You might have clicked on this article being intrigued “What do you mean, I have to declare my YouTube income in France?”. You might also have been told by the tax office that you need to create a business for your YouTube income. Or finally, you might have been working on your YouTube channel for a while and it’s suddenly peeking up and you are now generating an income that you want to make official.
This article covers basic YouTube income rules, such as:
- Who needs to declare their YouTube income in France
- Which online income do you need to declare in France
- The Myth of passive & undeclared income in France
- How to declare your YouTube income in France
- Which business to go for as a YouTuber: Micro Entrepreneur versus SASU
- Potential impact on your French visa or visa renewal
If you are having a sweat after this introduction, thinking - “What! I’ve never heard about this! Am I in trouble?” Don’t worry, let’s go through the rules together, then you’ll know what your next action steps are. YES, you are allowed to make some mistakes - the key thing is to fix them with the tax office - Especially if you have a visa up for renewal soon or want to switch visas.
You can book a Power Hour to discuss this further. Here's my availability.
1 - Who needs to declare their YouTube income in France
The basic rules to apply to decide whether you need to declare your YouTube income in France are:
- In which country are you resident? Clue - if you have a visa for France you are a French resident.
- Where do you work from? Yes, I consider that producing YouTube content is work, as you need to plan your scripts, record and edit your content, and promote it. And it might even take you a couple of days every week.
- Where do you spend more than 180 days per year?
- Where is your main personal interest? I.e. where is your main home, is your family over with you, are your kids going to local schools?
If you are thinking “Hey Valerie, that sounds like the residency rules with the tax office”. Well… yes, it is. These are the rules that we apply to decide whether you should declare a business in France.
This means that you need to declare this income in the country where you are a resident.
If you said France to these questions - you need to declare your income here.
The only exception to this (and I would take it as a short-term option) is if you are on a tourist visa that doesn’t allow you to work in France. In this case, I would suggest that you declare your YouTube income in your home country. This way you'll have proof of what you have been earning. And if at some point you want to apply for a business visa for France, you can show an officially declared YouTube income as proof of your business potential.
Again this is a short-term fix - I never recommend working in France with a tourist visa.
2 - Which online income do you need to declare in France
This article applies to all income generated online. Whether it's from Instagram, TikTok, an OnlyFans page, Vinted, eBay or leBonCoin.
There is no such thing as passive income in France. The fact that you are generating some income means that it will need to be declared somewhere.
Examples of online income to be declared in France:
- Add revenues from your YouTube channel, Instagram or TikTok accounts.
- Partnership deals generated from your YouTube channel, Instagram or TikTok accounts.
- Commissions received from affiliate programs or products you recommend in your videos.
- Sales made on e-commerce platforms such as eBay, Etsy, Vinted or leBonCoin.
- Online courses sold on automatic mode via webinars or sales funnels.
- “Pay me a coffee/Give me a tip” that some people add to a YouTube channel or blog, above a certain amount of income.
3 - The myth of passive & undeclared income in France?
I'm afraid that there is no such thing as passive income and undeclared income in France. We have to declare our income from the first euro. And above a certain level, which is very low, it’s even seen as a business.
Since 2018, a new law relating to the fight against fraud has been adopted - la loi relative à la lutte contre la fraude, les plateformes d'économies collaboratives. Collaborative economy platforms such as Airbnb, Vinted or Leboncoin are now required to transmit to the tax office information relating to the income received by their users AND to inform their members of the amounts to be declared for tax. This means that even if you didn't declare this income those platforms will tell the tax office.
This law had the advantage of clarifying what needs to be declared. It says that below 3,000€ per year or 20 transactions/year for Vinted this is considered as non-professional income. And you could simply declare this income in your French income tax form - Déclaration d’impôt sur le revenu.
Above 3,000€, this is considered as a professional income and you are expected to declare a business. The online platform will send you a warning that you need to declare your professional activity. This would be the case for Airbnb, Vinted or leBonCoin asking you for a SIRET number. Remember that these platforms have to send this information to the tax office - so don’t forget to declare your income.
Unfortunately, you won’t get a warning from Google, YouTube and other social networks. It’s up to you to keep track of this.
Having a business means registering it officially with INPI, getting a SIRET number and paying social charges to URSSAF.
4 - How to declare your YouTube Income in France
You have two options to declare your YouTube or online income in France:
- The first option is non-professional (i.e. less than 3,000€/year). You will declare this income in May next year in your French income tax declaration - Déclaration d’impôts sur le revenu. It will go under Micro BNC Non professionnnel.
- The second option is to have a professional activity if you are a French resident. You therefore need to declare a business.
5 - Which business to go for as a YouTuber: Micro Entrepreneur versus SASU
My recommended business structures for your YouTube income:
- A micro-entrepreneur for someone below 77,700€ of turnover per year, building their channel steadily and with no other activity in France.
- A SASU for someone who might already have a work contract in France, or someone still studying with no short-term income needs. Or someone with over 110K€-120€ per year.
- In both cases, remember that if you are under 18, your income will be added to your parent’s income. So you need to speak to them, as they might have a significant increase in income tax. The business set-up you choose will impact them as you are under 18 and you’ll need their authorisation.
This year I had a 17-year-old preparing his French A-levels with a large income from video editing. He didn't realise that this was a business, as for him this was a hobby done in his spare time. We talked with his dad and decided to create a SASU as he was under 18. We needed his parents’ approval and as he needed little income, he decided to wait for dividends.
For most people, a micro entrepreneur is enough to start with. This is also the easiest regime to manage.
6 - Potential impact on your French visa or visa renewal
We've seen that if you get more than 3,000€ per year you need to register a business in France - Micro Entrepreneur or SASU. This means that you will either need to have a European ID card/passport or a visa enabling you to create a business in France: visa profession liberale, carte de sejour entrepreneur/ profession liberale, visa talent, conjoint citoyen Europeen, visa vie privee et famille or RECE visa.
If you don't have any of these, the alternative short term is to declare this income in your home country and pay taxes accordingly. And maybe use it to then apply for a business visa showing the start of a business potential with your YouTube income.
I would say that the French Embassy isn't really aware of real business potential for influencers and YouTubers. However, if you already have some income tax declaration proving the potential of your channel, this is a great start to request a business visa.
If you’ve realised that you need to declare your business in France, you can book a Power Hour to discuss this further. Here's my availability.
You can also look at my micro entrepreneur registration services.
Remember that online income doesn't mean that it doesn't have to be declared - as this will lead to problems in the future.
