UK TikTok and Instagram earners warned over £1,000 side hustle rule
Key Points
- HMRC warns side hustlers earning over £1,000 a year they may need to register for Self Assessment
- The £1,000 threshold combines all side income, including social media, content creation and online selling
- Gifted products and free services count towards a content creator's income
- Online platforms must report users selling 30 or more items a year to HMRC
- New entrants must register by 5 October 2026 and file by 31 January 2027
HMRC has warned content creators and other side hustlers to register for Self Assessment once their combined extra income passes £1,000 a year.
The tax authority said that rule is aimed at anyone turning a hobby into extra income, including people making money from posting about the latest trends online.
The £1,000 trading allowance covers all side hustle income combined, so a creator earning £600 from photography and £500 from social media posts must register because the total exceeds the threshold.
New entrants to Self Assessment must register for the 2025 to 2026 tax year by 5 October 2026, then file their online return and pay any tax due by 31 January 2027.
Kevin Hubbard, HMRC’s Director of Small Business and Individuals, said side hustles provide a valuable source of extra income for many people, and that anyone earning more than £1,000 a year should understand their tax responsibilities.
“You can check if you need to do a Self Assessment tax return by using the tool on GOV.UK. It takes minutes to use, tells you exactly what you need to do and means no unexpected tax bills later,” Hubbard said.
Gifted products count as income
The rules are particularly important for creators on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube because payment rarely arrives as cash alone.
HMRC’s Tax Help for Hustles guidance states that creators must count the value of any gifts or services received for promoting products online as income.
The guidance gives the example of a creator paid £700 for product review videos who kept £300 worth of gifted products and made £200 from adverts, producing a total income of £1,200 and triggering the requirement to tell HMRC.
Creators cannot rely on their day job to sort things out either. Income from side hustles does not appear on a payslip, and HMRC states it is the individual’s responsibility, not their employer’s, to declare money made on the side, with penalties possible for those who fail to do so.
HMRC said it receives data directly from the platforms where side hustlers operate. Online platforms must now share information with HMRC about users who sell 30 or more items a year through their service, giving the tax authority visibility of earners who have not declared income.
Not all extra income counts
HMRC stressed that not all additional income needs declaring. Selling unwanted personal belongings, such as clearing out a wardrobe, does not usually require a report to HMRC. Regularly selling goods for profit or providing a service for payment is likely to count as trading, however, and may need declaring.
HMRC research published in 2023 found one in ten people in the UK operate in the ‘hidden economy’, with 65% of those individuals largely unaware they should register for tax.
Among the reasons given for non-declaration, 35% said their income was too small to matter, and 21% said irregular or temporary income left them unaware they had to declare it.
