The UK is signed up to the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD) model rules for reporting by platform operators. The reporting rules started in the UK from 1 January 2024.

If you runmanage or work within a digital platform in the UK, you may need to:

• collect and check information about sellers on the platform
• report details about sellers to HMRC

If you’re a seller, you can find out how the reporting rules affect selling goods or services on a digital platform.

What countsqualifies as a digital platform

Your app or website is a digital platform under the reporting rules if both the following apply:

• it connects sellers to customers to supply goods or services (for example, taxi hire, food delivery, finding freelance work and letting short-term accommodation) either directly on the platform, or indirectly by using third-party sellers of goods or services
• you holdknow or can easily calculatefind out the amount paid to sellers for goods or services, or you can find out the amount from a third partyservices

Examples of a digital platform under the rules include:

• an online marketplace allowing users to buy and sell clothes
• a rental accommodation website whichallowing allows guest payments and which connects them to accommodation owners

Examples that are not a digital platform under the rules include:

• a website or app thatwhich only allowslists users to list or advertiseadvertises products to sell
• a website or app that only redirects or transfers users to another website
• software that only processes payments
• software that only helps design and maintain websites

Who should register

You will need to register with HMRC if you operate a qualifying digital platformplatform, and anyone of the following apply:applies:

• you reside in the UK
• you are incorporatedmanaged under UK laws
• your business is managed in the UK

Who does not need to register

You do not need to register if you only:

• runsell on a digitalplatform
• manage a platform as a sole trader
• sell on a platform
• sell your own goods or services directly through your own website or app

IfYou you’rewill aneed seller,to tell HMRC if you canare:

• a findreporting outplatform howoperator theand reportingwill rulesreport
• an affect sellingexcluded goodsplatform oroperator servicesand onwill anot digitalreport

An excluded platform. operator is one whose entire business model either: 

Sellers

• does younot needallow sellers to reportprofit tofrom HMRC

Youreceived payments

Reportable sellers are those who both:

• actively supply or are paid for goods or services on yourthe digital platform and either:
  • live in the UK or another country following the reportablerules jurisdiction(Reportable rulesJurisdictions)

  Find (Internationalout Exchangeabout Reportable ofJurisdictions.

  A Informationthird-party, Manual:such IEIM906100)

• manageas propertyan rentalsagent, incan theregister UKand orreport anotheron countryyour followingbehalf.

  How theto reportableregister

  Find jurisdictionout ruleshow (Internationalto Exchangeregister ofto Informationcarry Manual:out IEIM906100)digital platform reporting

What you need to report

As a reporting platform operator, you need to tell HMRC about reportable sellers.

You do not need to report sellers who are:on:

• entities such as companies, partnerships, trusts or charities with more than 2,000 property rentals everyper year on the platform
• companiesentities andsuch relatedas companies, partnerships, trusts or charities, or entities related to these, whose shares are traded regularly on a stock exchange
• sellers owned by a government
• sellers making fewer than 30 sales of goods, and receiving less than 2,000 euros (approximately £1,700) for those sales in a year

Information you need for reporting

You dowill notneed to: 

• collect information about sellers on your platform
• collect information about any property listed on your platform (if applicable) 
• verify the information collected (known as ‘due diligence’) 
• identify reportable sellers
• report information to HMRC

For all sellers, you need to reportreport:

• the sellerscountry gettingthe aseller lives in
• the total amount paid to the seller for the reporting year 
• the number of 2,000transactions eurosthe seller received payment for
• any fees, commissions, or lesstaxes (approximatelyyou £1,700)have forwithheld feweror thancharged 
• bank 30account salesdetails to which amounts were paid — if available

If the account details are different from the seller’s details, give the name of goodsthe inaccount aholder year.and Thisother reportingidentifying exceptiondetails doesabout notthem, applylike to:address and date of birth.

For individual sellers

You need to report their:

• thefull provisionname
• home address
• date of servicesbirth
• rentalNational ofInsurance transportnumber if they live in the UK — if they live outside the UK, the tax identification number and the country where it was issued
• rentalother oftax immoveableidentification propertynumbers (like a VAT number) and where they were issued — if available

Registering

For entities such as acompanies, digitalpartnerships, platformtrusts operator

You need to registerreport with HMRC as:their:

• legal business name
• main business address 
• company registration number for a reportingUK platformcompany operator— if youthe arecompany reportingis sellersoutside the UK, the tax identification number and the country where it was issued
• another excludedtax platformidentification operatornumbers (like a VAT number) and where they were issued — if available

If the seller is a UK partnership, you’ll need their partnership Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) — a reference number from HMRC.

Carrying out due diligence

It’s your responsibility to make sure due diligence is done correctly, even if you use a third-party.

Due diligence for active sellers only

You can choose to carry out due diligence on active sellers only. Active sellers are notthose that supply or are paid for goods or services during the reportable period, which runs from 1 January to 31 December.

If you do this, you’ll need to add a reporting notification in the online reporting service to tell HMRC.

Extended time limits for due diligence on pre-existing sellers

YouWhen you first become a reporting platform operator, you have until the end of the second year to complete due diligence for pre-existing sellers, who are those who have been registered on your platform before you had to start reporting.

This gives you an excludedextra year to collect and verify information for pre-existing sellers. 

If you do this, you’ll need to add a reporting notification in the online reporting service to tell HMRC.

For example, if a platform operator ifbecomes yoursubject entireto businessthe modelreporting either: rules on 1 July 2024, its first reportable period is 2024.

The date by which it must complete due diligence is:

• does31 notDecember allow2024 for sellers who registered on or after 1 July 2024
• 31 December 2025 for sellers who registered before 1 July 2024

When to report

The reporting rules started in the UK from received payments,1 January 2024.

You must submit your report successfully to HMRC by 11:59pm on 31 January for the previous reporting period using the online reporting service. For example, you need to collect information for the year 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 and report it by 31 January 2025.

You must use the digital platform reporting XML schema and supporting documents to create your report for submission.

Large XML files may take up to 2 days to be checked after submission. Your report needs to pass our checks by 11:59pm on 31 January to be considered a ride-sharingsuccessful platformsubmission, whereotherwise you may be charged a penalty for late reporting.

You also need to give a copy of any reported information to the driverseller connectsby withthis passengersdeadline. whoThis contributewill help them if they have to fill in a tax return. 

Penalties

If you do not follow the costrules, you may be charged 3 types of travelpenalty:

• a penalty of up to £1,000 for not telling HMRC if you’re a reporting platform operator or excluded platform operator
• hasan noinitial penalty of up to £5,000 and a continuing penalty of up to £600 per day for not reporting by the 31 January reporting deadline
• a penalty of up to £100 for each inaccurate, incomplete, or unverified seller’s record

If sellers whodo neednot cooperate, you may want to beconsider reportedactions such as:

• limiting their access until you collect the information
• stopping them registering on your platform

HowGet tomore registerinformation

FindYou can find out howmore to registerabout:

• reporting asrules afor digital platforms at IEIM900000 in the HMRC International Exchange of Information Manual
• the OECD rules at ‘Model rules for reporting by platform operatoroperators with respect to sellers in the sharing and gig economy’ on the OECD website.

• sellers you do not need to report on
• what is not a platform