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Guide: trade registration

Registering a trade as an influencer: when, where and what you enter.

No follower count and no turnover decide whether you have to register a trade, only the start of your activity. The state tax administrations say: whoever regularly creates content for money or products runs a trade. Here is what the Gewerbeordnung and the state guides require, each with its reference.

As of 6 November 2026 · 24 sources

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The ground rules.

Four points from the Gewerbeordnung, the income tax act and the fiscal code.

Register the trade when you start, not at a threshold.

Whoever begins the independent operation of a standing trade must notify the competent authority at the same time. The Gewerbeordnung knows no turnover, profit or follower threshold.1

Content for money or products is, as a rule, a trade.

Independent, sustained, with the intention to make a profit and offered on the market: then it is a Gewerbebetrieb, unless it is a liberal profession. All five state tax administrations treat regularly active influencers as traders.2

Then the questionnaire, within one month.

The trade registration goes to the municipality, which informs the tax office. In addition you send the tax office the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung electronically via ELSTER, within one month of starting.3

Not registering is an administrative offence.

Whoever fails to notify, notifies incorrectly or late commits an administrative offence; the fine can be up to €1,000. Your tax duties exist regardless.4

Trade or liberal profession, activity, IHK, side business.

The questions that come up while filling in the form, and what the sources say about them.

Trade or liberal profession?

Liberal professions include artistic, literary and journalistic work. Advertising for brands generally does not fall under it according to the income tax handbook: advertising consultants, models and photographers taking advertising shots are listed there as trades; artistic is only what is genuinely creative and reaches a certain artistic level. Whether part of your work is freelance is for your tax adviser to clarify.5

What you enter as your activity

No official source prescribes a wording. Describe what you earn from, the way the NRW tax administration lists it: advertising, sponsorships and product placements, affiliate links and discount codes, merchandise, coaching or online courses. If something is added later that is not customary for a trade of your kind, you notify the extension.6

The Gewerbeschein is a receipt

The authority confirms receipt of your notification within three days; that is the Gewerbeschein. You need no licence: operating a trade is open to everyone unless the Gewerbeordnung makes an exception, and it makes none for content.7

IHK membership comes automatically

Whoever is assessed for Gewerbesteuer and has a place of business in the district belongs to the chamber of commerce (IHK). As a person not entered in the commercial register you are exempt from the fee as long as your Gewerbeertrag or profit does not exceed €5,200; founders without earlier self-employment income are exempt in the first years up to €25,000.8

A side business is the same registration

The Gewerbeordnung does not distinguish between main and side business, and for tax it makes no difference whether you are an influencer full-time or only on the side. You register the same trade and have the same duties.9

A trade does not mean VAT and Gewerbesteuer right away

Registering costs you no tax yet. Your supplies are exempt as a Kleinunternehmer as long as you did not exceed €25,000 in the previous year and do not exceed €100,000 in the current year; Gewerbesteuer is due only above a Gewerbeertrag of €24,500.10

TikTok Shop, UGC, followers: what the rules say.

No official source names a follower count from which a trade must be registered, and none names a TikTok Shop turnover. The Gewerbeordnung looks at the start of the business (§ 14 Abs. 1 Satz 1 GewO), income tax law at four criteria: independent, sustained, with the intention to make a profit, taking part in general economic traffic (§ 15 Abs. 2 Satz 1 EStG). The Grundfreibetrag (§ 32a Abs. 1 EStG) and the Kleinunternehmer limit (§ 19 UStG) determine whether and how much tax is due, not whether you have a trade. More in the guide to influencer taxes.

TikTok Shop without a trade? Commissions from affiliate links are income, and samples you keep are too (Finanzverwaltung NRW; Hessisches Ministerium der Finanzen, Leitfaden Influencer, S. 2). Whoever regularly promotes products and receives commission or products for it meets the criteria of a trade. What the platform requires for activation is its terms of business, not a legal rule; the duty to register under § 14 GewO applies regardless. That these rules cover TikTok Shop is our conclusion: no state guide names it. How to record and value samples is in the guide to taxing free samples.

UGC creators produce videos for a brand's channels, often without an audience of their own. That changes nothing about the four criteria: independent, repeated, for a fee, for third-party clients. The work would be freelance only as an artistic activity, and according to the income tax handbook that requires genuinely creative work reaching an artistic level; advertising shots count as a trade there (H 15.6 EStH). The state guides speak of influencers, not of UGC; that the same rules apply is our conclusion. If you have an artistic training or work editorially, have your tax adviser check the classification.

“I only have one deal so far.” Someone who appears as an influencer only in isolated cases has other income, which stays tax-free below €256 a year (§ 22 Nr. 3 Satz 2 EStG; Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern, FAQ Influencer, S. 3). Whether the second and third deal turn it into a trade is decided by sustainability: an activity designed to be repeated. Hessen advises registering the activity promptly with the trade office (Leitfaden Influencer, S. 3). If in doubt, ask the trade office or your tax adviser before the next deal arrives.

After registration it goes on: the municipality informs the tax office (§ 138 Abs. 1 Satz 1 AO), you send the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung via ELSTER within one month (§ 138 Abs. 1b und Abs. 4 AO) and receive a tax number. The IHK gets in touch (§ 2 Abs. 1 IHKG). You record income and expenses and keep receipts (§ 147 AO). If you move, extend the object of the trade or give it up, you notify that too (§ 14 Abs. 1 Satz 2 GewO).

Affliq's founding checklist walks you through the steps: register the trade or report a freelance activity, the tax registration questionnaire with its one-month deadline counted from your start date, the Kleinunternehmer decision, your legal profile, plus VAT ID and Künstlersozialkasse where they apply to you, each step with the law behind it. After that you record deals, invoices with the right tax case, products with their value and payouts, Affliq counts the Kleinunternehmer limit along and packs the year-end package for your tax adviser, with bookings in DATEV, sevDesk or lexoffice format. The registration itself you do at the trade office, the questionnaire in ELSTER; Affliq files nothing with the tax office.

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

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to register a trade as an influencer?

Yes, if you regularly publish content, receive money or products for it and do so independently with a profit motive. The NRW tax administration writes: because of your activity as an influencer, your trade is to be registered with the competent trade office.11

From when do I have to register a trade as an influencer?

From the start of the business, so when you begin creating content for money or products. No follower count or minimum turnover appears in any official source. Hessen advises registering the activity promptly.1

Influencer: trade or freelancer?

As a rule a trade. Liberal professions are artistic, literary and journalistic work; the income tax handbook counts advertising for brands as a trade. Whether individual parts of your work are freelance is for your tax adviser to clarify.12

What do I enter as my activity when registering the trade?

There is no prescribed wording. Describe what you earn from: advertising and product placements on social media, affiliate marketing, merchandise, coaching. Keep it broad enough, because an extension to services that are not customary has to be notified later.13

Do I need a trade for TikTok Shop?

Affiliate commissions and samples you keep are income. If you regularly promote products and receive commission or products for it, you meet the criteria of a trade, regardless of what TikTok requires for activation. That this covers TikTok Shop is our conclusion; no state guide names it.2

Do I have to register a trade as a UGC creator?

On our reading, yes: you work independently, repeatedly and for a fee for brands. Only an artistic activity with genuinely creative work at an artistic level would be freelance; the income tax handbook counts advertising shots as a trade. The state guides speak of influencers; have your classification confirmed by your tax adviser.14

Is a side business enough if I am employed?

A side business is legally the same trade with the same registration. For tax it makes no difference whether you are an influencer full-time or on the side; your salary and your profit are added together for the Grundfreibetrag.9

What happens if I don't register a trade?

A missing, incorrect or late notification is an administrative offence with a fine of up to €1,000. Your tax liability is unaffected: whoever neglects their tax duties risks, according to Hessen, interest, fines and in extreme cases imprisonment on top of the back payment.4

Sources

Statutes and administrative guidance, as of 6 November 2026. Tax law changes: the current statutory text always prevails, and what applies to you is for your tax adviser to say.

  1. § 14 Abs. 1 Satz 1 GewO§ 14 GewO – Anzeigepflicht · gesetze-im-internet.de, Federal Ministry of Justice
  2. § 15 Abs. 2 Satz 1 EStG§ 15 EStG – Einkünfte aus Gewerbebetrieb
  3. § 138 Abs. 1 Satz 1, Abs. 1b und Abs. 4 AO§ 138 AO – Anzeigen über die Erwerbstätigkeit
  4. § 146 Abs. 2 Nr. 2 Buchst. b und Abs. 3 GewO§ 146 GewO – Bußgeldvorschriften
  5. § 18 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 EStG; H 15.6 EStHAmtliches Einkommensteuer-Handbuch 2025, H 15.6 – Abgrenzung selbständige Arbeit/Gewerbebetrieb · Federal Ministry of Finance
  6. § 14 Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 2 GewO; Finanzverwaltung NRW, Influencer & Steuern§ 14 GewO – Anzeigepflicht · gesetze-im-internet.de, Federal Ministry of Justice
  7. § 15 Abs. 1 GewO, § 1 Abs. 1 GewO§ 15 GewO – Empfangsbescheinigung, Betrieb ohne Zulassung
  8. § 2 Abs. 1 IHKG, § 3 Abs. 3 Satz 3 und 4 IHKG§ 2 IHKG – Kammerzugehörigkeit
  9. Finanzverwaltung NRW, Influencer & SteuernInfluencer & Steuern · Finanzverwaltung Nordrhein-Westfalen
  10. § 19 Abs. 1 Satz 1 UStG, § 11 Abs. 1 Satz 3 Nr. 1 GewStG§ 11 GewStG – Steuermesszahl und Steuermessbetrag
  11. Finanzverwaltung NRW, Influencer & Steuern; § 14 Abs. 1 Satz 1 GewOInfluencer & Steuern · Finanzverwaltung Nordrhein-Westfalen
  12. § 18 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 EStG; H 15.6 EStH§ 18 EStG – Selbständige Arbeit
  13. § 14 Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 2 GewO§ 14 GewO – Anzeigepflicht · gesetze-im-internet.de, Federal Ministry of Justice
  14. H 15.6 EStHAmtliches Einkommensteuer-Handbuch 2025, H 15.6 – Abgrenzung selbständige Arbeit/Gewerbebetrieb · Federal Ministry of Finance

Further sources

More from Affliq

Influencer taxes

Income tax above the Grundfreibetrag, VAT, Gewerbesteuer above €24,500, EÜR, deadlines: what five state tax administrations say.

Kleinunternehmer limit

€25,000 and €100,000: what counts and what happens when you cross, with sections and sources.

Influencer as a side job

Employed and a creator on the side: business registration, the €410 threshold, tax return, parental leave, parental allowance and health insurance, with sections.

Influencer expenses

Phone, camera, laptop, internet, home office, clothing: what you can deduct as a creator, over how many years and what not, with sections.

All guides

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

Register first, then keep it clean.

Join the list: Affliq's founding checklist walks you through the trade office, the questionnaire and the Kleinunternehmer decision, with deadlines from your start date.

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