The UK's main tax office, His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is planning to send out 2,300 letters to digital content creators or "influencers" who earn money through platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and even OnlyFans as well as others, to remind them of their tax obligations in the country.
HMRC's main angle on this is that the main audience is likely to be younger and not having considered that they should be paying taxes, rather than willfully avoiding it. It will also be sending out a further 2,000 letters to those people who sell items on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Etsy.
Jessica Narweh, a tax advisor who also creates content on YouTube and Instagram, said that influencers likely are confusing the income tax-free personal allowance of £12,570 (approx $15,000) per year, with logic for most being that they don't earn that much so don't have to pay tax. However, any online income over just £1,000 (approx $1,200) counts and is taxed and should be declared.
This income can be from any means online, be it from subscription feeds, donations, sponsorships, gifts or other sources. As long as it surpasses that limit then it needs to be declared. HMRC has recently been going after other digital sources such as NFTs in recent months.
Source: The Register
