self employed - is printout from ebay/paypal enough as prove of expenses ?

[kris_hm]

Hi,
I'm self employed only from 2-3 months. Sometimes I'm buying things on ebay for my business purposes. i.e. I've bought vinyl cutter. Will printout of transaction details from paypal or ebay be good enough as a proof of expenses for tax office ?? or do I need to ask seller every time for invoice/receipt ??
p.s. please note that on ebay/paypal invoice there is no name or address of the seller. just email, phone and sometimes www address

thanks

[John G]

Its best to have a receipt or invoice stipulating where you bought it from and staple the paypal receipt to the back of that. When ever you buy off ebay just include a note saying you require a receipt with name and address on.

Cheers John

[mrs maggot]

if the ebay seller is a business then they should offer you an invoice, with the new paypal invoicing system, its easy enough for them to do, just contact the sellers and ask them for an invoice

[pitkin2020]

You get an ebay invoice which details your purchase thats all you need for your accounts as it is your receipt. You can also print out the paypal invoice if you want to which will show the amount and payment method. Sellers don't need to provide additional receipts as its all done through ebay.

HTH

[Matt Quinn]

You get an ebay invoice which details your purchase thats all you need for your accounts as it is your receipt. You can also print out the paypal invoice if you want to which will show the amount and payment method. Sellers don't need to provide additional receipts as its all done through ebay.

HTH

I believe that's quite correct - Especially if it's a private seller.

The only caveat is that if they're VAT registered and you request it they must issue a VAT invoice. - I find most in that position routinely do in hard-copy form with the goods .

[pitkin2020]

I believe that's quite correct - Especially if it's a private seller.

The only caveat is that if they're VAT registered and you request it they must issue a VAT invoice. - I find most in that position routinely do in hard-copy form with the goods .

Yeah if your asked to supply an invoice showing the VAT breakdown then you must if you are VAT registered as all ebay purchases must be inclusive of VAT. As a seller I only provide the invoice that is generated through ebay as that is sufficient but I usually add an order note into the order for delivery.