Tax Administration: influencers must also pay tax on unsolicited products

Content creators can offset their expenses against taxation.

Last year, the Tax Administration investigated the tax affairs of several hundred content creators who earned money through platforms. The Tax Administration says creators of content on OnlyFans alone fail to declare incomes amounting to over five million euros.

The Tax Administration reminds influencers and content creators that they must declare incomes from platforms. Content creators can offset their expenses against taxation.

“The Tax Administration added undeclared incomes content creators had earned through platforms to their taxable incomes. We are continuing our oversight this year,” says Kari Torssonen, responsible for risk at the Tax Administration.

From this year onwards, the Tax Administration uses annual reports supplied by platform operators. These reports provide the Tax Administration with information about the sales of goods and services via digital platforms, as well as about the rental of vehicles and real estate. This is because of DAC7, a change to an existing EU directive, which obliges platform operators to inform EU countries’ tax authorities about incomes earned via their platforms.

Maximum €50 value of promotional gifts

The Tax Administration points out that influencers must pay tax not only on monetary wages, but also on products they receive for free and exclusive discounts.

“Influencers must also pay tax on products they didn’t ask for or that they don’t present in their social media channels. Normal promotional gifts are an exception. They are not taxable, unless it’s been agreed that they are rewards for visibility,” says Kirsi Tuunala, a leading tax specialist at the Tax Administration.

A promotional gift is usually not worth more than €50. It could be more valuable if the gift prominently displays the gift giver’s logo. In that case, it cannot easily be sold for cash.

An influencer can offset the costs of social media content production on the same principle as with other income: only the portion of costs directly related to earning the income is deductible.
An influencer cannot offset their living costs against taxation. They include common clothing costs, newspaper and magazine subscriptions, and household device costs.

“For example, the costs of buying a phone are not deductible, even if the phone is partly used for earning an income,” Tuunala says.

“An influencer must keep notes of the products, services and exclusive discounts they receive, as well as the costs of content production, during the year. You don’t need to attach receipts to your tax declaration: we’ll ask for them if necessary.”

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