Tax relief – to the point.
Social media income not taxed?
You have never declared your social media income, or only part of it, and the headlines about data packages and waves of audits can no longer be scrolled away? Then now is the moment for an orderly plan instead of a panicked email to the Finanzamt. We discreetly assess where you stand, work through every year and every type of tax in full, and guide you back along the legally prescribed route, under the duty of confidentiality of our profession.
The situation, as of 17.07.2026
According to its own announcement, the North Rhine-Westphalia tax investigation unit (Steuerfahndung NRW) is analysing a platform data package with 6.000 records and around 300 million euros in criminally relevant volume; more than 200 criminal proceedings are already under way there, and in February 2026 a wave of audits against around 7.000 people was added. Hamburg has been running a sector audit since 2024, Bavaria has obtained international group information requests from platforms, and further federal states are actively searching. And since 16.07.2026 the questionnaire for tax registration (Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung) has explicitly asked for account names and platforms. You can read our assessment of this in our blog post.
Why partial solutions make the situation worse
The instinct to report 'just the worst of it first' is understandable, and dangerous: a voluntary disclosure that grants exemption from prosecution (strafbefreiende Selbstanzeige) requires completeness for each type of tax over at least the last ten calendar years. A disclosure that names only individual platforms, years or deals reveals the offence without securing that exemption. This is why, with us, nothing begins with a letter to the Finanzamt, but with a complete reconstruction, built from bank statements, platform dashboards, contracts, chats and media kits.
Three types of tax, one interlocking whole
Creator cases are almost never pure income tax cases: alongside income tax (Einkommensteuer), VAT (Umsatzsteuer) is regularly in play, including for barter deals, and from a corresponding level of profit onward so is trade tax (Gewerbesteuer). Each type of tax needs its own complete subsequent declaration (Nacherklärung); the figures have to match one another, otherwise correcting one produces the gap in the next. We calculate all three in parallel and present the Finanzamt with a self-contained set of figures, using documented, source-based estimates only where receipts are ultimately missing.
Data on file is not the same as discovery, but the clock is ticking
The good news is at the same time the urgent one: an analysed data package or a collective information request does not automatically block your voluntary disclosure (Selbstanzeige). It is only blocked once the authority has specific findings individualised to you that make tax evasion likely, and you knew about this or had to reckon with it. But how far the analysis has progressed is something no one can see from the outside, and with an announced audit or the initiation of proceedings the door closes regardless. Whether, in legal terms, intent or gross negligence applies in your case, and thus which route is valid, is what we clarify first.
The way back, and what comes afterwards
After submission come amended tax assessments, interest assessments and a payment deadline that applies strictly; in cases exceeding 25.000 € per offence the statutory surcharge is added, which is why liquidity has to be planned before submission. We review every assessment, monitor every deadline and remain your point of contact should any queries arise. And then the part that really matters begins: registration, bookkeeping and VAT setup, with which your channel runs properly from now on, so that this remains a one-time chapter in your story. That is exactly what our ongoing creator support is for.
How we proceed
- Discreet situation review: what is still outstanding, what does the authority already have on file, which route is still legally open? Result: your traffic-light status together with a roadmap.
- Complete reconstruction: all years, all platforms, all barter deals, income tax, VAT and, where applicable, trade tax in parallel.
- The junction: voluntary disclosure (Selbstanzeige) or a milder correction (Berichtigung), depending on your circumstances, not on blanket judgments.
- Coordinated submission: structured, complete, at the same time for everyone involved.
- Payment and fresh start: review the assessments, meet the deadlines, and move straight into the ongoing system of creator support.
The five most expensive mistakes
- Declaring only the 'big' deals after the fact, the half-done disclosure reveals the offence without any exemption from prosecution
- Leaving out barter deals because 'no money changed hands'
- Thinking only about income tax, while VAT and trade tax run alongside
- The informal panic email to the Finanzamt instead of a complete, calculated declaration
- After an announced audit, submitting 'quickly, at the last minute' without checking, instead of first analysing its scope
An example from our advisory practice
Hypothetical example: a creator has not declared platform payouts and barter deals for four years; no audit has been announced. Approach: complete reconstruction of all years for income tax, VAT and, where applicable, trade tax, a check of the junction between intent and gross negligence, coordinated submission, a liquidity plan for the back payment and interest. Intended outcome: the legally prescribed closure, and an ongoing system from the following month.
Frequently asked questions
Serious enough for a plan, not for panic: with creator income, three types of tax are regularly affected, income tax (Einkommensteuer), where applicable trade tax (Gewerbesteuer), and VAT (Umsatzsteuer), and the subsequent declaration has to be complete for each type of tax, over at least the last ten calendar years. Whether, in legal terms, intent or gross negligence applies determines the route (a voluntary disclosure that exempts from prosecution, or the milder correction); no one makes that judgment across the board, but according to your circumstances. That is exactly where we begin: clarify the situation, then act.
Not automatically: the voluntary disclosure (Selbstanzeige) is only blocked once the authority has gained specific findings from the data, individualised to you, that make tax evasion likely, and you knew this or had to reckon with it. According to case law, an ongoing collective information request or an unchecked list of hits is not yet enough for that. But: the analysis is under way, and no one can see from the outside how far it has got. So the rule is: careful, but without delay.
Yes, benefits in kind given in return for a service are income at market value and belong in the subsequent declaration just like bank transfers; for VAT purposes they are barter-like transactions (tauschähnliche Umsätze). This is precisely where the most frequent gaps lie in the ongoing proceedings, because 'it was only a sample' is rarely confirmed for tax purposes. We reconstruct the values from contracts, chats, media kits and platform data and, where receipts are missing, estimate in a documented way, traceable rather than out of thin air.
Four components: the taxes to be paid back for the years concerned, interest on evaded taxes (Hinterziehungszinsen) (back-payment interest already assessed is credited against it), in serious cases exceeding 25.000 € per offence a statutory surcharge, and our fee under the tax advisor remuneration regulation (Steuerberatervergütungsverordnung) or an agreement based on effort. There are no reputable flat rates without a look at the years, platforms and receipts; you will receive a reliable overall estimate in the confidential initial consultation. The legal details are explained on our voluntary-disclosure page.
Now the order of steps is decisive: first we check what exactly you are facing, a general inquiry, an announced audit or the initiation of proceedings, because that determines which routes are still open and to what extent. Do not respond informally, 'off the cuff', and do not submit anything incomplete afterwards: a half-done declaration can do more harm than silence. If a defence becomes necessary, we work together with criminal defence lawyers.
Your next step
The sooner we talk, the more routes remain open. Request a confidential initial consultation or call us directly; at first you do not have to state amounts or platform details. Everything else, from the process to the costs, we explain to you in person; you will find the legal basics on our voluntary-disclosure page.