VAT registration thresholds for creators: when an influencer must register, country by country

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change and depend on your country and situation; check the linked official sources or ask a qualified professional.

The threshold is the easy part. The harder questions are which of your income counts toward it, over which period, and what happens to the fee that takes you over. This page answers those for 9 EU countries, the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Canada and Australia. Every figure links to the tax authority, statute or European Commission page that states it, all opened on 1 October 2026. It is general information, not tax advice; your tax office or an adviser can confirm how it applies to you.

What goes on the invoice once you are registered, or while you are exempt, is in how to invoice a brand deal. This page is the step before: do you have to register at all.

What are the VAT thresholds for creators by country?

Amounts are turnover limits, net of VAT. "Current year" means the calendar year you are in.

Checked 2026-10-01

France also has separate provisions for lawyers, authors and performing artists (impots.gouv.fr). Poland's exemption is closed to some activities, including legal and consulting services (European Commission). The US is not covered here: its sales taxes are state and local (IRS Topic 503).

What changed in the EU on 1 January 2025?

Directive (EU) 2020/285 rewrote the EU's small-enterprise scheme, with the new rules applying from 1 January 2025 (European Commission explanatory notes). Three parts matter to a creator.

A cap on national thresholds. Each country still sets its own limit, but it "cannot be higher than EUR 85 000" (European Commission). That is why the table runs from €20,000 in the Netherlands to €85,000 in Italy and Ireland (goods), and why Germany's €100,000 is a current-year ceiling on top of a €25,000 test.

A choice of tolerance. A country may let you stay exempt for the rest of the year after crossing its limit: while you are no more than 10% over, no more than 25% over, or below €100,000. Above €100,000 the exemption ends regardless, because that is the most the directive allows (explanatory notes, section 3.3.4). Austria and Belgium chose 10%; Germany and Italy use the €100,000 ceiling; Poland, Sweden, Ireland and the Netherlands give no tolerance (French tax administration table, December 2025).

A cross-border exemption. A small business whose turnover across all 27 member states is no more than €100,000 can also use other countries' exemptions (European Commission). You notify your home country, which issues one identification number with the suffix "EX", valid in every country where you qualify. You then file one quarterly turnover report at home. If your EU-wide turnover passes €100,000, you have 15 working days to tell your home country, and you lose the cross-border exemption with no tolerance period (explanatory notes, section 4.7.3).

For most creators, the EX number matters less than it sounds. A brand deal with a business in another EU country is taxed where the brand is and paid by the brand under the reverse charge, so it never needed a foreign exemption. The EX scheme is for sales to consumers in other countries where that country's VAT would otherwise apply, such as some digital products sold direct to fans. Check the place-of-supply rule for your product before you notify.

Which creator income counts toward the threshold?

The EU scheme counts the value of supplies "to be taxed if not made under the SME scheme", exclusive of VAT (explanatory notes, section 2.4). In practice the national rules split on one question: is the income a supply made in your country?

Brand deals with a domestic brand. Count everywhere. This is the core of most creators' totals.

Brand deals with a foreign business. A service to a business is supplied where the customer runs its business (§ 3a(2) UStG). Germany counts only supplies made in Germany (§ 1(1) No. 1 with § 19(2) UStG). The Netherlands leaves supplies taxed in another country out of the KOR total (Belastingdienst). Sweden counts sales "in Sweden" (Skatteverket). The UK counts supplies "in the UK or Isle of Man" (Notice 700/1, s.3.4). Switzerland and Canada go the other way: Switzerland counts turnover "im In- und Ausland" (ESTV), and Canada counts "worldwide taxable supplies" (CRA).

Platform payouts (ad revenue share, creator funds, bonuses). Same test as a brand deal: you are supplying a service to the platform company that pays you. Your payout statement names that company and its country. If it sits outside your country, the payout follows the foreign-brand row above. What platforms report about those payouts is in the tax forms platforms send creators.

Affiliate commission. A commission paid by the merchant or network is a fee for a service to that business. The same domestic-or-foreign test applies to whoever pays it.

Gifted products in exchange for a post. The UK counts "goods you bartered, part-exchanged or gave as gifts" in taxable turnover (GOV.UK). A product sent because you agreed to post is a barter: its value is turnover. How the income-tax side works is in are gifted products taxable.

Services you buy from abroad. A UK trap: taxable turnover also includes "services you received from businesses in other countries that you had to 'reverse charge'" (GOV.UK). A foreign video editor's invoice can push a UK creator toward £90,000 without any sale.

What happens on the day you cross?

The fee that takes you over is the one to watch. Three patterns cover the countries above.

1. Taxed from that fee. Germany: "Bereits der Umsatz, mit dem diese Grenze überschritten wird" is no longer exempt (BMF letter of 18 March 2025). Poland: the exemption is lost from the transaction that crosses PLN 240,000. France: VAT is due from the date €41,250 is passed.
2. Exempt to year end, out next year. Italy between €85,000 and €100,000; Austria and Belgium within 10% over.
3. Register by a deadline. UK: within 30 days of the end of the month you went over, with registration effective from the first day of the second month after (GOV.UK). Canada: once over CAD 30,000 in a single quarter you "cease immediately to be a small supplier" and have 29 days to register (CRA). Australia: within 21 days of becoming aware your GST turnover will go over AUD 75,000 (business.gov.au).

If a contract says "fee: €20,000" with no mention of VAT and the fee turns out to be taxable, the VAT may have to come out of that €20,000. A "plus VAT where applicable" line in every contract avoids that. The brand deal contract checklist covers payment terms.

Worked example: a German creator crosses €100,000

All inputs are hypothetical. Gesamtumsatz is counted on money received (§ 19(2) UStG), and only supplies made in Germany count.

From that fee on, every German supply in 2026 carries 19%. In 2027 the previous-year test fails too, because 2026 passed €25,000, so 2027 starts under normal VAT. Note what did not count: the French fee and the foreign platform payout added €24,000 of income but nothing to the § 19 total. Had all €108,000 been German supplies, the crossing would have come earlier in the year.

The €25,000 test runs on last year only. A creator who earns €60,000 of German fees in 2026 after a €20,000 year stays exempt all of 2026, and loses the exemption on 1 January 2027.

Worked example: a UK creator's rolling 12 months

All inputs are hypothetical. The test runs "at the end of any month", over "the previous 12 months or less" (Notice 700/1, s.3.3). Each month, add the new month and drop the month that falls out of the window.

A calendar-year look would have missed this: if September to December 2025 was busy, the 2026 calendar total in August could still sit well under £90,000. The UK test does not wait for year end. If a single deal will put you over £90,000 in the next 30 days on its own, the forward test applies instead, and registration takes effect from the date you first expected to go over (Notice 700/1, s.4.3).

Checklist: do you have to register?

• Your country of establishment, and its threshold from the table above
• The period it uses: calendar year (most of the EU), rolling 12 months (UK, Norway), quarters (Canada)
• Every income line for that period, net of VAT: brand fees, platform payouts, affiliate commission, product received for posts
• For each line, the payer's country, taken from the contract or payout statement
• Foreign business payers removed if your country counts only domestic supplies (UK, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden); kept in Switzerland and Canada
• UK: services bought from abroad under the reverse charge added in
• Your running total against the threshold, updated each month
• The next large fee checked against the remaining headroom before you sign
• "Plus VAT where applicable" in every contract while you are near a threshold
• Your country's rule for the fee that crosses: taxed at once, exempt to year end, or register within a deadline
• Next year's test: in Germany, more than €25,000 this year ends the exemption next year
• EU consumer sales abroad: whether the EX number would help, if EU-wide turnover is within €100,000

Frequently asked questions

Does a fee from a foreign brand count toward my VAT threshold?

In the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, generally no: the service is supplied in the brand's country, and only supplies made at home count. In Switzerland and Canada, yes: both count worldwide turnover. The fee is still income for income tax everywhere.

Can I register for VAT before I reach the threshold?

Yes in most countries. The UK allows voluntary registration under £90,000 (GOV.UK), and Ireland lets you elect to register below its thresholds (Revenue). In Germany, giving up the small-business exemption binds you for at least five calendar years (§ 19(3) UStG).

I am a UK creator. Does the EU €100,000 scheme apply to me?

No. The cross-border scheme is only for businesses established in EU member states; UK-based businesses are excluded (European Commission).