Social media influencers appear all around us, whether they are pushing their latest endorsement, plugging a new restaurant or trying to start the latest trend, they connect with thousands or millions of people around the world.

Often, as we are now aware they are being paid to endorse certain products, such as Kylie Jenner’s estimated $1 million per sponsored post to her 146 million followers.

Whilst very few can ever hope to attain that level of following and worth, there are increasing numbers of influencers who are receiving “gifts”, services or money of real value and that has not escaped the attention of HMRC.

There are many considerations to take into account, from whether the influencer is an employee and receiving money directly from a supplier for endorsing and posting about a product to whether they are receiving goods or services that can easily be transferable into cash, or simply receiving free samples that they can either choose to post about or not.

What is certain is that as the ubiquitous rise of social media increases, amounts paid to influencers or celebrities with large number of followers are only likely to increase, as will the tax issues they create.

If you are someone receiving gifts or services for your social media presence, talk to your Barnes Roffe partner, to make sure that your tax position is fully considered.