French resale platforms Vinted and Leboncoin report users to tax authorities if they exceed specific annual sales or earnings thresholds [1].
This reporting mechanism allows the French government to identify individuals who may be operating professional businesses under the guise of occasional selling. By monitoring these thresholds, the Direction générale des Finances publiques can detect potential tax evasion and ensure that income from regular resale activities is correctly taxed [1, 2].
The reporting obligation for digital platforms has been in effect since 2018 [2]. While some social media reports suggest that every transaction is automatically flagged, the tax administration only requires data for users who meet specific criteria.
A Vinted spokesperson said, "Nous contactons automatiquement les personnes ayant rempli au moins l'un de ces deux critères (30 ventes ou plus ; ou plus de 2000 € de gain au cours de l'année civile)" [1]. This means the platform flags accounts that reach 30 sales in a calendar year [1], or those that generate more than 2,000 euros in gains [1].
These rules are particularly relevant for the 2025-2026 tax year [2]. The government seeks to distinguish between casual sellers, who sell personal items at a loss or break-even price, and professional sellers who buy items specifically to resell them for profit.
Taxpayers are reminded that the responsibility to declare income remains with the individual. A journalist for Le Parisien said, "Il faut déclarer les biens vendus si vous dépassez les seuils de fréquence ou de montant" [3]. Failure to report income that exceeds these limits may expose a user to a fiscal audit [2].
The current system focuses on high-volume or high-value activity rather than monitoring every single second-hand transaction. This targeted approach is designed to capture commercial activity while ignoring the occasional sale of old furniture, or clothing, by private individuals [3].
“The reporting obligation for digital platforms has been in effect since 2018.”
The French government is leveraging data-sharing agreements with the 'gig economy' and resale sector to close tax loopholes. By setting specific thresholds for automatic reporting, the state can efficiently target professional resellers without the administrative burden of tracking millions of low-value, non-profit transactions. This signals a broader trend toward the digitalization of tax enforcement in the European Union.
