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Whether donations for online services are subject to value-added tax (VAT) has not yet been definitively settled by the highest court.

In individual cases, an influencer's request for a donation can take many different forms, such as a request for a voluntary donation, an "energy exchange," or a sponsorship of a blog.

Decisions of the tax courts

The Berlin-Brandenburg Tax Court ruled on April 25, 2024 (Case No. 2 K 2085/21) that income received by influencers from donations, sponsorships, or so-called "donations" constitutes consideration for VAT purposes.

According to Section 1 Paragraph 1 No. 1 of the German VAT Act (UStG), supplies of goods and services that a business performs within Germany for consideration in the course of its business are subject to VAT.

For a supply to be considered a service for consideration, a legal relationship must exist between the supplier and the recipient, within which reciprocal services are exchanged, with the remuneration received by the supplier representing the actual value of the identifiable service provided to the recipient.

Whether there is a direct link between an influencer's online offering (or, in the case before the Düsseldorf Tax Court on March 4, 2022 – 1 K 2821/19 U, the provider of video game streaming services) and voluntarily paid donations is a matter of debate.

influencer is not a street musician

The Düsseldorf and Berlin-Brandenburg Tax Courts have affirmed the causal link between the online offering and the payment. They argue that an online offering cannot be compared to a street musician's performance, as the online user is specifically engaging with the influencer's channel.

Revision pending

Whether the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) will follow this legal opinion remains to be seen. An appeal against the Berlin-Brandenburg Tax Court's decision has been filed under file number V R 10/25.