British sharing economy workers' £2,000 tax break

The Chancellor, George Osborne, yesterday introduced two new tax allowances for Britons making money via the sharing economy: one for those who rent out their homes online via Airbnb or similar property sharing platforms, the other for people who sell items through online marketplaces such as eBay. The new allowances will mean that, from April 2017, individuals with property or trading income do not have to declare or pay tax on the first £1,000 they earn from each source per year. If they earn more than that amount, they will have to declare the earnings, but can still benefit by deducting the allowance first. Debbie Wosskow, the founding chair of Sharing Economy UK (SEUK), said: “This is a colossal win for Britain…This demonstrates the UK truly is the home of the sharing economy and leading the global stage in this space.”

People who use Airbnb, the service that allows you to rent out your property online, have just been given a second tax break within 12 months by chancellor George Osborne, which could see them earn as much as £8,500 a year without paying any tax.



In Wednesday's Budget statement, Osborne announced a new £1,000 tax-free allowance for people who rent out their home online, one of two new measures on the sharing economy.

The subsidy, which would be extended to individuals who rent our their driveway or let out a room in their main home for use as an office in the daytime, would come into force from April 2017.

The new subsidy comes on top of another measure revealed by BuzzFeed News last July, which will see the so-called "rent-a-room" allowance – which applies to people who rent out rooms in their main residence – increased from £4,250 to £7,500 every year, starting from April 2016.

This means Airbnb users could earn £7,500 from renting out their home – in addition to another £1,000 from renting out their driveway or home office – before they have to pay any tax. The homesharing website has already updated its website to inform its users about the new allowance. A spokesperson for the website welcomed the new measure.