HMRC can see your platform income now
Digital platforms must report seller and creator data to HMRC under rules in force since January 2024. What that means for creators and side hustlers — and what to do about it.
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The Social Leaders blog
Short, useful reads on the money behind the content: platform reporting, US withholding, payments on account, TikTok Shop and the rest.
Is YouTube taking 30% of your US earnings? Fix the W-8BEN
US withholding can take 30% of a UK creator’s US-viewer earnings — or 24% of everything if no form is filed. The UK–US treaty rate is 0%. How the W-8BEN works, with the numbers.
Read postYour first big year and the 150% tax bill
Payments on account catch out almost every creator's first successful year — the January bill is one-and-a-half years of tax. How it works and how to plan for it.
Read postWhen does posting become a business?
The point where content creation stops being a hobby and becomes taxable trading in HMRC's eyes — the £1,000 allowance, the badges of trade, and what to do when you cross the line.
Read postTikTok Shop sellers: the tax rules you've already triggered
Selling on TikTok Shop makes you a trader in HMRC's eyes — registration, commissions, samples, VAT at speed and stock accounting, explained for social sellers.
Read postOnlyFans tax in the UK: the straight answers
How OnlyFans income is taxed in the UK: registration, what counts as income, expenses, the VAT quirk, and catching up on undeclared years — professionally and without judgement.
Read postNo boss, no benefits: the creator safety net
Creators get no employer pension, no sick pay and no life cover — and the algorithm is not a retirement plan. The 2026/27 figures, a worked spike-year example, and the order to build it in.
Read postFive platforms, one set of books
How to keep clean books when income arrives from AdSense, TikTok, Patreon, brand deals and merch — the simple creator bookkeeping system, built around FreeAgent.
Read postMaking Tax Digital is live: what it means if you earn over £50k
MTD for Income Tax became mandatory on 6 April 2026 for sole traders with qualifying income over £50,000. What changes for creators, what counts towards the £50k, and who's next.
Read postThe £29 download that triggers foreign VAT
Courses, presets and templates sold to consumers overseas sit outside UK VAT — and outside the £90,000 threshold. Where the VAT lands instead, and who actually accounts for it.
Read postYour first hire: freelancer, employee, or an expensive mistake
Paying an editor, VA or manager? Employment status is a fact, not a choice — and getting it wrong lands the PAYE bill on you. The 2026/27 numbers for creators.
Read postThe £100,000 line: where a viral year is taxed at 60%
Cross £100,000 and your personal allowance disappears £1 for every £2 — a 60% marginal rate, 62% for sole traders. The 2026/27 arithmetic, and the one lever that fixes it.
Read postInvoiced in March, paid in June: which tax year does the brand deal land in?
Cash basis became the default for sole traders in April 2024, and it decides whether a late-paying brand deal is taxed this year or next. The rules, a £14,000 worked example, and where cash basis costs creators money.
Read postThe donate button does not say what you think it says
Twitch bits, Streamlabs tips, Ko-fi coffees and charity streams. Which viewer money is taxable income, which counts towards the £90,000 VAT threshold, and the charity-stream trap that taxes money you gave away.
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