The short answer

HMRC treats income from surveys, cashback, GPT sites and similar "side income" activities as taxable trading income. However, if you earn less than £1,000 per tax year from all these activities combined, you can use the trading allowance and don't need to declare or pay tax.

What counts as taxable income?

  • Cash paid to you (via PayPal, bank transfer, etc.)
  • Gift cards received as rewards
  • Cryptocurrency received as payment (valued in GBP at receipt)
  • Vouchers redeemable for goods or services

What doesn't count: money that never reaches you because it stays as points on a platform you never withdraw from. In practice, most people count income when it's withdrawn, but strictly HMRC counts it when it's earned.

The £1,000 trading allowance

Introduced in 2017, the trading allowance gives you £1,000 per tax year of tax-free "miscellaneous income" from activities like:

  • Paid surveys
  • Cashback sites
  • Selling items occasionally on eBay, Vinted, etc.
  • Faucet earnings, GPT platforms, micro-task work
  • Small freelance work done without registering as self-employed

If your combined income from all these sources is under £1,000 in a tax year, you don't need to declare it. Nothing to file, nothing to pay.

What if you earn over £1,000?

Two things change:

  1. You need to register for Self Assessment with HMRC.
  2. You need to declare the income on your tax return.

You have two options:

  • Use the trading allowance: declare up to £1,000 of income with no expenses deductible. You pay tax on anything above that.
  • Deduct actual expenses: track real costs (phone bill for work calls, app subscriptions, etc.) and deduct them from your income. Pay tax on the profit. This is worth doing if your expenses are high.

You can't claim both the £1,000 allowance and real expenses at the same time — you pick one.

How much tax would you pay?

Survey income is treated as additional income. So if you're employed full-time and earn £35,000, your survey earnings above £1,000 are taxed at your marginal rate:

  • Basic rate (20%) — for income up to £50,270
  • Higher rate (40%) — £50,271 to £125,140
  • Additional rate (45%) — above £125,140

Plus National Insurance if profits exceed the Class 4 threshold (currently £12,570).

Realistically, will you earn over £1,000?

At realistic rates (£3–£8/hour), earning £1,000 from surveys would require 125–330 hours of work. That's roughly 30 minutes a day for an entire year, without skipping any days.

If you also do cashback, freelancing, and selling through the same platforms, hitting £1,000 becomes more plausible — but still requires serious commitment.

Most people using our directory will earn between £50 and £500 per year, well below the threshold.

How to keep records

Even if you're below the threshold, keeping simple records is sensible:

  • Date you received the payment
  • Platform name
  • Amount in GBP
  • Form of payment (PayPal, bank, gift card)

A spreadsheet is fine. If you're near the threshold, this makes tax filing straightforward at the end of the year.

Crypto earnings

If you're paid in crypto, the rules are more complex:

  • At receipt: the GBP value of the crypto is taxable income
  • At disposal: if the crypto value changes before you sell or spend it, you may have a capital gain or loss
  • Reporting: the same £1,000 trading allowance applies, but crypto disposals may also trigger Capital Gains Tax rules with a separate £3,000 annual exempt amount (2025/26)

Most survey users receive small amounts of crypto (a few pounds' worth). The £1,000 allowance covers most cases. If amounts matter, consult a crypto-savvy accountant.

What about gambling-adjacent sites?

Gambling winnings are not taxable in the UK for individuals. But "surveys" on casino-adjacent platforms are taxable, because they're payment for work, not gambling wins. If a site is licensed by the Gambling Commission and you're genuinely gambling (not completing tasks), that's different.

Practical advice

  1. Track your earnings. Simple spreadsheet, updated monthly.
  2. Don't worry about tax below £1,000. HMRC has no interest in your £200 from surveys.
  3. If you approach £1,000, register for Self Assessment. Don't wait until the end of the tax year.
  4. If you're unsure, contact HMRC. Their Self Assessment helpline answers questions for free.
  5. For anything over a few hundred pounds, talk to an accountant. The cost of advice is usually less than the cost of getting it wrong.

See also