As an influencer or content creator, your income rarely consists of one simple stream. There are paid collaborations, products you receive for free in exchange for a post, ad revenue from platforms such as YouTube or TikTok, and sometimes a mix of all these forms within a single month. For your bookkeeping and tax return, all of this must be processed correctly and completely, including the things that do not arrive in your account as an amount of money. In this article we explain what to watch out for.
Short answer
All income you earn as an influencer through your activities counts for tax purposes, even if you do not receive money but products or services in exchange for content. This is called payment in kind or, for entrepreneurs, a benefit in kind, and it must be included in your revenue at market value. In addition, you must simply declare income from foreign platforms such as YouTube or TikTok in the Netherlands, even if these platforms themselves do not withhold any Dutch tax. Careful record-keeping of all collaborations, including the products you receive, prevents unpleasant surprises in the event of an inspection.
Gifting and products as payment: often underestimated
One of the most common misunderstandings among influencers is that products sent for free in exchange for a post, story or video have no impact on tax because no money changes hands. That is not correct. As soon as you provide something in return, such as creating content, a review or tagging a brand, there is an exchange transaction. The product or service received is then treated by the tax authorities as income, valued at fair market value, in other words the market value of the product at the moment it is received.
This applies both to influencers who do this as self-employed entrepreneurs, in which case it must be included as revenue in the profit calculation, and to influencers who do this alongside employment or on a smaller scale, in which case it can be classified as payment in kind or as income from other activities. In both cases the rule is: the value of the product received counts for tax purposes, even if you personally have not received a single euro for it.
It is important, however, that there must be an actual consideration in return. If you receive a one-off, spontaneous gift with no obligation attached, for example no required post, no mention and no tag, the situation is different from an agreed collaboration. In practice the line is not always sharp, and the Tax Authorities assess this based on the actual agreements and conduct. If you are unsure whether a received product must be declared as income, discuss this with your bookkeeper based on the specific agreements you had with the brand.
Example
An influencer receives a bag worth 300 euros from a fashion brand, with the agreement that she will post an Instagram post tagging the brand within two weeks. Because a specific consideration has been agreed, she must include this 300 euros as revenue in her records, even though she has not received any money. If she also receives a payment of 150 euros for the same post, that amount comes on top of the 300 euros in value of the bag, making a total of 450 euros of income for this one collaboration.
How do you determine the value of received products?
For your records, what matters is the fair market value, in practice usually the retail price or the price the brand itself charges for it, not any purchase price paid by the brand. For every collaboration in which you receive a product, keep:
- The agreements with the brand, for example by email or in a collaboration agreement, showing what consideration was agreed.
- The recommended retail price or retail value of the received product at the moment of receipt.
- A short note in your records with the date, brand, product, value and the consideration provided.
This way, in the event of an inspection, you can easily show how you arrived at the value declared, instead of having to reconstruct afterwards which products you received in a given year.
You should also bear in mind that not every product received needs to be included as income at its full retail value. If it concerns a consumable product, such as a jar of cream or a bottle of wine, and you partly use it yourself after the shoot or photos, you may reasonably adjust the value for the portion actually used for the content. If, on the other hand, you receive a product that you continue to use privately after the collaboration, for example a piece of clothing or a bag you received for a photoshoot, there is mixed use. In that case you must treat a reasonable part of the value as business-related and the rest as a private benefit, rather than treating the product entirely as a business expense or entirely as private. How best to substantiate this split differs per situation and is best discussed with your bookkeeper beforehand.
Income from collaborations and sponsorships
Besides products, as an influencer you often also receive direct payments for collaborations, for example a fixed amount for a video production, a sponsored post or a long-term ambassadorship. You process this income as revenue, with an invoice to the client just as with any other business service. Watch out for VAT: if you are a VAT entrepreneur, you must in principle charge VAT on these services, unless an exemption or reverse-charge scheme applies, for example when collaborating with a client in another country.
Foreign platform income: YouTube, TikTok and others
Many platforms through which content creators earn money, such as YouTube via the Partner Program or TikTok via Creator Rewards, pay out from a foreign entity, often in the United States or Ireland. This changes nothing about your tax obligations in the Netherlands: if you live in the Netherlands and are liable to tax here, you simply have to declare this income, even if the platform itself does not withhold any Dutch tax.
A few practical points to keep in mind:
- Platforms often pay out in dollars. For your records, you need to convert these amounts to euros at the exchange rate at the time of receipt, or according to a consistent, well-documented method.
- Some American platforms withhold tax if you have not filled in a tax form showing that you are not liable to tax in the United States. Make sure this is set up correctly to avoid double taxation.
- Periodically download the payout statements from every platform, so that at the end of the year you have a complete overview of all amounts received per platform.
How should you best set up your records?
For influencers and content creators, it usually works best to maintain a fixed, recurring rhythm:
- For each collaboration, keep track of whether it was paid in money, in products, or in a combination of both.
- Always note the market value and the agreed consideration for products.
- Collect the payout statements from platforms such as YouTube and TikTok on a monthly basis.
- Keep business and private expenses strictly separate, even if you work from home, so that deductible costs such as equipment, software and part of your workspace can be properly substantiated.
- Periodically check with your bookkeeper whether your activities still fit your current legal form, certainly if your income from collaborations is growing quickly.
Frequently asked questions
Do I really have to pay tax on a free product I received?
If you provided a consideration, such as a post, review or mention, the value of the product counts as income and you must declare it at market value. Only with a genuinely no-strings-attached gift, with no consideration agreed at all, is the situation different.
How do I determine the value of a received product if there is no fixed retail price?
In that case, use as well-substantiated an estimate of the market value as possible, for example based on comparable products or the price the brand itself communicates for it. Record this substantiation in your books.
Do I need to charge VAT on collaborations with foreign brands?
This depends on where the client is established and whether it concerns a business client. For collaborations with entrepreneurs in other EU countries, the VAT reverse-charge scheme may apply, meaning you do not charge Dutch VAT but state this on the invoice instead. Have this assessed on a case-by-case basis, certainly if you regularly work with foreign brands.
I only earn a small amount via TikTok, do I still have to declare it?
Yes, even small amounts count towards your taxable income. There is no general exemption for small amounts of platform income, although the way this is declared can differ depending on whether you carry out the activity as a hobby, as income from other activities, or as a business.
What happens if I have never declared gifting and now want to correct this?
It is wise to discuss this with your bookkeeper and, where necessary, submit a correction or voluntary disclosure to the Tax Authorities. How best to approach this depends on the scale and period involved.
I sometimes organise a giveaway for my followers with products I received from a brand, do I also have to pay tax on that?
This is a different question from the gifting you receive yourself. Organising a prize draw or giveaway can fall under gambling tax, a separate levy of 30.1 percent that in principle applies when prizes are offered, with an exception for prizes below a certain value threshold. Even when that threshold is not exceeded, a filing obligation may still apply, unless the promotion takes place within a closed circle. Because the precise conditions and amounts can change and depend on how your promotion is set up, we recommend having this assessed in advance, case by case, by your bookkeeper, rather than discovering afterwards that a filing should have been made.
Take a look at our services for bookkeeping for influencers or, more broadly, for creative entrepreneurs.
