Making money with TikTok in Belgium? Don’t forget about taxes

Are you a content creator on TikTok, living in Belgium, and you’ve amassed a nice following? Is it starting to pay off? Maybe with free products to try, sponsorships from companies, or via affiliate marketing? Congratulations! Sadly, we’ve got some news you probably don’t want to hear… you have to declare all this income to the tax authorities. We’ll also explain whether or not you’ll need to register as self-employed.

Declaring gifts in your tax return

As a content creator, if you promote a product or business on your TikTok account and receive products or services in return, you generally have to report them. This also includes products you receive without asking for them, unless you return them.

If this is something that doesn't happen regularly, you don't need to become self-employed right away. In your tax declaration, you can mention these gifts under the category ‘avantages de toute nature’ / ‘voordeel alle aard’ (‘benefits in kind’).

For the reference value to mention in your declaration, this is the amount you would have paid for the item in a store. The company offering the gift also needs to provide you with a tax form. They can then deduct the product as a cost. With this form, you have the exact amounts and the necessary documents for your declaration.

💡 Accountable tip: If you promote products that have been gifted to you, always follow the rules to correctly indicate sponsored content (page available in French/Dutch) to avoid fines.

How to correctly declare your TikTok income

All income you earn as an influencer via TikTok must be declared to the Belgian tax authorities. The exact way to do so depends mainly on how much you earn with TikTok.

• Occasional income (limited to 1-2 times per year) can be declared in your income tax return as ‘revenus divers’ / ‘diverse inkomsten’ (‘miscellaneous income’) and is taxed at 33%.
• If you earn money on a regular basis, you need to register as self-employed in a main or secondary occupation.
• If you earn a lot of money (more than €100,000 per year), it’s better to create a company.

We’ll look at these situations in more detail below.

Which social status should you choose as a TikToker? 

As soon as you regularly earn money online as an influencer, you must register as self-employed to carry out those activities. This generally involves becoming subject to VAT. 

According to the Federal Public Service (FPS) Finance (page available in French/Dutch/German), ‘regular’ means that it’s not a one-off activity but that, for example, you make daily, weekly or monthly posts of a promotional nature for which you are paid.

There’s one exception where you don’t need to be a freelancer: you can take on a temporary assignment via a payroll service or workers' cooperative. If you choose this route, a company like Liantis or Smart will take care of the admin and you work under the status of employee.

💡 Accountable tip: If you’re a minor or a student and want to make money as a TikToker, take a look at this important information from the tax authorities (page in French/Dutch/German). It’s also worth noting that this can have significant consequences on the family allowance payments and the tax advantage for dependent children (page in French/Dutch/German) that your parents receive.

Creating a sole proprietorship for your TikTok income

When you regularly earn money via TikTok, you therefore need some form of business. Often, it’s worth considering starting out being self-employed in a secondary occupation or as a student entrepreneur. If your taxable income remains below €25,000 per year, you can opt for the VAT exemption scheme for small businesses, which means you won’t have to charge VAT to your customers.

However, you will still need to issue invoices. You’ll also need to register with a social insurance fund. They can help you get registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE).

If you earn enough, you become self-employed as your main activity at a later stage. From that point on, you’ll have to pay more social security contributions. And when you earn more than €25,000 per year, you become subject to VAT and need to charge VAT to your customers.

Creating a company for your TikTok business

When things start going really well, it might be time to think about setting up a company. This has the advantages of better covering your risks and optimising your salary. Belgian corporate tax is only 25%, whereas when you’re self-employed with a sole proprietorship, you quickly reach the highest tax rate of 50%.

How much tax do you pay as a TikToker?

Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer, as it will depend on your status and income. But here are some things to keep in mind:

• A one-time payment that you declare as miscellaneous income on your income tax return is taxed at a fixed rate of 33%.
• As a student entrepreneur, you don’t pay taxes if your net income remains below the tax exemption threshold of €10,160.
• If you’re self-employed in a secondary occupation, your TikTok income is added to your income as an employee. This could put you in a higher tax bracket.
• When you’re self-employed in a main activity, you pay social security contributions. What remains after that is your taxable income. On this taxable income, you pay between 25% and 50% in taxes, depending on how much you earn. You can find more information about progressive tax brackets here.
• When you have a company, things are a bit more complicated. Corporate tax is 25%. But you have to pay yourself a salary, which is subject to income tax. This salary will probably also be in one of the higher tax brackets. Fortunately, there are tax-efficient alternatives, such as dividends.

Freelance TikToker? Take charge of your accounting!

All this tax and admin isn’t exactly fun. There’s a lot to think about when you want to start making money with TikTok. Probably not what you had in mind when you started your creative endeavour. But don’t worry, we’re here to help – because digital progress hasn’t stopped at social media and video technology. We’ve made great strides in accounting software too.

With the Accountable app, for example, you can easily send invoices, quickly process your expenses and submit VAT and tax returns. You can manage your accounting completely by yourself with no risk, because Accountable guarantees all tax returns generated by the app. Our tax coaches are also always at your disposal.

Try Accountable now for free for 14 days!

Valesca Wilms

As content marketing lead at Accountable Belgium, Valesca writes about freelancing, self-employment, and taxes based on her own experience as a freelancer.