In October 2026, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released a package of guidance that includes resources aimed at influencers and content creators. It includes a media release reminding creators that money, gifts and perks may carry tax obligations, a new industry guide, a free online course and a new draft taxation ruling, TR 2026/D2 Income tax: carrying on a business by an individual.
The headlines have caused some concern in the creator community. The most important thing to understand is this: the ATO has not introduced any new tax laws for influencers. What it has released is new guidance on how the existing tax laws apply to content creation.
In short:
- The ATO’s October 2026 release is guidance, not new legislation. The tax laws applying to creators have not changed.
- Draft ruling TR 2026/D2 sets out the ATO’s preliminary view on when an individual is “carrying on a business”, using indicators developed by the courts over many decades.
- If you are paid in cash, products or experiences for your content, you may be in business for tax purposes, and gifted products generally need to be declared at market value.
- The draft ruling is open for public comment until 27 November 2026.
Separately from these releases, brands and agencies paying creators may also need to withhold 20% PAYG and pay super under existing rules for performers in promotional activities. We explain those obligations below. Well drafted influencer agreements can deal with these issues.
What did the ATO release for influencers and content creators?
The ATO released four resources in October 2026, which together help creators understand when their content activity has tax consequences:
Resource | Released | What it covers |
Media release: Creating content? Tax consequences may be your next ‘follower’ | 22 October 2026 | The ATO’s key messages for creators, including that free products and experiences can be income |
16 October 2026 | The ATO’s preliminary view on when an individual is carrying on a business, including a content creator case study | |
Industry guide: Are you in the business of content creation? | October 2026 | Practical guidance on when content creation becomes a business |
Content, clicks, income and tax (on the Essentials to strengthen your small business platform) | October 2026 | A free short course on business status, declaring income, record keeping and the consequences of getting it wrong |
The ATO’s message is that creator activity often starts as a hobby or side hustle but can become a business. According to ATO Assistant Commissioner Anita Challen, many creators do not see themselves as running a business and are caught off guard when the ATO picks up undeclared income through platform data matching, lifestyle asset programs or community tip-offs.
Income is more than what hits your bank account
The ATO has reminded creators that income can include:
- advertising and platform payments;
- sponsorships and affiliate links;
- tips, donations and subscriptions; and
- free products, services or experiences received in exchange for promotion.
The ATO’s position is that if you are gifted something because of your content, it generally needs to be declared at its market value. As the ATO put it, free does not mean tax-free.
Are these new tax laws for influencers?
No. The ATO cannot make tax laws. Tax laws are made by Parliament and interpreted by the courts. The ATO’s role is to administer those laws, and part of that role is publishing guidance on how it considers the laws apply.
Nothing in the October 2026 release changes the law. The draft ruling itself says the indicators it uses are well established. It applies the same provisions of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) that already apply to creator income:
- section 6-5, which makes ordinary income (including business income) assessable; and
- section 8-1, which allows deductions for expenses incurred in carrying on a business to earn assessable income.
The question of whether someone is “carrying on a business” has been considered by Australian courts and tribunals for more than 70 years. The draft ruling draws on that case law, including:
- Commissioner of Taxation v Stone [2005] HCA 21, where the High Court found an Olympic javelin thrower who was also a police officer was carrying on a business, because she had turned her athletic talent to account for money through sponsorships, endorsements and appearance fees. For many influencers, the parallels are obvious.
- Case C1 (1952), where a writer earning small amounts from short stories, poetry and articles was found by the Board of Review to be carrying on a business of exploiting her literary talent for gain.
In other words, the legal principles that apply to a creator who signs a brand deal in 2026 are the same principles that applied to an athlete signing sponsorship deals in the late 1990s.
So what is actually new?
What is new is the focus and the examples. The ATO has published a draft general ruling on when individuals carry on a business, and it walks through creator-specific scenarios, including:
- a gamer who streams for fun and occasionally receives small donations (no realistic prospect of profit);
- a skincare reviewer whose channel grows into sponsorships, paid subscriptions and creator rewards programs, with an agent and marketing support (a hobby that took on a commercial character); and
- a comedian whose video goes viral, who then signs with a management company, earns advertising, creator fund, affiliate and sponsorship income, and hires an editor (a business).
The release is also a clear signal that the ATO is paying attention to the creator economy, and that data matching with platforms is part of how it identifies undeclared income.
How do draft tax rulings work?
A draft taxation ruling is the ATO’s preliminary view on how a tax law applies, published for public comment before the ATO settles its final position. TR 2026/D2 is a draft, so it does not yet have legal effect as a public ruling.
Here is how the process works:
- Draft released. The ATO publishes the draft ruling setting out the Commissioner of Taxation’s preliminary view. TR 2026/D2 was released on 16 October 2026.
- Public consultation. Anyone can make a submission, including creators, agencies, brands, industry bodies and advisers. Comments on TR 2026/D2 close on 27 November 2026.
- Review and compendium. The ATO considers the submissions and publishes an edited compendium of comments (with identifying details removed) alongside the final ruling.
- Final ruling issued. The ATO issues the final public ruling, which may be changed from the draft, sometimes significantly, in response to consultation.
Are taxation rulings binding?
A final public ruling binds the Commissioner, not taxpayers. If you rely on a public ruling that applies to you and it turns out to be wrong, the ATO generally cannot apply the law to you in a way that is less favourable than the ruling. You are free to take a different view of the law, although you should get advice before doing so. Ultimately, it is the courts, not the ATO, that decide what the law means.
A draft ruling is not binding in the same way. However, the ATO states that if TR 2026/D2 applies to you and you rely on it reasonably and in good faith, you will not have to pay penalties or interest if the draft turns out to be incorrect. You may still have to pay the correct amount of tax.
When will TR 2026/D2 apply?
The ATO proposes that the final ruling will apply both before and after its date of issue. That is not as dramatic as it sounds. Because the ruling explains how existing law has always applied, it is relevant to past income years as well as future ones. It is another reason creators should not treat the guidance as a fresh start date for their tax obligations.
When is an influencer carrying on a business for tax purposes?
Whether a creator is carrying on a business depends on the overall impression formed from a range of indicators. No single indicator is decisive. Under TR 2026/D2, the ATO will look at:
- significant commercial purpose or character;
- an intention to carry on a business (which can be inferred from your conduct, even if you have never thought about it);
- a purpose and prospect of profit;
- whether the activity is a hobby or recreation;
- whether it is organised and carried on in a business-like and systematic way;
- size and scale; and
- repetition and regularity.
A few points in the draft ruling are particularly relevant to creators:
- Having a day job does not stop you being in business. Other employment or income does not mean your content activity is not a business.
- Loving what you do does not make it a hobby. Enjoying or being passionate about an activity does not, on its own, prevent it from being a business.
- Hobbies can become businesses. Your activity can change character over time, for example when you start actively monetising, sign with an agent or manager, or enter sponsorship deals.
- Small can still be a business. A small-scale activity may still be a business if the other indicators are present.
Why formal contracts matter for tax
The draft ruling lists formal, written contracts with customers and suppliers, obtaining expert advice and keeping good records as signs that an activity is being run in a business-like way. It also says an activity is more likely to be a hobby if you are not under any contract or formal arrangement about your performance, timeframes or output, so being under one suggests your activity is not a hobby.
That is significant for creators. Your influencer agreements are not just commercial documents. They are also evidence the ATO may look at when deciding whether you are in business.
What being in business means in practice
If you are carrying on a business as a creator:
- income from advertising, creator funds, affiliate programs, sponsorships, appearances and similar activities is generally assessable income;
- products, services and experiences received in exchange for promotion generally need to be declared at market value;
- you may be able to claim deductions for expenses incurred in producing content, with private use appropriately apportioned;
- you must keep records that explain all transactions relevant to your tax; and
- you may need to register for GST, generally once your current or projected GST turnover reaches $75,000. Payments that are subject to PAYG withholding as a performing artist are treated differently for GST (see below).
The draft ruling does not deal with GST, which has its own “enterprise” test. Creators should get separate advice on their GST position, including on non-cash payments such as gifted products and experiences.
If your activity is not a business, that does not automatically mean the money is tax-free. Some amounts can still be assessable. In the draft ruling’s own example, a photographer who occasionally sells prints of the photos she posts on social media is neither running a business nor pursuing a hobby, but her sales may still be assessable as a profit-making undertaking. The ATO’s industry guide gives a similar example of a travel blogger who posts occasionally and is paid a one-off $500 by a hotel for a feature post. That $500 generally still needs to be declared.
Do brands and agencies have to withhold tax and pay super for influencers?
Often, yes. While the draft ruling focuses on the creator’s own income tax, brands and agencies that pay creators can have their own obligations: withholding PAYG tax at 20% and paying superannuation guarantee. Like the business rules, these are existing obligations, not new ones.
PAYG withholding for performing artists in promotional activities
Under the ATO’s special withholding rules for performing artists contracted to perform promotional activity, a payer must withhold tax from payments to a performing artist who is:
- an Australian resident; and
- engaged under a contract to perform in a promotional activity, including one intended to be communicated to an audience by print, electronic or social media.
A “performing artist” includes models and actors, and extends to any similar individual engaged to use their intellectual, artistic, physical or other personal skills. A “promotional activity” includes endorsing or promoting goods or services, or appearing in an advertisement, including on the internet, social media and digital media. Creators paid to promote a brand in their content can fall within these rules.
Where the rules apply, the payer generally must:
- withhold 20% from all payments to the creator and send it to the ATO, unless an exception or ATO variation applies;
- withhold 47% if the creator has not provided a TFN declaration (with a limited exception for creators under 18 on low payments);
- obtain a TFN declaration before payment (valid for 12 months from the last payment to that creator); and
- issue a payment summary and include the payments in its activity statements and annual PAYG reporting.
The rules only apply to payments to individuals, including sole traders. They do not apply to payments made to a company, trust or partnership.
Not everyone involved in a campaign is a performing artist. The ATO excludes make-up artists, stylists and photographers who help produce promotional content but do not perform in it, and individuals engaged primarily because they are currently active sportspeople. Creators who produce content without appearing in or endorsing it, such as some UGC arrangements, may fall outside the rules, depending on the facts.
Withholding also applies to rollover payments, where a brand pays to use content for longer than originally contracted. The ATO treats these as payments for the promotional activity, so usage extensions need to be handled in the same way as the original fee.
Gifted-only campaigns: withholding can still apply where a creator is paid only in products, travel or experiences. For non-cash benefits, the payer generally must pay the withholding amount to the ATO before providing the benefit, and can then recover that amount from the creator. Your agreement should say how this will be handled.
GST: the ATO says no GST applies to payments that are subject to PAYG withholding, because that activity is not treated as part of an enterprise. A creator who is registered for GST should not add GST to a payment that is subject to withholding.
Superannuation guarantee for influencers
Paragraph 12(8)(a) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cth) treats a person paid to perform or present in a display or promotional activity as an employee for super purposes, even if they are an independent contractor in every other sense. The ATO’s guidance on super for performers, updated in September 2026, expressly lists social media influencers and live streamers as examples.
The ATO’s own example involves a 4WD retailer paying a sole trader influencer $500 per post to promote its products. The ATO’s view is that the retailer must pay super guarantee to the influencer’s nominated fund.
Not just on-camera creators: paragraph 12(8)(c) treats a person paid to perform services in, or in connection with, the making of a film, tape or disc, or a television or radio broadcast, as an employee for super purposes. The ATO’s guidance applies this to recording content for online streaming, although that application has not yet been tested. So, on the ATO’s view, a UGC creator who falls outside the PAYG performing artist rules because they do not appear in or endorse the content may still need to be paid super.
Key points for payers:
- Super can be payable even if the creator has an ABN, issues invoices, is engaged once only, calls themselves a contractor or is a hobbyist.
- The parties should agree whether the fee includes super or whether super is paid on top.
- Super must be paid to the creator’s nominated super fund. Paying it to the creator as part of the fee does not satisfy the obligation, even if the fee is agreed as super-inclusive.
- Under Payday Super, contributions generally need to reach the fund within 7 business days after payday (20 business days for a first or recommenced contribution).
- Super guarantee generally does not apply to payments to a company, trust or partnership, or to creators under 18 working less than 30 hours a week.
Who is responsible: the brand, the agency or the talent manager?
The ATO’s position is that whoever is legally liable to pay the creator under the contract is responsible for the withholding, super and reporting obligations. Labels do not decide this. It depends on the substance of the arrangement, including whether an intermediary is acting as an agent or in its own right.
How the creator is engaged | Who generally carries the PAYG and super obligations |
Brand contracts directly with the creator | The brand |
Agency contracts with the creator as agent for the brand | The brand, as principal, even if the agency handles the payment |
Agency contracts with the creator in its own right, then supplies the campaign to the brand | The agency |
Creator is represented by a talent manager acting as the creator’s agent | The party contracting with the creator (the brand or agency), even though the fee is paid to the talent manager |
Creator contracts through their own company or trust | Generally no PAYG performing artist withholding or super for the payer (the company may have its own obligations) |
Creators who use a company or trust should note that, in the ATO’s view (TD 2023/4), an individual cannot transfer their fame to a related entity, so income from the use of their fame is generally taxed to them personally. The personal services income rules may also apply. Get tax advice before relying on a structure.
Where a talent manager receives the fee as the creator’s agent and their commission is itemised, the ATO’s guidance calculates super on the net amount paid for the performance, after the commission.
The ATO has also released draft ruling SGR 2026/D1 Superannuation Guarantee: Work arranged by intermediaries, which is particularly relevant to agencies and talent managers.
Getting this wrong can leave the payer liable for the super guarantee charge, and exposed to penalties for failing to withhold, often on fees it believed were all-inclusive. A payer that fails to withhold and does not report the payment to the ATO may also lose its tax deduction for the payment.
Getting Your Influencer Agreements Right
The ATO’s new guidance is consistent with the approach we have taken for years, rather than requiring a new one.
Tax sits alongside the other compliance issues we build into every agreement, including advertising disclosure.
Well drafted agreements do more than protect the commercial deal. As the draft ruling makes clear, written contracts and organised records are part of what shows an activity is being run in a business-like way. Getting the paperwork right helps everyone, including the creator, demonstrate their position to the ATO.
We do not provide tax or accounting advice. We work alongside your accountant or registered tax agent so that your contracts and your tax position line up.
If you are reviewing your processes more broadly, see our guide to implementing best practice into your influencer marketing operations.
Social Law Docs templates
Not every campaign requires complex agreements. Our influencer agreement templates, available through Social Law Docs, are drafted by Social Law Co. The templates include tax provisions built in from the start, covering matters such as GST, invoicing, non-cash consideration, PAYG withholding, superannuation and responsibility for tax.
The suite covers a range of arrangements, including agency, brand-direct, UGC, ambassador, alcohol, therapeutic goods and child-featured campaigns, as well as talent management agreements and usage rights variations.
What should creators, brands and agencies do now?
Creators and talent managers should:
- review how you are paid, including cash, gifted products, travel and experiences;
- keep records of all income and its market value, and of expenses you may be able to claim;
- if you are paid as an individual, give each payer a TFN declaration and your super fund details, and check whether you need an ABN;
- speak with a registered tax agent about whether you are carrying on a business and whether you need to register for GST; and
- make sure your influencer agreements clearly deal with fees, GST, invoicing and non-cash payments.
Brands and agencies should:
- check that your influencer agreements address GST, ABNs, invoicing and gifted product;
- confirm who is legally liable to pay each creator and whether they contract as an individual or through a company, collect a TFN declaration and super fund details before paying an individual creator, agree whether the fee includes super, and withhold PAYG and pay super where required (payroll tax may also be relevant for some talent arrangements); and
- keep clear records of what was provided to each creator and on what terms.
Anyone affected can make a submission on TR 2026/D2 before 27 November 2026. Details are in Appendix 3 of the draft ruling.
Frequently asked questions
Do influencers pay tax in Australia?
Yes, in many cases. If you are carrying on a business as a creator, income from advertising, creator funds, affiliate programs, sponsorships and appearances is generally assessable income, and products or experiences received in exchange for promotion generally need to be declared at market value. Even if you are not in business, some amounts can still be taxable.
Do influencers have to pay tax on gifted products in Australia?
Generally, yes, unless your activity is genuinely a hobby. The ATO says that if you are gifted something because of your content, it generally needs to be declared at its market value. How this applies to you, including whether you are carrying on a business, is worth confirming with a registered tax agent.
Is the ATO introducing a new tax on influencers?
No. There is no new tax or new law. The ATO has released guidance on how existing tax laws apply to content creators, including draft ruling TR 2026/D2.
What is TR 2026/D2?
TR 2026/D2 is a draft taxation ruling titled Income tax: carrying on a business by an individual. It sets out the ATO’s preliminary view on when an individual’s activities, including content creation, amount to carrying on a business.
Can a hobby creator become a business?
Yes. The draft ruling confirms that an activity can start as a hobby and become a business over time, for example once you actively monetise your content, sign sponsorship deals or engage an agent or manager.
Do brands have to withhold tax or pay super for influencers?
Often, yes. Where a brand or agency pays an individual creator (including a sole trader) to promote goods or services, it may need to withhold 20% PAYG under the ATO’s performing artist rules and pay superannuation guarantee to the creator’s nominated fund. The obligation sits with whoever is legally liable to pay the creator.
Is a draft taxation ruling legally binding?
A draft ruling is not a binding public ruling. However, the ATO says that if you rely on TR 2026/D2 reasonably and in good faith, you will not have to pay penalties or interest if it turns out to be wrong, although you may still need to pay the correct amount of tax.
Seek advice
Social Law Co. can help brands, influencers, influencer marketing agencies and talent managers make sure their influencer agreements properly deal with tax, and can work with your accountant or registered tax agent on how your arrangements are documented.
Find out more about our influencer marketing legal services.
Information contained within this blog post is intended to be general information only and is not in any way intended to constitute legal or tax advice. You should not act or rely on any information found in this blog post without obtaining prior advice specific to your circumstances.
