Accountant for Affiliate Marketers

Specialist Accountants For Affiliate Marketers

Affiliate marketing is a popular marketing strategy for making money. With it, many companies make use of external affiliate websites for the promotion of their own sales networks which, in turn, get a commission.

Earnings and taxes from affiliate marketing activities can be very difficult to deduce and get right. You must audit each single affiliation contract to add up all commissions and referral payments received, which totals what we call the affiliate income. 

Opening a VAT number for affiliate marketing is necessary when the gains made are substantial or when the activity has already been started for at least a year. In order to do this, you have to report your earnings through invoices and file an annual tax return. 

What does it mean to be an Affiliate Marketer?

Affiliate marketing is when an affiliate earns a commission for marketing another company’s or person’s products. The affiliate searches for a product they like and then promotes the product to earn a small profit from each sale they make.
Because this type of marketing works by spreading the responsibilities of product marketing and creation across groups, it leverages the capabilities of individuals to make a more effective marketing strategy while providing sponsors with a part of the profit.
Affiliate markets may get paid per sale, per lead, by click or per install. Pay per sale is the traditional structure and works by ensuring the affiliate gets the ‘investor’ to invest in the affiliate product before they’re compensated anything.

How Can Accountants Assist Affiliate Marketers In Their Work?

As affiliate marketing is classified as a ‘trade’ by the UK Government, all affiliate marketing income over the tax free allowance is subject to income tax. However, the way that you need to do so depends on your employment status. 

If you are listed as an employee of the company, your tax will be automatically deducted from your monthly paycheck by HMRC. However, if affiliate marketing is not your only source of income, or you are essentially self employed, you must file Self Assessment tax returns to calculate affiliate income tax.  If you earn over £85,000 annually for your affiliate marketing, you will also need to register for VAT. 

An accountant can help you to file Self Assessment tax returns, register for VAT, and even keep your books for you, ensuring you are always compliant with HMRC. Accountants can also assist you in determining what business expenses can be claimed and written off for your ease. 

We Can Find You A Qualified Accountant

With so many different types of accountants out there, it can be hard to know what and who to choose. We’d recommend you have an accountant to help you during tax season, as well as be there and available for advice all year. It’s very likely that having an accountant will result in increased savings than if you tried to do it all without one. They know their way around the law and taxation like the back of their hand.