HMRC warning to anyone who uses eBay or Vinted - you have hours left to act

The deadline for registering to be a self-assessment taxpayer is 11:59pm on Saturday, October 5 for those who need to pay self-assessment taxes for the 2023/24 tax year

There are just hours left to register for self-assessment with HMRC.

The deadline for registering to be a self-assessment taxpayer is 11:59pm on Saturday, October 5. The deadline will affect those who will - for the first time - need to pay self-assessment taxes for the 2023/24 tax year.

There are several reasons why you'll need to register as a self-assessment taxpayer. The first is if you earn an income of over £1,000 from self-employment. This can be through your own business, or alongside a PAYE job. With the rise of Brits taking on side hustles, more people may need to declare their income.

If you sell online - this could be through a site such as - Etsy, Vinted, or eBay - you should double check your earnings as under the law, these third-party sites need to report earnings on the platform. So if you go over the £1,000 limit, they will need to report it to HMRC.

You will also need to register as a self-assessment taxpayer if you earn over £2,500 from renting out a property or you get more than £2,500 in other "untaxed income". You will also need to register if you had a P800 from HMRC saying you did not pay enough tax last year, you need to prove you’re self-employed, for example, to claim Tax-Free Childcare, or you want to make voluntary Class 2 National Insurance payments to help you qualify for benefits.

Once you have registered, you have until January 31 to submit your turn and pay the taxes you owe. If you are filing a paper return you only have until October 31 to submit it, you then have until January 31 to pay. If you fail to do this, you risk being fined £100 from HMRC. You could be charged even more if you fail to submit it within three months of the deadline and then charged more on top of this if it is later - plus interest - or if you pay your tax bill late.

How to register for self-assessment for the first time

To register for self-assessment you will need to set up an "organisation account" - or a "business tax account - for HMRC's online services. You can set this up using your government gateway login. It's important to remember that this is different from your personal tax account. Once the business account is set up, then you can register for self-assessment by selecting "add a tax to your account to get online access to a tax, duty or scheme."

You can also register through a paper form too. All you need to do is download the document from the Government's website, print it out and post it to HMRC. However, if you choose to do this you will miss this year's deadline.

Once you have registered, HMRC should notify you of your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number within 10 to 15 working days. This is a 10 digit number which you need in all communications with HMRC. The tax office will also issue you a formal notice to file a tax return for the 2023/24 tax year. You can choose via your online tax account whether you want to receive this digitally or by post. From then, all you need to do is file/pay your tax returns by the relevant deadline.