Airbnb, Le Bon Coin, Vinted, Blablacar How to declare your winnings to taxes

Are you renting out your apartment on Airbnb? Do you take carpoolers with Blablacar? Do you frequently resell second-hand goods on Le Bon Coin or Vinted? You may need to notify the tax authorities. What revenue is subject to income tax and how to declare it?

According to an INSEE study, in 2017, 16% of French households had sold a good or service to other individuals in the last twelve months. 2% of them had rented out accommodation, a vehicle, tools or other property. And the collaborative economy is gaining followers every year. In this period of income declaration, many Internet users must therefore be wondering about the need or not to postpone the resources drawn from collaborative economy platforms such as Airbnb, Abritel, Blablacar, Vinted or Le Bon Coin. And the answer to this question is not simple, since it depends on the nature of the activity, the amount of income generated and the tax system chosen.

New in the 2021 declaration

However, this year, the tax authorities are giving you a boost to help you declare this income. In fact, for the first time, in 2021, the tax administration is showing, in the online declaration process, the amount that the platforms of the collaborative economy have reported to it for each taxpayer concerned. Indeed, since last year, they have had the obligation to communicate to the tax authorities the income of their users, if they exceed 3,000 euros and if the number of transactions is greater than 20 per year. These platforms have also already had to send, in January, a summary to their "seller" members, with the total of their earnings for 2020.

Concretely, "there is information at the start of the reporting process which tells you that this year the platforms communicate the amounts of income from these platforms", explains to MoneyVox the communication department of the Directorate General of Public Finances. “When we know the details of the income, we display a pop-up at the level of the section selection screen”.

Does this mean that the boxes are pre-filled, such as for income from work, retirement pensions or the taxation of savings products? “No, there is no pre-print”, specifies the tax authorities. “It is up to the taxpayer, depending on the situation in which he finds himself and with the help of the practical sheets, to declare or not the sums collected”. The interested party must therefore check whether the amounts are taxable; if so, determine which income category they fall under; then indicate them in the corresponding headings. The practical sheets mentioned are indeed very well done to help the taxpayer to find his way through the intricacies of the declaration. Note: not all taxpayers' earnings are necessarily reported by connection platforms, such as when the sale is made from Le Bon Coin but with a personal delivery; or that a seasonal accommodation is reserved from this site but with a payment outside the integrated system In this case, it is up to the taxpayer to identify his receipts and see whether or not he must specify them in his declaration.

Airbnb and Abritel: income (almost) always to be declared

On Airbnb, Abritel or other real estate rental site between individuals, you rent your accommodation to other people. It is therefore a commercial activity of renting furnished property, which requires you to declare your earnings to taxes. However, there are two cases of exemption. Firstly, if you rent all or part of your principal residence, seasonally, for a gain of less than 760 euros per year, you do not have to indicate this to the tax authorities. The same applies if, while occupying your accommodation, you rent one or more rooms at a capped price, which depends on its location. For the rents collected in this respect in 2020, the ceiling is thus 190 euros per year and per square meter in Ile-de-France and 140 euros in the other regions.

In other situations, your income is taxed when it exceeds 305 euros per year. To declare them, you have two options: make your life easier by opting for the so-called "micro-BIC" regime (industrial and commercial profits) or optimize your taxation by choosing the real regime. This second option is mandatory when your turnover exceeds 72,600 euros per year, which is a priori rarely the case for an individual renting his apartment punctually on Airbnb or Abritel.

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In practice, with the micro-BIC, you simply have to report your receipts in box 5ND "furnished rentals" of form 2042 C pro, a document complementary to the one you complete for your income from employment and investments. Subsequently, the tax administration applies a standard allowance of 50% on these resources, a deduction supposed to take account of your various expenses. In other words, if in 2020 you earned 4,000 euros by renting your house on Airbnb, you must indicate "4,000" on line 5ND, but you will only be taxed on 2,000 euros.

Read also: Your income and benefits that escape the declaration

OuiCar, Getaround (ex-Drivy): same tax treatment as Airbnb income

What about renting a car on Getaround or OuiCar? The tax authorities also consider this to be a commercial activity and therefore tax the income thus received. The rules are the same as those previously mentioned for income derived via Airbnb: you have the choice between micro-BIC and real regime. But, in this case, the choice is generally even simpler. At the micro-BIC, the automatic reduction of 50% on the income from the rental already makes it possible to deduct more than the insurance premium (so the costs would really have to be very high for the reality to become interesting) . With the micro-BIC, the receipts are to be indicated in box 5NP on the 2042 C pro declaration.

Le Bon Coin, Vinted: barring exceptions, exempt individuals

Are you reselling your washing machine, your newborn's clothes that are now too small or your old car? Rest assured, the tax authorities will not take anything from these earnings. As a result, most of the time, individual resellers do not have to report the money from the resale of objects that have already been used in their tax return.

The only exceptions: you transfer precious metals or you resell a piece of jewellery, an object of art, clothing or any other second-hand item for a unit amount greater than 5,000 euros (excluding household appliances, furniture or automobiles which remain exempt). In these cases, you must complete a specific form (the 2048-M) and are taxed at 19% on the capital gain realized.

Similarly, professional sellers on classified ad sites (i.e. people who buy or manufacture goods for the sole purpose of reselling them) are taxed as soon as their annual earnings exceed 305 euros . If this is your case, you can opt for the micro-BIC scheme as long as your income is below 176,200 euros per year. In practice, you must most often report your income from line 5NO on the 2042 C pro supplementary declaration, which gives you a 71% allowance for costs. Thus, concretely, if you earn 10,000 euros on Le Bon Coin per year, the tax authorities calculate your tax on only 2,900 euros.

On Le Bon Coin, you can also provide services for a fee. This income is taxed. But, depending on the activity, they are taxed either as industrial profits or as non-commercial profits.

Le Bon Coin being a generalist platform, it is also possible to offer accommodation or a car for rent. For this type of service, the same tax treatment as for income from thematic platforms Airbnb or OuiCar applies.

Blablacar: no tax in the context of cost sharing

On the other hand, the earnings of users of a platform like Blablacar are not taxed. Indeed, carpooling is fiscally neutral, if it remains within the framework of cost sharing. In detail, in order not to be taxed, you must also make the journey for your own account, part of the costs incurred (fuel and toll) must remain your responsibility and the total price (divided by the number of passengers) must not not exceed the mileage scale. These three characteristics are fulfilled by going through a carpooling platform. On the other hand, this is what distinguishes carpoolers on Blablacar from drivers on Uber who carry out a commercial activity and who are therefore taxed.

Uber: taxable income above 305 euros per year

Drivers registered with Uber are subject to either the micro-BIC regime, with a 50% reduction (earnings below 72,600 euros), or at the real regime (compulsory if income exceeds 72,600 euros). By opting for the simplified regime, the receipts are to be reported in box 5NP "provision of services" of form 2042 C pro. In the event of annual income below 305 euros, the tax authorities do not levy any tax.