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Guide: expenses

Influencer expenses: phone, equipment, internet and home office.

Camera, ring light, smartphone, editing software: what you buy for your videos reduces your profit to the extent it's for the business. Not everything goes at once, not everything goes in full, and some things don't go at all. Here is what applies, each with its source.

As of 7 November 2026 · 16 sources

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The ground rules.

Four sentences from the statute and the tax administration's guidance.

Deductible is what your business causes.

Business expenses are costs caused by the business. The tax administration names cameras, microphones, laptops, smartphones and ring lights as typical examples for creators.1

Used privately means a share.

If you also use your phone, laptop or camera privately, you split the costs: only the business share is deductible. That's what the Hessian Ministry of Finance's guide says.2

Up to €800 at once, above that spread out.

Movable devices you can use on their own are deducted in full in the year of purchase up to €800 excluding deductible input VAT. More expensive devices are depreciated over their useful life.3

Clothing and cosmetics stay private.

Clothes and shoes are living expenses even if you only wear them in videos; the same goes for personal care products and cosmetics. Only typical workwear is an exception.4

Devices, internet and home office in detail.

Which useful life applies, which flat rates exist and what's different for small businesses.

Laptop, tablet, accessories: one year

Computers, notebooks including tablets from 9 inches and peripherals such as monitor, microphone, headset or webcam may be given a useful life of one year. The BMF letter doesn't mention smartphones.5

Smartphone five, camera seven years

If a device costs more than €800 and isn't covered by the BMF letter, the official depreciation table applies: mobile phones five years, photo, film, video and audio equipment seven years.6

The pool as an alternative

Instead of one by one, you can put devices over €250 up to €1,000 into a pool and write it off over five years. The choice then applies to everything you buy that year.7

Home office: €6 a day

For each day you work mainly at home you can claim €6, at most €1,260 a year, for your job and business combined. A home office room counts only if it is the centre of your entire activity.8

Phone and internet contract: the business share

Running costs such as mobile and internet are claimed at their business share. The familiar flat rate of 20 % of the bill, at most €20 a month, is in the wage tax guidelines for employees; no official source extends it to a business. So determine your share in a traceable way, for example with a three-month record.9

Small business: gross counts

As a small business your turnover is exempt, so you deduct no input VAT. The gross price is your expense, and the €800 limit works with the amount excluding deductible input VAT, which for you means practically gross.10

What this means for your expenses.

A popular tip goes: "Buy a new phone, then you'll have more expenses." An expense reduces your profit, though, not your tax by the same amount. You save roughly your personal marginal rate on the business share; you pay the rest yourself (§ 4 Abs. 4, § 32a EStG). A purchase you don't need stays a loss, just a slightly smaller one. This calculation is our conclusion from the statute; what it looks like for you is for your tax adviser to say.

With equipment, the type of device decides the depreciation. Laptops, tablets from 9 inches, monitors and accessories may be written off in one year under the BMF letter; the smartphone isn't among them: above €800 the depreciation table applies with five years. Whether a standalone camera falls under the BMF letter, it doesn't say; the depreciation table gives seven years for cameras.

Clothing, make-up and hairdresser are the classic questions. The income tax notes are clear here: clothes and shoes are not deductible even if you only wear them for work, nor are cosmetics (H 12.1 EStH). Props you use exclusively for videos are a different matter; that depends on the individual case.

You keep receipts for eight years, counted from the end of the year (§ 147 Abs. 3 und 4 AO). Affliq records every expense with its receipt, date and business share, links it to your deals and files it sorted into the tax package at year end. How each one is depreciated is for your tax adviser to decide.

Affliq records and does the maths, it does not advise. How things are taxed is your tax adviser's call.

Frequently asked questions

Can I deduct my phone as an influencer?

Yes, at its business share. If it costs up to €800 excluding deductible input VAT, you deduct that share in the year of purchase; above that you spread it over five years under the depreciation table. If you also use it privately, you split the costs.3

What percentage of my phone can I deduct?

As much as you can show you use it for the business. No official source gives a fixed percentage for businesses; the 20 % flat rate from the wage tax guidelines is for employees. A record over a few months makes your share provable.9

Can I write off a laptop in one year?

Usually yes. For computers, notebooks, tablets from 9 inches and peripherals the BMF allows a useful life of one year, regardless of the price.11

Can I deduct clothing and make-up for my videos?

Usually not. Clothes, shoes and cosmetics are living expenses even if you only wear them on camera. Typical workwear is the exception.12

How do I deduct a home office as a creator?

With €6 for each day you work mainly at home, at most €1,260 a year for all activities combined. If a home office room is the centre of your entire activity, you claim the actual costs or €1,260 flat, but then no daily rate on top.8

Is it worth buying equipment to save tax?

Only if you need it. An expense lowers your profit; the tax only falls by your marginal rate on that amount. The private share isn't deductible anyway.13

What about gifts to brands and meals with partners?

Gifts to business partners are deductible only if they total at most €50 per recipient and year. Business meals count at 70 %, with place, date, participants, occasion and receipt.14

How long do I have to keep receipts?

Accounting records such as invoices and receipts for eight years, counted from the end of the calendar year in which they arose.15

Sources

Statutes and administrative guidance, as of 7 November 2026. Tax law changes: the current statutory text always prevails, and what applies to you is for your tax adviser to say.

  1. § 4 Abs. 4 EStG; Hessisches Ministerium der Finanzen, Leitfaden Influencer, S. 3
  2. Hessisches Ministerium der Finanzen, Leitfaden Influencer, S. 3Leitfaden zur Besteuerung von Influencerinnen und Influencern · Hessian Ministry of Finance, June 2026
  3. § 6 Abs. 2 Satz 1 EStG
  4. § 12 Nr. 1 EStG, H 12.1 EStH
  5. BMF-Schreiben vom 22. Februar 2022, BStBl I S. 187, Rz. 2 f.; EStH Anhang 1 VBMF letter: useful life of computer hardware and software · Of 22 February 2022, BStBl I p. 187; official income tax handbook 2025, annex 1 V
  6. AfA-Tabelle AV, Nr. 6.13.2.2 und 6.14.4AfA-Tabelle für allgemein verwendbare Anlagegüter · Federal Ministry of Finance
  7. § 6 Abs. 2a EStG
  8. § 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 6b und 6c EStG
  9. R 9.1 Abs. 5 LStR
  10. § 15 Abs. 2 Satz 1 Nr. 1 UStG i. V. m. § 19 Abs. 1 UStG
  11. BMF-Schreiben vom 22. Februar 2022, BStBl I S. 187BMF letter: useful life of computer hardware and software · Of 22 February 2022, BStBl I p. 187; official income tax handbook 2025, annex 1 V
  12. § 12 Nr. 1 EStG, H 12.1 EStH
  13. § 4 Abs. 4 EStG
  14. § 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 1 und 2 EStG
  15. § 147 Abs. 3 Satz 1 AO

Further sources

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All guides

14 guides on tax, free samples, platforms and invoices, sorted by topic.

Every expense with receipt and share.

Affliq records what you buy for your videos and how much of it is business, for your tax adviser.

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