\u201cNothing is certain in life except death and taxes.\u201d This world-famous quote coined by Benjamin Franklin is now on the hunt for YouTube dollars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On top of the local income tax that you have to pay as a Singaporean content creator, you will now have to pay additional U.S. taxes if you have generated revenue through your U.S. viewers. Google (which owns YouTube) mentions that this may begin as early as June 2021. This will be paid to the U.S. government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you don\u2019t submit your tax info by 31 May 2021, up to 30% of your earnings may be held. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
YouTubers outside of the U.S. will now be taxed based on their earnings from U.S. viewers from June 2021, according to new regulations stipulated by the YouTube Partner Programme<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The amount taxed will depend on 2 things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n All monetising video and content creators on YouTube, regardless of their location in the world, should provide provide tax information to Google\u2019s AdSense account, regardless of whether you earn revenue from viewers in the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In its support page, Google says creators will need to submit relevant tax info in AdSense by 31 May 2021 so Google is able to determine the correct amount of taxes to deduct, if any apply. Failure to do so will result in Google having to deduct up to 30% of the creator’s total worldwide YouTube earnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The exact tax holding rate will be made available to creators via their AdSense account once their tax information has been submitted. According to the tech giant, the withholding rate also depends on whether the creator’s country has a tax treaty with the U.S. Treaty benefits can be claimed as long as the creator provides a taxpayer identification number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you make a monthly income of $1,000 as a YouTuber, and out of that $1,000, $100 comes from your viewers in the U.S., you will be taxed as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n i. If you have submitted tax information: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Up to 30% of $1,000 = $30 or less<\/strong>, depending on how much revenue you generate<\/p>\n\n\n\n Net revenue = $970 or more<\/p>\n\n\n\n ii. If you have not submitted tax information:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n up to 24% of $1,000 = $240<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why you should submit your tax information to Google. If you have, only earnings from U.S. viewers may be withheld. If you have not, global earnings may be withheld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, as Singapore does not have a tax treaty with the U.S.<\/a>, there will be no additional tax incentives offered to Singaporean YouTubers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read Also:<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>How Companies Can (Legally) Reduce Their Corporate Income Tax In Singapore<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As a content creator (whether it is through blogging, YouTube or Instagram), you will also need to pay taxes to IRAS<\/a> if your activities are performed repeatedly or habitually in exchange for monetary and non-monetary benefits such that your annual net business income earned is more than $6,000. You can refer to the Income Tax Rates<\/a> to see how much you will need to pay in income tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are a solo YouTuber or content creator operating as an individual, then your income from social media should be declared as self-employed income (whether it is your side hustle or full-time job). You can read our guide to tax obligations as a self-employed<\/a> for more information. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThere\u2019s More: You Are Also Required To Pay Taxes In Singapore As A Content Creator<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n