For residents of Canada, eBay and other marketplaces are legally required to report your sales transactions and certain personal or business information to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). eBay will report this information should you meet either of the following thresholds within the calendar year:
- Your total consideration for sales on eBay is equal to or more than $2,800 (or $2,044 USD) after deducting fees and commissions or taxes
- You complete 30 or more sales transactions on eBay (cancelled transactions are not included in the calculation)
Your total consideration for the year is calculated based on the full amount received for your sales transactions, excluding:
- Shipping amounts paid to eBay
- Sales tax (GST/HST/PST/QST) collected and remitted by eBay
- Sales tax (GST/HST/PST/QST) charged on fees
- Amounts deducted by eBay for fees, coupons, cancelled or deleted orders
- Returns
Important
Please be aware that Canada digital sales reporting requirements do not change your tax and reporting obligations. CRA guidance states that if you’re just selling some personal-use property- opens in new window or tab, like those found in a garage, and the sale does not result in a capital gain, it is generally unlikely you have to pay Canadian income tax on that sale. You remain responsible for determining whether your eBay sales are subject to tax and complying with all relevant reporting obligations that may arise from your activities on eBay. We recommend you review this CRA guide - opens in new window or tab, listen to this CRA podcast episode - opens in new window or tab, reach out to the CRA or consult a tax advisor if you have any questions about your tax obligations. Learn more about our Tax policy.
Reporting to the CRA
Starting January 2025, eBay will begin annually reporting to the CRA. Each January we will report for the previous year and provide a copy of the reported data for your review. Should you meet either of the thresholds described above, information that will be shared with the CRA includes:
| Individual sellers | Corporations, partnerships and trusts |
|---|---|
|
Full name |
Business or legal name |
|
Primary address |
Primary address |
|
Social Insurance Number (SIN) |
|
|
Total number of transactions and total amount paid or credited to the seller during each quarter of the calendar year, excluding*:
* Consequently, the amount eBay reports may differ from the total amount of payments you actually received from eBay. |
Total number of transactions and total amount paid or credited to the seller during each quarter of the calendar year, excluding*:
* Consequently, the amount eBay reports may differ from the total amount of payments you actually received from eBay. |
|
Total of fees, commissions or taxes withheld or charged by the platform during each quarter of the calendar year |
Total of fees, commissions or taxes withheld or charged by the platform during each quarter of the calendar year |
|
Number of the bank account to which sales proceeds were paid or credited |
Number of the bank account to which sales proceeds were paid or credited |
Understand what is reported under the Canada digital sales reporting legislation
If we have to report your data under the Reporting Rules for Digital Platforms, we will provide you with a copy of the data reported to the tax authorities in a PDF file. There will also be a CSV file available, that will contain the transactions we used to calculate the total numbers in the PDF. The data in the CSV file is only being shared with you and not reported to the tax authorities. As soon as the PDF and CSV files are available, you will receive an email and a notification in your eBay account. You can download both reports in Seller Hub or My eBay. Here's how:
- Go to the Payments - opens in new window or tab tab in Seller Hub or Payments - opens in new window or tab in My eBay.
- Select Taxes on the left hand side menu bar or go to the Reports and Taxes section and select See all.
- Under Digital Sales Report select Generate under Annual Report to create a PDF or under Detailed File to create a CSV file.
Data protection
We protect your personal data through leading edge technical and organizational security measures to minimize risks associated with data loss, misuse, unauthorized access and unauthorized disclosure and alteration. To this end we use firewalls and data encryption, for example, as well as physical access restrictions for our data centres and authorization controls for data access. We also recommend you enable 2-step verification on your eBay account. We’ll give you ongoing visibility into any information we collect and the ability to easily update your preferences at any time. You can find further information on our data security in our User Privacy Notice.
Providing your tax identification information
Under Canada digital sales reporting legislation, eBay and other marketplaces are required to collect and report your tax identification information to the CRA. If your tax identification information is not yet stored in your eBay account and you've met either of the thresholds, you will see a banner in your seller dashboard and receive an email and message asking you to provide the respective information.
The table below illustrates the specific tax identification information needed, including the format and guidance on where to find it:
| Individuals | Corporations and partnerships | Trusts | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Tax identifier |
Social Insurance Number (SIN) |
Business Number (BN) |
Trust account number |
|
Format |
A nine-digit Canadian Social Insurance Number (SIN) issued by Service Canada |
A nine-digit Business Number (BN) issued by the Canada Revenue Agency |
An eight-digit trust account number preceded by the letter “T” issued by the Canada Revenue Agency |
|
Where can I find it |
|
Note that the 6-digit program account is not required to be disclosed to third party for reporting purposes |
|
|
How do I apply for one? |
For more details, please visit Service Canada- opens in new window or tab on canada.ca |
For more details, please visit Business Number (BN) registration- opens in new window or tab on canada.ca |
For more details, please visit Application for a Trust Account Number- opens in new window or tab on canada.ca |
Tip
If you are required to do so but don't provide the requisite information, it may result in a fine of $500 from the CRA. This is a potential action from the CRA, which eBay has no control over.
What sellers should know
As a Canadian resident, when you sell over $2,800 (or $2,044 USD) or surpass 30 sales transactions within a calendar year, eBay and other marketplaces are obligated to report certain personal or business information to the CRA in accordance with Canada digital sales reporting legislation. eBay will notify you when you have crossed these thresholds. When prompted to do so, please provide eBay the requested tax identification information specific to you as a business or individual. Starting January 2025, the prior year's information will be annually reported to the CRA each January and a copy of the reported data will be provided to you.
Canada digital sales reporting requirements do not change your existing tax obligations or create new tax obligations for you. These thresholds only relate to whether eBay is required to report your data. This doesn’t change your tax obligations or necessarily mean that you must pay taxes on the amounts reported. CRA guidance states that if you’re just selling some personal-use property- opens in new window or tab, like those found in a garage, and the sale does not result in a capital gain, it is generally unlikely you have to pay Canadian income tax on that sale. Whether or which taxes are due because of your sales on eBay depends on your total sales activity, which is not limited to eBay.
The Canada digital sales reporting thresholds do not dictate whether you are trading privately or commercially. The question of whether you are acting commercially or whether tax obligations result from your sales activity depends on your sales activity as a whole. If you are unsure if your selling activity on eBay qualifies as private or commercial or if you have further questions regarding your tax obligations, please review this CRA guide - opens in new window or tab, listen to this CRA podcast episode - opens in new window or tab, reach out to the CRA or consult a tax advisor.