Content creators (OnlyFans, YouTube, Twitch): registration and taxes

With Hacienda, always and before starting. The census registration declaration (form 036) is mandatory from the first euro: the obligation arises with the exercise of the activity, not with the amount you earn. The myth that you do not need to declare until you reach the minimum wage is false and is the main cause of requirements sent to creators. The Directorate General for Taxation has confirmed in several binding consultations (for example V0117-19 for a YouTuber or V0863-21 for a Twitch streamer) that creating and broadcasting content is an economic activity even if it generates little or no income.

With the RETA (the special regime for self-employed workers or autónomos), when the activity is regular, personal and direct. The law does not set an income threshold for regularity: uploading videos or streaming regularly points to regularity even if you earn little. The criterion of comparing with the minimum wage is only an indication used by case law for marginal cases, not an automatic exemption, and the General Treasury of the Seguridad Social (the Spanish social security system) can claim backdated quotas with a surcharge if it detects continuous activity without registration.

Registering early is not as expensive as it seems: since 2023 contributions are based on real income, in 2026 the quotas remain frozen compared to 2025 (between €200 and €590 per month on the minimum base of each bracket) and new self-employed workers can apply for the reduced quota of €80 per month during the first 12 months, extendable for another 12 if their net returns do not exceed the minimum wage. Bear in mind that the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI, 0.9% of the contribution base in 2026) is added to the monthly receipt, so the real charge is slightly higher than €80.

The registration itself has no official fee (tasa): neither the census declaration before the AEAT (the Spanish tax agency) nor the registration with the Seguridad Social accrue a fee. Managora submits both registrations for you, with the correct heading and the appropriate VAT configuration for your platforms.

There is no specific heading for a content creator, so the 8th rule of the Instruction of the IAE Tariffs (Real Decreto Legislativo 1175/1990) applies: the activity is classified under the heading it most closely resembles.

The criterion of the Directorate General for Taxation is stable: video production (YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, OnlyFans) fits into heading 961.1 'Producción de películas cinematográficas (incluso vídeos)'. If you also charge for advertising, sponsorships or AdSense, heading 844 'Servicios de publicidad, relaciones públicas y similares' is also appropriate (consultation V1895-24, TikTok creator registered in 961.1 and 844). For photographic content, such as sessions sold on OnlyFans, the DGT adds 973.1 'Servicios fotográficos' (consultation V0890-23).

You must be registered under all the headings of the activities you actually carry out. As a natural person you are exempt from paying the IAE quota, but a poorly chosen heading causes problems: it conditions how the AEAT interprets your activity and your deductions. Managora selects the headings according to the current doctrine of the DGT and includes them in your census registration.

The key rule is the location of the service (article 69.Uno.1º of Ley 37/1992 on VAT): when you provide a service to a company, the VAT is located where the client is. Your client is not the fan, it is the platform, because in electronically supplied services the platform acts as the taxable person vis-a-vis the final consumer (article 9 bis of Implementing Regulation EU 282/2011, confirmed by the EU Court of Justice in case C-695/20, precisely regarding OnlyFans).

OnlyFans (Fenix International Limited, United Kingdom): as the client is outside the EU, your invoice is issued without VAT as it is a transaction not subject to VAT in Spain. It is not an intra-community transaction, so it is not declared on form 349. The platform itself settles the VAT of the fans.

Google AdSense (Google Ireland Limited): this is an intra-community provision of services. Before invoicing you must be registered in the Registry of Intra-Community Operators (ROI), which is requested by ticking box 582 on form 036 and converts your NIF into a VAT-NIF visible in the VIES census. The invoice is issued without VAT with the mention 'reverse charge' (article 196 of Directiva 2006/112/CE) and the transaction is declared on form 349 with key S.

US platforms (Twitch and similar): same scheme as OnlyFans, invoice without VAT for a non-subject transaction and without form 349.

Be careful with direct income: you must distinguish. If the fan pays for something specific (content, a subscription, a personalised commission) charged directly in Spain without a platform acting as a taxable person, there is consideration and the transaction carries Spanish VAT of 21%. On the other hand, tips or voluntary donations of a free amount, without direct and agreed consideration (a Bizum or a tip for mere support), are not subject to VAT according to the case law of the CJEU (Tolsma case, C-16/93) and the DGT criterion for creators (consultation V1895-24). The boundary between one and the other can be thin: it is advisable to document each collection method well.

Invoicing without VAT does not free you from formal obligations: you must issue an invoice for each settlement, keep the registry books and submit form 303, which also allows you to deduct the VAT borne on your purchases (equipment, software, services).

US platforms are obliged to withhold US taxes from foreign creators unless they prove their tax residence with the W-8BEN form. Without this form, Google withholds up to 24% of the income generated by viewers in the US and the general US withholding tax can reach 30%.

Spain has a double taxation agreement with the US and, following the Protocol that entered into force in 2019, the withholding tax on royalties is set at 0%. By submitting the W-8BEN on AdSense, YouTube or Twitch and invoking the agreement, the withholding tax on these returns is reduced or disappears.

Important: the American withholding tax does not replace your Spanish taxes. As a tax resident in Spain you are taxed here on your worldwide income, so even if the US withholds something, you are still obliged to submit form 130 and your income tax return. The amount withheld at source in accordance with the agreement is corrected, where appropriate, through the deduction for international double taxation.

Expenses related to the activity, justified with an invoice and recorded in your books, are deductible. For a creator, the usual ones are: camera, microphone, lighting, computer, editing software, platform commissions documented in your settlements and the autónomo quota itself, which is fully deductible. High-value equipment is not deducted all at once: it is amortised according to tables.

If you work from home and communicate this in your census registration (square metres allocated to the activity), you can deduct utilities (electricity, water, internet) in the percentage resulting from applying 30% to the proportion of the home allocated, unless you prove a higher percentage (article 30.2.5ª.b of Ley 35/2006 on Personal Income Tax). Example: with 15% of the house allocated, you deduct 4.5% of each utility bill.

In simplified direct estimation, the provision for difficult-to-justify expenses is added: 7% of the net return, with a cap of €2,000 per year.

What Hacienda systematically rejects: deducting 100% of the rent or utilities of the home, street clothes, makeup or hairdressing for personal use, meals without a proven link to the activity and leisure trips. Partial allocation and documentary proof make the difference between a solid deduction and a parallel assessment.

Not declaring 'because I earn little'. Since 2023, digital platforms communicate the identity and income of their professional users to the AEAT (DAC7 regulations, form 238) when they exceed €2,000 or 30 transactions per year. In January 2026, the third full reporting year (2025 data) has already been submitted. Hacienda cross-checks this data with your tax returns: if there is no registration or declared income, the assessment arrives with the quota, interest and penalty.

Invoicing AdSense without being in the ROI and without submitting form 349: this generates almost automatic requirements, because Google declares the transaction in Ireland and the VIES cross-check does not match.

Passing on 21% VAT to OnlyFans, Google or Twitch (it is not appropriate and distorts your returns), or the opposite: not submitting form 303 thinking that 'since I invoice without VAT I have no obligations'.

Not submitting form 130 trusting the US withholding tax: that withholding tax is not an advance payment of Spanish personal income tax.

Deductions without support: 100% of the house, personal expenses or purchases without a complete invoice.

The safe way to start is a well-planned registration from day one. Managora studies your platforms, submits the census registration with the correct headings, requests the ROI if you need it, processes your registration in the RETA and leaves your tax form calendar defined. You can see the updated price of the service on the procedure file and start today: you provide your DNI or NIE (foreigner identity number) and your IBAN and sign the representation authorisation that we prepare for you, so that we can submit the registrations on your behalf.