On eBay, the final value fee, per-order fee and regulatory fee together often come to more than 12 to 15 percent of the total, and the fee is charged on the postage the buyer pays too. On Vinted there are no seller fees, since the buyer pays those.
The cost of your stock is the one people forget
The most commonly missed cost is what you paid for the items. It is usually the biggest cost of all, and forgetting it makes your profit look far higher than it is, and can make you overpay tax.
Claiming costs lowers your tax
If you are trading and over the £1,000 allowance, every allowable cost you claim lowers your taxable profit. You can deduct either the flat £1,000 or your real costs, whichever is higher. So knowing your real costs can save you money.
The easy way to know your number
Working this out by hand across dozens of orders is tedious and error-prone. Connecting your eBay and Vinted accounts pulls the fees and postage in automatically, so your real profit builds itself. The guides below go deeper on fees, expenses and the calculation.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my payout lower than my sale price?
Because platform fees, postage and any refunds come off before the money reaches you. Your real profit is the sale minus fees, postage and what the stock cost.
How much does eBay take?
Once you add the final value fee, per-order fee and regulatory fee, it is commonly around 12 to 15 percent or more of the total the buyer pays, including postage.
Does my profit decide my tax?
Yes. If you are trading and over the £1,000 allowance, tax is based on your profit, not your sales, so working out your real profit properly comes first.
See where you actually stand
Get a rough answer in about a minute with the free calculator, or connect your eBay account to see your real profit and tax.
The guides in this series
This guide is general information, not tax advice, and reflects the UK rules for the current tax year. Always check with a qualified accountant before you file. FlipTally is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to eBay, Vinted, Depop or HMRC. Last updated 2026-08-04.