As of: February 24, 2024, 9:28 p.m
By: Yannick Hanke
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Hold beautiful, expensive clothing up to the camera – and then deduct it from your taxes?
An influencer had this plan.
However, your calculation should not add up.
Hanover – Influencing has long since established itself as a profession with which, ideally, you can earn a lot of money.
Leaving aside moral concerns, it is mostly younger people who stand in front of the camera and produce content for Instagram or TikTok.
These can sometimes be the biggest banalities in the world, which are the focus of these articles.
The location for such an influencer video can sometimes be an airplane.
Or, influencers commit themselves to a sector from the start in order to be successful in it.
The reference “paid advertising” can be found again and again in such videos.
After all, influencers advertise companies.
You will receive your clothing or other products in advance for the presentation.
But sometimes they have to buy these products themselves - and then how do they deal with the costs incurred?
Influencer buys expensive clothes for her blog - and wants to deduct them from her taxes
A current case shows how things can work – or not.
We are talking about an influencer who has been active in this activity since 2007.
She practices her profession on popular social media platforms and also has her own fashion and lifestyle blog on her website.
She is said to have earned a gross annual gross of 80,000 euros.
A hefty sum.
An influencer has not settled the bill with the tax court in Lower Saxony - and is stuck with the costs for the products she purchased.
© Uli Deck/dpa/imago/Montage
The crux of the matter: Of course, the lady incurs costs simply because she buys many items of clothing or handbags herself in order to then skillfully present them in front of the camera.
Well-known brands were mentioned here, as stated in a letter and the decision from the Lower Saxony Finance Court.
Why suddenly this legal authority comes into play?
This is what follows.
The tax office remains tough - and denies the influencer “business expense deduction” for the clothes she purchased
The woman, who is of course also taxable and earns her living as an influencer, would not have used the products privately.
As a rule, they bought clothes or handbags just for their blog.
That's why they wanted to claim their expenses for the advertised products as tax deductions.
And that’s under the heading “operating expenses”.
Now, after the decision from the tax office at the Lower Saxony Finance Court based in Hanover, it was time to decide on the influencer's case.
“The defendant tax office denied the deduction of business expenses on the grounds that all items could also be used privately by the plaintiff and that it was not possible to differentiate between the private and the business sphere,” says the tax court’s newsletter about the tax office’s decision.
The influencer did not explain to what extent she used the clothing and accessories for private or business purposes.
So how should the tax court decide?
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“The lawsuit brought against this was unsuccessful.
The 3rd Senate, like the defendant tax office, came to the conclusion that a separation between the private and business spheres is not possible when it comes to ordinary bourgeois clothing and fashion accessories,” writes the Lower Saxony Finance Court in its newsletter.
Since the only option would be for private use - regardless of whether this is used or not - there is no tax consideration.
In addition, the lady's clothing was not typical work clothing, according to the arguments of the responsible court.
The determination of the legal authority: The profession of influencer or blogger cannot be assessed differently than other professions.
It is therefore irrelevant whether the woman used the clothing and accessories she purchased purely for business purposes.
So the influencer remains stuck at her own expense.
Like the lady who always asked about the other person's salary on their first date.
(han/dpa)