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Some 71% of Irish people want Revenue to crack down on bloggers, social media influencers and others like them.

According to seven out of 10 respondents to a recent taxback.com survey, the tax organisation needs to police these online professionals more heavily to ensure they are meeting obligations.

Tax refund experts taxback.com commissioned the survey, of 800 people throughout the country to find out people's thoughts on these responsibilities.

It asked: "With the advent of social media an increasing number of people are making money from influencing/blogging. Do you think Revenue should police this more heavily?"

34% said that they did not believe all of these people are declaring tax, while 37% said they think some don't even know they should be filing a tax return.

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The remaining 29% said they did not think there is a need to police the industry more heavily than any other.

Christine Keily of taxback.com said: "Social media and digital marketing is a whole new, lucrative and dynamic industry.

"Like most things, it started from humble beginnings but has now become a crucial part of the marketing strategy of many of the biggest brands in the world.

"The people who first started blogging from their bedroom have realised that there is a market for this as an occupation and that they can capitalise, in some cases handsomely, on their efforts.

"While some of the bigger names in the industry would have set themselves up as a business, we believe that there are lots of smaller blogging ‘operations’.

"These people have secured a certain level of online ‘followers’ which means that brands and businesses, while not paying cash directly, may give them goods and services for free – as a thank you for promoting their offering.

"However, what lots of people may not realise is that in the eyes of the Revenue these freebies could be deemed as taxable."

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Taxback.com reports that the blogging landscape is changing and becoming more transparent.

Christine Keily added: "People want to know if the content they’re reading is sponsored or contributed by a brand that directly influences the direction of the content.

"So for example, if your vitamin review is sponsored by the company that just happens to sell that product, it’s in the customer’s best interest to know.

"This has put increasing pressure on bloggers to implicitly state when they are being compensated for creating content.

"The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has started to monitor blogger and influencer channels to check for instances of product promotion in return for payment through products or ‘non-monetary benefits’.

"Continuing to promote products or services without declaring the nature of the promotion or paying tax on the income from these promotions could be viewed as tantamount to tax evasion in some cases.

"The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland is keeping a watchful eye on developments and Revenue has also stated that 'confronting non-compliance in respect of online trading, blogging and digital influencing is a standard element of our compliance framework'.

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"According to the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland, sponsored online content 'must clearly state that the material is a marketing communication'.

"The issue of transparency when it comes to endorsements isn’t going away anytime soon.

"In fact, as the blogosphere continues to expand, income from blogging is only going to be further scrutinised by the relevant powers that be.

"The short story is, for the savvy blogger, being tax compliant is just smart business."

Taxback.com says a variety of categories fall under tax liability for those who provide "cyber endorsements".

Any payment a blogger receives from operating is counted as income. This includes:

Payments for sponsored content

Banner ads on blogs

Talks/workshops/seminars you hold where they receive payment(s)



Taxback.com advises that the tax treatment of gifts of goods and services from businesses is a little different.

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Christine Keily said: "Generally, when bloggers are sent gifts, they are under no actual obligation to review the items.

"Therefore, it is not payment, but a gift.

"However, the long arm of the taxman can have a claim on these ‘gifts’ once the value is above a certain threshold.

"If the value of the gifts (material items, or services) given by a single person/company is more than €3,000 in a tax year, then there is a tax implication and you must pay any tax due."

Bloggers - What you need to do

If the total taxable amount you earn outside of the PAYE system (i.e. after the deduction of expenses) adds up to below €5,000 and the total gross amount before the deduction of expenses adds up to less than €30,000 in any given year and you are also a PAYE tax payer, you contact Revenue or a tax agent like taxback.com who will arrange to have your tax credit certificate adjusted in order to collect the tax via the PAYE system.

If you earn over €5,000 net or €30,000 gross in total outside of the PAYE system then you will need to register for income tax using a TRI Form, which is a tax registration form for sole traders.

If your turnover is over a certain threshold (€37,500 for services or €75,000 for sale of products in a 12 month period under current rules ), then you’ll need to register for VAT on this form too.

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As well as a completing a TR1 from you must file a self-assessed tax return each year stating the income earned.

Declare everything. Any payment a blogger receives from operating a blog counts as income.

The deadline for self-assessed tax returns in Ireland is October 31, otherwise you could be subject to fines or penalties.

Self-assessed expenses can include items you need for you blogging business such as stationary, internet, travel to meetings, events.