Need to know

• HMRC is cracking down on online sellers, with platforms sharing data, so “casual” side hustle income will be firmly on their radar.

• High street firms are as local sellers first point of call for simple advice and practical tax guidance.

Welcome to TSL’s Weekly Edge, whether you’re aiming for a regional or high-street practice, or just want to get a feel for how law works in the real world beyond textbooks, you’re in the right place. 

No corporate jargon, no massive deals, just real useful information designed to give you that extra edge in your legal journey.

🧠Wilson’s Weekly Wisdom

Here’s an uncomfortable truth: progress rarely looks like progress while you’re living it.

It often looks like rejection emails. A module you thought you’d smash but didn’t. An application cycle that ends with nothing to show for it except a dented ego.

Detours have a bad reputation. But in reality you’re just taking the long way round, learning vital lessons along the way. My detour was working as a paralegal before securing a training contract, teaching me how to juggle tasks and manage expectations before the pressure really ramped up.

Failure isn’t the opposite of progress. It’s often the evidence of it. Those so-called wrong turns often turn out to be the bits that actually shaped you.

📣 Your Turn: Ask Us Anything (Almost)

Got a question that’s been quietly bugging you about the legal world, commercial awareness, training contracts, or how regional firms actually work day to day? Good. We want it.

Each month, we’ll pick a question and do a an editorial response. No fluff. No corporate waffle. Just honest, practical answers you can actually use in applications, interviews, and real conversations in firms.

If you’re wondering it, chances are someone else is too. So be brave, be curious, and send it in.

👉 Submit your question here!

💡Spotlight Article

Selling things online used to feel pretty harmless; a couple of bits on Vinted, a vintage jacket on eBay, maybe some homemade candles on Etsy. 

Can’t hurt, can it?

Not anymore. The taxman’s now got his eye on your online sales.

That “just a bit of extra cash” can turn into a situation if you’re not paying attention!

🔎What’s happening? 

From January 2026, HMRC gets a front-row seat to your online sales.

If you sell on Vinted, eBay, and Etsy, that is, and you sell more than about 30 items or make over £1,700 a year, these platforms must report it.

So that weekend listing or the odd midweek uploading of unwanted gifts, shoes, or jigsaw puzzles? It’s all visible now!

Interestingly, the mentioned is not a new form of tax. It’s scrutiny. HMRC checks anyone over the £1,000 trading allowance against their declared income, and hits fast if there’s a gap. They’ve even launched a £40 million enforcement campaign, are ready to send letters, chase “hidden cash”, and sometimes impose fines or back taxes.

The platforms hand over all the details: total sales, buyers, account activity. Even a “few casual sales” can trigger it.

Small online businesses?

They are fully traceable and accountable.

The reality check?

HMRC can spot discrepancies quickly!

As you may now guess, you’ve got to keep records, know your thresholds, and declare your income. Ignore it all in the hope that it magically goes away, and that extra cash will turn into the worst-case scenario you tried to avoid in the first place.

❓ Why it matters to high street firms

HMRC’s latest push creates hands-on cases for high street firms, helping everyday clients who sell on Vinted, eBay, or Etsy. Casual sellers suddenly have rules, thresholds, and penalties to navigate, and they need practical legal advice.

Because more sellers realise they are at risk of incurring HMRC’s wrath, high street lawyers will increasingly feel the impact in three ways, as they’ve got to:

1. Keep clients compliant: Guiding hobbyists and local makers on the £1,000 trading allowance, reporting thresholds, and what counts as taxable income. Record-keeping guidance is more important than ever.

2. Handle enforcement: HMRC letters or fines are on the way. Local solicitors may step in to respond, make sure to cut through the confusion, or fight penalties, turning a side hustle hassle into manageable steps.

3. Offer clarity and reassurance: Most sellers aren’t tax experts. Explaining obligations in plain English stops panic, builds trust, and shows the real value of high-street legal advice.

For regional practitioners, this is everyday practical law, as there will be a steady stream of clients needing accessible guidance, with more recognisable problems to solve, bringing with it opportunities to make an authentic difference.

£1,000 Trading Allowance

 This is where HMRC starts paying attention.

 Earn £1,000 or less from selling in a tax year, and you’ve little worries. Go a pound over? Say hello to Self Assessments, side hustle or not.

Don’t confuse this with the £1,700 figure, as that’s just the “we give HMRC a heads-up” number. The trading allowance is the tax problem decider, the one that gets the taxman knocking on your door!