Try free

Guide: side job

Influencer as a side job: what applies next to your employment.

You're employed and earn on the side with TikTok Shop, brand deals or free samples? Then you usually run a side business. Your job stays as it is; on top come a business registration, a tax return and a few thresholds worth knowing. Here is what applies, each with its source.

As of 7 November 2026 · 19 sources

Try free for 30 days Sign in

No payment details to startNo cut of your earningsServers in Germany

The ground rules.

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

Regularly on the side usually means a business.

Whoever regularly receives money or products as a creator has business income in the tax administration's view, even if it happens next to a job.1

You register when you start, not from a turnover.

Whoever starts a trade must notify the trade office at the same time. The Trade Regulation Act knows no exception for side businesses or small amounts.2

A tax return from €410 profit.

As an employee you must file an income tax return if your income without wage tax withheld, such as the profit from your business, exceeds €410 a year in total. Profit counts, not turnover.3

Profit and salary end up in one pot.

Your profit is added to your wages, and the progressive tariff applies to the total. Your salary has usually used up the basic allowance of €12,348 (2026) already, so the profit is taxed at your personal marginal rate.4

Thresholds and special cases.

What applies to side income, what the small business rule means and what to watch during parental leave.

Hardship relief up to €820

If your side income is €410 or less, it is deducted from your income again when you are assessed anyway. Between €410 and €820 the deduction shrinks step by step. That doesn't make it tax-free automatically; its effect is only softened.5

Small business is not the opposite of a business

The small business rule is purely about VAT: if your turnover was at most €25,000 last year and stays at most €100,000 this year, you charge no VAT. You still need your business registration, and you still pay income tax.6

Trade tax only from €24,500

For individuals the trade income is reduced by an allowance of €24,500. If your side business stays below it, there is usually no trade tax.7

Electronic, with the Anlage EÜR

With business profit you file your tax return electronically and the profit in the official format as Anlage EÜR, for example via ELSTER. Without a tax adviser the return is due seven months after year end, for 2025 on 31 July 2026.8

On parental leave: consent and 32 hours

During parental leave you may work at most 32 hours a week on a monthly average. Self-employed work needs your employer's consent; they can refuse it only within four weeks, in text form and for urgent operational reasons.9

Parental allowance: profit counts

Profit from your business counts as income for the parental allowance and reduces it in the months you receive it. Business expenses are set at a flat 25 % of revenue, or the actual ones on application.10

What this means for creators with a job.

The most common assumption is: "I'll register a business once I earn real money." The Trade Regulation Act ties registration to the start of the activity, though, not to an amount (§ 14 GewO). And free samples you keep are income in the tax administration's view even though no money changes hands (Hessisches Ministerium der Finanzen, Leitfaden Influencer, S. 2 f.). Creators who get many samples therefore often cross the €410 threshold in their first year.

Because your salary usually uses up the basic allowance, every euro of profit is taxed at your marginal rate. Your job's wage tax doesn't account for that. After the first assessment the tax office therefore often sets advance payments, four times a year on 10 March, June, September and December, once they reach at least €400 a year and €100 per date (§ 37 Abs. 1 und 5 EStG). Without knowing this, you face a back payment for the previous year and the first advance payments at once.

A side business usually changes nothing about health insurance: only those who are self-employed as their main occupation lose compulsory insurance as an employee (§ 5 Abs. 5 SGB V). If in doubt, your health insurer decides whether your activity is your main occupation. Check what your employment contract says about secondary activities; no statute regulates creator side jobs in general.

Affliq records your side business's deals, commissions, free samples and expenses, shows your running profit, the small business threshold and a tax reserve, and has everything ready for the Anlage EÜR at year end. How much tax you owe is for your tax adviser to calculate.

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 business if I'm only an influencer on the side?

Usually yes. Whoever regularly receives money or products as a creator runs a business in the tax administration's view, and the Trade Regulation Act requires notification at the start, with no exception for side businesses.2

When do I need to file a tax return as an employee with a side business?

As soon as your profit and other income without wage tax withheld exceed €410 a year in total. Below that you are not obliged, but you may file voluntarily.3

Is side income up to €410 tax-free?

Not quite. When you are assessed, the tax office deducts side income up to €410 from your income again (hardship relief), between €410 and €820 progressively less. It has no bearing on VAT or the small business threshold.11

Is my TikTok Shop income taxed together with my salary?

Yes. Profit and wages are added up, and the progressive tariff applies to the whole taxable income. That's why the rate on the profit is usually higher than many expect.12

Which is better: small business or a registered business?

It isn't either-or. The business registration covers your activity; the small business rule only decides whether you charge VAT. It applies as long as your turnover was at most €25,000 last year and doesn't exceed €100,000 this year, and free samples count at their value.6

Can I be a creator during parental leave?

Yes, with at most 32 hours a week on a monthly average and your employer's consent, which they can refuse only within four weeks for urgent operational reasons. Your profit reduces the parental allowance in the months you receive it.9

Do I need my own health insurance because of the side business?

Usually not. Compulsory insurance as an employee only ends if you are self-employed as your main occupation. If in doubt, your health insurer clarifies it.13

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. Hessisches Ministerium der Finanzen, Leitfaden Influencer, S. 1Leitfaden zur Besteuerung von Influencerinnen und Influencern · Hessian Ministry of Finance, June 2026
  2. § 14 Abs. 1 Satz 1 GewO
  3. § 46 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 EStG
  4. § 2 Abs. 1 EStG, § 32a Abs. 1 EStG
  5. § 46 Abs. 3 und 5 EStG, § 70 EStDV
  6. § 19 Abs. 1 Satz 1 UStG
  7. § 11 Abs. 1 Satz 3 Nr. 1 GewStG
  8. § 25 Abs. 4 EStG, § 60 Abs. 4 EStDV, § 149 Abs. 2 AO
  9. § 15 Abs. 4 BEEG
  10. § 2 Abs. 3 BEEG, § 2d BEEG
  11. § 46 Abs. 3 und 5 EStG, § 70 EStDV
  12. § 2 Abs. 1 EStG, § 32a EStG
  13. § 5 Abs. 5 SGB V

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.

Registering a trade as an influencer

When the duty to register applies, trade or freelance, questionnaire, IHK, side business, TikTok Shop and UGC, with sections.

Kleinunternehmer limit

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

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.

Your side business, without the paper chase.

Affliq records what your creator side job earns and costs and shows you what to set aside for tax.

Try free for 30 days