In Micro, here are 2 often overlooked obligations:
For the micro-entrepreneurs among you, did you have the 2 pieces of information below?
Receipt book / Purchase register: You must keep a book that includes all collected sales with, in particular, an invoice reference, the date, and the amount. Keeping this book is mandatory and it will be requested in case of an inspection. Same for a purchase register which has the same function but for your purchases.
Turnover declaration to URSSAF: Potentially, you must include all sums earned with Vinted, and this can include Vinted fees AND shipping costs…
What are my sources?
For the receipt book: this is fairly common information. Here is an example of an official source discussing it: https://entreprendre.service-public.fr/vosdroits/F23266
Note that in case of non-compliance, no penalty is provided BUT it could be requested in case of an inspection.
Regarding the calculation of the turnover to declare: I received this information directly from my URSSAF, when they wanted to check that I had included the fees from MALT, a connection platform (a sort of Uber for IT professionals), in my freelance IT developer income.
I am providing the full letter received, but 2 passages will be particularly relevant for micro-entrepreneurs:
« Indeed, you must declare to URSSAF, in addition to your turnover generated outside digital platforms, the gross total amount of your income received via this or these platform(s) without any deductions such as, in particular, commissions or shipping costs. »
« you must send us a copy of your chronological receipt book and bank statements for the year »
Fortunately, I am compliant, but in my opinion, not everyone has this information Especially regarding shipping costs, which do not apply to my former activity (fortunately) but which do apply to PROFESSIONALS on Vinted.
Regarding Vinted fees and shipping costs, this is not the case for self-employed individuals (AUTO-ENTREPRENEURS). I’m emphasizing this so it’s not confused with another status.
Vinted fees are attributable to the platform. And shipping costs are the same.
When I receive the annual summary from Vinted, I only have the sum received from items sold, but NOT the Vinted fees, nor the shipping costs.
The amount of these last two is set by the platform and at no time are they paid to us. We must declare ONLY the turnover received.
I recently called about this because I was afraid of misdeclaring.
Did you call URSSAF and did they confirm this to you verbally?
Because this seems to contradict what is on the scanned document that I put above.
“Indeed, you must declare to Urssaf, in addition to your turnover generated outside digital platforms, the gross total amount of your income received via this or these platform(s) without any deductions such as commissions or shipping costs.”
Except for one detail, the word « received ». Indeed, if we don’t receive this sum, I admit that we wouldn’t have to declare it?
The tax administration likes to be unclear
So for me, it’s « perceived » indeed, so if you perceive commissions or if you set the shipping costs yourself, you necessarily earn that money, which is part of your turnover.
This confirms what the lady from Urssaf told me on the phone.
She said exactly: « You declare the turnover that you receive in your bank account. » I’m even going to call them back to find out if, in the end, I am obliged or not to declare the commission that Leboncoin takes on my sales. It’s a small difference in the final turnover (I sell little on LBC), but there you go, it’s a part that I don’t earn but that I declare for fear of doing it wrong.
If you want to be sure, regarding your profile, you can call 3698 tomorrow.
I received a response from my URSSAF: even though I never received the platform’s commissions in my bank account, I should have declared them as turnover. So I’m going to be audited…
To be in a Facebook group for professional sellers, everyone receives different answers from Urssaf and the tax authorities. The basic rule is that you must declare the entire turnover without any deductions. Now the question arises as to what constitutes turnover since certain sums never pass through us.
For example, eBay is clear, neat, and precise since we receive the total sum of the sale and we pay for shipping costs and eBay commission, so the total turnover to declare, no ambiguity.
For example, the fees are certainly not to be paid because it is buyer protection that is purchased by the buyer from Vinted. Moreover, Vinted does not invoice us and does not ask to upload VAT on it, unlike shipping costs. So it seems rather clear to me that it is not, since at no time do the fees appear in any way, it is a transaction carried out between the buyer and Vinted for a service provided by Vinted to the buyer.
And here it’s more complicated. The question is actually who pays them? If the customer buys them from Vinted, it’s not us; if Vinted forces us to buy them, it’s us. The second solution still poses a problem in that Vinted imposes carriers on us, clearly pushes for Vinted Go by almost hiding other drop-off points with their new shipping choice form, and leaves us no flexibility in choosing the pricing of these or the compensation amounts. But the trend would be that it should be declared.
Yes, the commission that Leboncoin takes from us, I am obliged to declare it to Urssaf, because it is the price the buyer has to pay. So I systematically lose 9% of my selling price, and twice in the end since Urssaf will take its share of what I haven’t even received!
Indeed, it’s very complicated to know, in the end, who is right. This proves that it’s still quite flawed and that, if the case goes to court, a lawyer could find loopholes in what is or isn’t considered turnover.
I don’t know about the micro-enterprise status, but in a SASU, your accountant will have to reconcile: what you have actually received (email from Vinted about the transferred sum) and the overall invoice including « professional » fees and shipping costs that you have not received. This reconciliation, although long and tedious, costs me between 200 and 300 euros per month, so I pay close attention to it.
I wonder what the point of a purchase register is for a micro-entrepreneur, since these purchases have no impact on taxation. We don’t deduct them from turnover. Personally, I wouldn’t bother with an administrative task that is useless for me or anyone else.
Exactly, I only source from flea markets. I don’t have time to fill out ledgers. As long as I’m not subject to VAT, I don’t bother with it: it’s just paperwork for bureaucratic civil servants.
this is for checking the origin of purchases, for example if there is a suspicion of receiving stolen goods or money laundering.
Hence the term police register for second-hand purchases.
Regarding shipping costs: according to Vinted’s Terms and Conditions, they are clearly stated as prepaid by the platform, so we can justify in case of an inspection that they are not part of our turnover.
Regarding the purchase register for micro-businesses or self-employed individuals, it is better in case of an inspection; and this register, also called a Police register, as @Gametoysretro mentions, is truly mandatory for everything related to precious metals/gold/silver/platinum (it is also mandatory in my case, for my consignment sales activity).
Is no one talking about the ecotax to be paid to organizations affiliated with ADEME (an organization that will differ depending on the type of products sold)?
ah yes, consignment is better. I knew the team of a Happy Cash (which sadly closed) very well, and they told me some great stories, but they were checked at least once a week, even police officers would pass by in civilian clothes just to look at what was on the shelves.
anyway, they are not included in what Vinted transmits to the tax authorities, so from there, there will not even be an inspection.
They often have attempts by guys trying to sell their stolen goods. Like a guy had sold them a TNT decoder, he came back the next day with several tens explaining that it was his personal collection. Or the seller who sees from the office window his neighbors arriving with his bikes that had been stolen over the weekend etc etc …
Especially regarding shipping costs, which do not apply to my former activity (fortunately) but which do apply to PROFESSIONALS on Vinted.
