Content creators and influencers: tax, ads and gifted products

These rules apply across the UK.

When your content income counts as trading

The law does not define trading in full. It includes any venture in the nature of trade (Income Tax Act 2007, section 989), and no single factor decides it. Posting for fun, with no payments or products, is a hobby. Once brands pay you, or send you products in return for posts, you are likely to be trading.

Gifted products and payment in kind

A product a brand sends you to promote is payment in goods. The law counts the value of that payment as a receipt of your trade. Value it at what it would have cost you to buy, and add it to your cash income from content.

Suppose brands pay you £700 to review products, you keep free items worth £300, and advert revenue on your videos brings in £200. Your total is £1,200. That is above the trading allowance, so you must tell HMRC.

A gift is not tax-free because it was not cash. Record what you received, what it was worth and the date.

Platform payments and the trading allowance

Advert revenue and other money that platforms pay you for your content count as well. Some platforms show income by calendar year, so work out your figure for the tax year before you compare it with the allowance.

You get one trading allowance across all your side hustles. Add your content income to anything you earn from selling goods or providing services, then compare the total with the allowance.

The government plans an online reporting tool by 2029 for side-hustle income just above the trading allowance. It is not available yet, so you report through Self Assessment.

Labelling gifted and paid posts as ads

Label every post about a product you received free or discounted, or any other incentive, as an ad.

Two sets of rules apply. The CAP Code is the ASA's rulebook for advertising, and it applies when the brand has some control over your post. The ASA reads control broadly: if you are not completely free to say what you like about the product, the brand is likely to have control.

Consumer law has no control test. It applies to creators, brands, agencies and platforms, so it can reach a gifted post that the CAP Code does not.

Platform tools and your own brands

If the platform has a paid partnership or branded content tool, you can use it when the label it shows is clear and easy to see. If it is not clear, add "Ad" at the start of your own text as well.

Do not imply you bought something that was a gift or loan, or that you tried something you have not. Label posts about a brand that you, your family or your friends own.

If you do not label a post

The ASA can rule that a post breaks the CAP Code and name repeat offenders on its list of non-compliant creators. It can also ask platforms to apply sanctions and refer a case to Trading Standards.

If your video uses someone else's track

Using someone else's music in a video you post needs the owner's licence. A track normally carries two copyrights, one in the composition and one in the recording, and different people usually own them.

The fair dealing exceptions are narrow. A court asks whether a fair-minded and honest person would have dealt with the work in that way. Background music added to make a video nicer is unlikely to qualify.

Brand deals and contracts

Agree the terms in writing before you post. Cover:

• your duty to label the post as an ad, and who approves the content
• who owns the content, and who can use it, for how long and where
• whether you can work with competing brands
• who clears any music in the content
• the fee, the payment date and the value of any free products

A brand can be held responsible for a hidden ad you post for it, so expect it to ask for a labelling clause. If a brand wants to own your content, agree that in the contract and agree the price for it.

Where to get help

For tax, contact the HMRC Self Assessment helpline. For consumer law on hidden ads, contact your local Trading Standards service.