How to start an easy side hustle from your sofa to earn a passive income of £45,000 a year
TOPPING up your income from the comfort of your sofa is becoming more and more popular as the cost of living continues to rise.
If you’re thinking of starting a side hustle but you aren’t sure where to start, look no further.
We’ve rounded up some of the most popular side hustles that anyone can do.
Most of them can done in just a few hours from the sofa at home and they could help boost your earnings by hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
One thing to be aware of before you start – everyone is allowed to earn up to £1,000 a year from a side hustle.
If you earn more than that in a year, you’ll have to fill out a self-assessment tax return to declare that income and pay income tax on it.
We’ve rounded up some of the most popular side hustles that anyone can do.
Most of them can done in just a few hours from the sofa at home and they could help boost your earnings by hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
One thing to be aware of before you start – everyone is allowed to earn up to £1,000 a year from a side hustle.
If you earn more than that in a year, you’ll have to fill out a self-assessment tax return to declare that income and pay income tax on it.
You must do this whether you’re self-employed or earn a salary or wages from a company.
Surveys – around £200 a year
There are hundreds of sites that will pay you to fill out surveys and take part in market research.
You don’t need to have any specific knowledge to get in on this side hustle – you just need to take some time to fill in what you think or which multiple choice answers apply to you.
Some surveys are just a couple of clicks and take less than a minute while others can happen in person and take a full day.
You can choose what suits you.
Different companies pay you in different ways – some with vouchers for popular high street retailers or credit to spend on Amazon.
Do I need to pay tax on my side hustle income?
MANY people feeling strapped for cash are boosting their bank balance with a side hustle.
The good news is, there are plenty of simple ways to earn some additional income – but you need to know the rules.
When you’re employed the company you work for takes the tax from your earnings and pays HMRC so you don’t have to.
But anyone earning extra cash, for example from selling things online or dog walking, may have to do it themselves.
Stephen Moor, head of employment at law firm Ashfords, said: “Caution should be taken if you’re earning an additional income, as this is likely to be taxable.
“The side hustle could be treated as taxable trading income, which can include providing services or selling products.”
You can make a gross income of up to £1,000 a year tax-free via the trading allowance, but over this and you’ll usually need to pay tax.
Stephen added: “You need to register for a self-assessment at HMRC to ensure you are paying the correct amount of tax.
“The applicable tax bands and the amount of tax you need to pay will depend on your income.”
If you fail to file a tax return you could end up with a surprise bill from HMRC later on asking you to pay the tax you owe – plus extra fees on top.
Others will reward you with points which you can redeem through PayPal or in shopping vouchers.
There are apps that let you cash out your earnings, though there’s usually a charge.
Some surveys will pay you less than a quid, but for longer surveys, you can earn a lot more.
PopulusLive pays £1 per five minutes up to a maximum of £50.
Prolific is another survey site, but there are eligibility criteria so you won’t be able to do every survey.
Where you do qualify, each survey could net you up to a tenner.
Some of the best-known survey sites are:
- i-Say
- Swagbucks
- Crowdology
- Curious Cat
- Google Opinion Rewards
- PopulusLive
It’s worth reading the small print before you commit and set up a dedicated email address so your inbox isn’t swamped.
Some firms will ask you to pay a joining fee, but there are so many free sites that it is unlikely to be worth it.
Help out your neighbours – up to £45k a year
There is now a whole selection of apps that help people living in a local area to swap information, offer services for free or a fee and resell unwanted items.
It’s possible to turn something you love into ready cash by listing on these sites.
While tasks like dog walking, helping others out with DIY or gardening are popular choices, there are those you can do from your sofa, or someone else’s, like house sitting.
Nextdoor is a popular app that connects you to your neighbours.
If you have a service to offer, you can list it easily for free. The app also verifies every user so you know they really are a neighbour.
TaskRabbit specialises in DIY and other more physical tasks such as home repairs, cleaning and moving house.
Job site Indeed lists the typical salaries you can earn through the app, ranging from around £25,000 a year for cleaning jobs up to £45,000 for people helping others to carry out business operations and admin.
Some apps will take a cut of what you earn, while others let you keep 100% of the income you generate through their app.
Make sure you check the fine print so you don’t get stung with a nasty surprise.
Rent it – up to £650 a month
There’s a demand for renting a huge range of items – anything from DIY tools to your car or even your driveway.
Hiyacar, Getaround, Karshare and Turo let you rent your car out to other people when you’re not using it, meaning it earns its keep.
Check the contract terms for insurance and safety measures before you get going – you could earn up to £650 a month.
JustPark and YourParkingSpace let you list any spare space where you park and charge users a fee.
Depending on where you live you could earn up to £40 a day – especially if you’re close to a train station.
You can also advertise on sites such as Nextdoor and Gumtree if you want to rent out smaller items such as a lawnmower for the day.
Side hustles in numbers
Based on new research from Finder, an estimated 22.8 million Brits are using side hustles to top up their income.
Among those aged 18-23, 68 percent have a side hustle in 2024.
Those aged 24-42 aren’t far behind, with 65 per cent having an additional source of income.
Side hustles are less popular among older generations, with 40 percent of those aged 43-54 having one.
Whereas 23 percent of people aged 55-73 and just 7 per cent of those aged 74 and over are earning extra cash this way.
Get social – £10 to £10,000 per post
With time and a bit of commitment, you can build up a strong enough following on social media platforms and get paid to promote products and services.
The simplest way to earn money is by partnering with a brand as an Instagram influencer.
They send you products to test out and review in your posts and in exchange they’ll pay you a fee.
You must have a minimum of 1,000 followers to become an influencer and the more followers, the bigger the fee.
You’re followers also need to engage with your posts, as this also affects how much you
Influencer Marketing Hub suggests that you can earn between £10 and £100 per post if you’ve got between 1,000 and 10,000 followers.
If you’ve got half a million followers, you could pull in £5,000 per post.
Sell, sell, sell – as much as you want
Good for your wallet and for the world, reselling unwanted items such as clothes or children’s toys is increasingly popular.
There are plenty of apps and websites that make it super easy to sell your items online by finding potential buyers for you and handling a lot of the shipping process.
Each platform and app offers something slightly different, so it can be a good idea to try a few out until you find one that works for you.
The biggest and the most established platforms are eBay and Amazon.
Both have massive reach, though Amazon’s Marketplace tends to appeal mostly to small businesses.
Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor and Shpock help you to sell to people in your local area for free.
For clothes, Vinted is fast becoming the reseller’s go-to app. There are no fees so you get to keep the money you make.
Depop, Preloved and Vestiaire are also widely used reselling sites.
Some side hustlers scour charity shops and car boot sales for cheap items they then sell on for a profit.
Generally speaking, there’s no limit on how much you can earn from reselling but the more expensive and in demand the item, the bigger the profit.
Secondhand designer handbags can go for hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds.
If you’re selling last season’s Zara dress, you’re more likely to get in the region of £10.
And even if you sell items for just a couple of pounds, you’ll be doing your bit for the environment while topping up your bank balance.
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