Accountants for social media influencers, bloggers and youtubers

Consumers across the UK are very much social media savvy. With the increasing popularity of social media across the UK, many consumers turn to celebrities and influencers to make purchase decisions. If you’re an influencer, blogger or Youtuber in the UK, you must be very careful with the payments.

Since online content creation has become so common, terms like YouTuber tax, Influencer tax and Blogger tax are also becoming common. No matter what type of online content creation you do, you need to be familiar with the tax you need to pay as an online influencer. Your accountant can play an important role in helping you with the taxes and finances.

Who is an online influencer?

In the past decade, online influencers have been on the rise. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that they created their industry. For many, this may have initially started as a hobby and eventually turned out to be a huge success. Many even resorted to using this as a full-time opportunity.

Influencers refer to individuals who have a strong online presence. They use social media channels, videos on YouTube or articles to ’influence’ their audience for consumer choices, actions and opinions. The Youtuber will upload videos, bloggers will write articles, and social media influencers will upload content (video or advice) on social media channels.

The subscribers and viewers help monetise the content via ads on the brand collaborations or videos.

How much money do online influencers make?

Bloggers, Youtubers and Social Media Influencers are categorised under online influencers. Thousands of influencers across the UK generate revenue from their content online. They collaborate with brands and other influencers to develop organic and get paid for the content. These online influencers create awareness, entertain or generate sales for the products.

While there are A-list celebrities getting millions for their one social media post, there are other influencers too. More and more vloggers, Youtubers and social media bloggers use their platforms and monetise the profession. Most of them have switched the profession to full-time.

On average, an online influencer with a following of 30,000 people on Instagram tends to generate approximately £750 for their post. Budding or micro-influencers tend to get free products in the form of payments. When these online influencers generate income, they must also pay taxes.

Pay taxes to HMRC

The UK does not have any official influencer tax. However, some taxes are associated with being an online influencer. You must understand how much you earn to know how much you will be paying.

Whether a full-time or part-time influencer, you will need to register with HMRC as self-employed. If you’re a part-time influencer but have a full-time job, you must pay taxes on the income you generate online. The income tax amount you pay as an influencer completely depends on your income. The income should be above the tax-free Personal Allowance of £12,500. You must be familiar with the tax codes to make the payments accordingly.

When you are self-employed, you will also get the chance to claim your expenses. However, you can claim these only on specific expenses for your daily work. It will play an essential role in reducing taxable income. As a result, you will get the opportunity to opt for a lower annual tax bill. As an online influencer, you can file the expenses against various things such as marketing costs, travel, phone and internet bills, equipment, website and marketing costs.

There are various income tax reliefs that you may be eligible for as a self-employed individual. You can file the claims depending on different types of circumstances.

Subsidised content and payment-in-kinds

Despite the various regulatory changes, there has been various advertorial transparency. Therefore, you may need help understanding the difference between organic content and paid partnerships. In recent years, a lot of income has been generated by influencers.

As an online influencer, you will need to pay taxes on your entire income. Even when you get gifts for endorsement, the law considers them payment-in-kind. When you receive the gifts, you need to consider the payment-in-kind and provide information regarding those to HMRC. You can check the agreement that you receive for the verification of information.

Before signing any contract with any brand, you need to be careful. You should go through it completely to verify the information. Once you sign the agreement, you must also ensure that you get a hard copy. Many brands are also very reluctant to pay the influencers in cash. Brands who pay in kind to various influencers should also consider registering with HMRC. The HMRC will therefore use the information as income earned. Nonetheless, this may be less productive in the coming years.

What should you write off as the influencer?

When you plan to write off the taxes, you will need to consider the expenses and tax deductibles. It will eventually lower the overall tax amount. As an influencer, you can write off exclusively and wholly depending on the business purpose.

You can use it as a part of your business expenses whenever you are paying anything to anyone. Therefore, you will have the opportunity to write it off as taxable income. Some of the costs you can write off include professional fees, online advertising and equipment.

HMRC provides information on certain fees that you can or cannot claim. If you make claims on the wrong information, HMRC will challenge you on the allowed tax purposes. Whatever your business expense is, you must keep a record of it, as HMRC will ask for evidence.

Conclusion

The online influencers will be paying taxes on their taxable income. You will need to work with an accountant who will help you pay taxes on the profit you make for the income you earn every year. No matter what kind of job you have, you will need to pay the taxes correctly. The accountant will therefore help you declare and file the tax return appropriately. Your accountant will help you pay the right tax amount. Consequently, you must research and choose a reliable tax accountant to help you manage your finances.