Materials, postage, Etsy fees, photography props in one app
Materials, packaging, postage, Etsy listing fees, transaction fees, photography props, craft fairs. All scanned, all sorted.
Crossing the £1,000 trading allowance changes everything
Casual Etsy sales under £1,000/year don't need declaring. But once you cross that threshold, every receipt suddenly matters — and most Etsy sellers haven't been keeping them. Start now or you'll over-pay tax for the year.
What PocketReceipt tracks for Etsy sellers
Materials & supplies
Yarn, fabric, beads, jewellery findings, ceramic clay, wood — vendor auto-recognised.
Packaging
Boxes, mailers, tissue paper, branded stickers, tape — categorised as cost of sale.
Postage
Royal Mail, Evri, Hermes — postage costs tracked per shipment.
Etsy fees
Listing fees, transaction fees, payment-processing fees, Etsy Ads — captured monthly.
Photography props & backdrop
Props purchased for product shots are allowable.
Craft fair stalls
Pitch fees, table hire, parking. Categorised as marketing/event costs.
A typical Etsy seller's month, tracked
- Week 1 — order yarn from wholesaler, scan invoice
- Week 2 — buy mailing boxes from Amazon, capture as packaging
- Week 2 — book a Saturday craft fair stall, log pitch fee
- Week 3 — Etsy monthly fee statement, scan and categorise
- Week 4 — replace ring light for product photos, scan as equipment
- Month-end — export summary; reconcile against PayPal/Stripe payouts
FAQ for etsy sellers
Should I claim the £1,000 trading allowance or actual expenses?
If your actual expenses are under £1,000/year, claim the trading allowance — simpler and gives more deduction. If actual expenses exceed £1,000, claim them (with receipts).
I sell on Etsy AND eBay AND Vinted — do I need to register for each?
No — you register once for Self Assessment. The £1,000 trading allowance is across all platforms combined, not per platform.
Etsy reports my income to HMRC — is that automatic?
Yes. Under the Digital Platforms Reporting rules, Etsy and similar platforms report seller earnings to HMRC. Make sure your declared income matches what they've reported.
What about home-office costs for the craft area?
Use simplified expenses (£10-£26/month flat) or actual apportioning. Most casual Etsy sellers use the flat rate — far simpler and usually generous.