Taxes on Youtubers in India

 The recent generation has been inclined towards a completely new area of professions where people follows their hobbies to make their own livelihood rather than going for conventional jobs. One such job is video blogging i.e. Vlogging.

DISTINCTION OF INCOMES FROM VLOGGER 

You-tubers are the niche creative people who creates their videos in specific areas such as education, tech, fashion, influencers, comedy, etc. Their major income comprised of 

1. On the basis of their audience engagements 
2. Brand or events promotions 
3. Affiliate or merchandise sales 
4. Freelance incomes etc.

TAXABILITY OF YOUTUBERS INCOME UNDER INCOME TAX

The income of the YouTuber can be taxed under Income from Business and Profession or as Income from other sources. If you are pursuing YouTube as your full time income and your source of livelihood depends upon it, you will be taxed as Income from Business and profession. If it’s a part time job and earning is also comparatively lower, the income will be taxed under Income from other sources Additionally, TDS will also be applicable on every receipt of payment, the YouTuber receives.

TAXABILITY OF YOUTUBERS INCOME UNDER GST

YouTubers supply services by posting videos and contents on their channel with monetization, advertisements and brand promotions. Therefore, YouTubers and vloggers are considered to be the supplier of the Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval Services (OIDAR) Under GST laws. If the income of the YouTuber exceeds Rs. 20 Lakhs (10 Lakhs in case of special category states) will have to pay GST on supply of these services @18% (9% CGST and 9% SGST). They can also opt for the composition scheme if their income does not exceed 50 lacs. These returns should be filed in GSTR 1 or GSTR - 3B.

APPLICABILITY OF TAX AUDIT

YouTubers earning a gross income of more than Rs. 1 crores are liable to get their books of accounts audited by a practicing Chartered Accountant (PCA). However, the limit has been increased to Rs. 1 crores if not more than 5% of aggregate income is received through cash in that financial year.