How to Pay UK Influencers – A Guide for European Companies

Paying UK influencers should be simple — but for many European companies, it isn’t.

Teams get stuck on the same questions:

  • Do UK influencers need to be VAT registered to get paid?

  • Should VAT be applied or not?

  • Do we need a certificate from the influencer?

  • Who carries the tax risk in case of an audit?

The problem isn’t the influencers — it’s unclear payment structures.

The goal of this guide is to explain, in plain and practical terms:

  • How to pay UK influencers legally and correctly

  • What changes if the influencer is or isn’t VAT registered

  • How tax risk differs between direct payments and using an intermediary

  • What documentation is reasonable, and what is unnecessary

This is how a Spanish or EU tax auditor would assess the situation.

Do UK Influencers Need to Be VAT Registered?

No — and this is the first major misconception.

In the UK, VAT registration is only mandatory if:

  • Annual taxable turnover exceeds £90,000, or

  • The influencer voluntarily registers

Most micro and mid-size influencers are not VAT registered, and that is perfectly legal.

👉 VAT registration is not a requirement to invoice or get paid.

Paying UK Influencers Who ARE VAT Registered

How the invoice should be issued

A VAT-registered UK influencer must issue an invoice including:

  • UK VAT number

  • Legal name and UK address

  • Description of services

  • VAT rate (usually 0% under reverse charge)

VAT treatment for European companies

For EU/UK B2B services:

  • The service falls under Article 44 of the EU VAT Directive

  • Reverse charge applies

  • ❌ No UK VAT charged

  • ✅ The EU company self-accounts for VAT locally (if applicable)

📌 The invoice should state:

“VAT reverse-charged under Article 44 of the EU VAT Directive.”

Paying UK Influencers Who Are NOT VAT Registered

This is the most common scenario — and the one that causes the most confusion.

Is this allowed?

✅ Yes. Fully legal.

A non-VAT-registered UK influencer:

  • Issues an invoice without VAT

  • Does not need a VAT number

  • Declares income in the UK under their own tax obligations

What the EU company should verify

  • The invoice includes:

    • Name and UK address

    • Tax ID (UTR — recommended, not always mandatory)

    • Clear service description

  • Proof of UK tax residency (certificate or self-certification)

📌 No VAT. No Spanish withholding tax. No IRPF.

Direct Payment from a European Company to a UK Influencer

👉 In this model, the European company carries the tax risk.

Legal objective

The company must be able to demonstrate that:

  • The service is not performed from Spain or the EU

  • The influencer is not an EU tax resident

  • No Spanish withholding tax applies

Documentation that SHOULD be requested

A) Tax Residency Certificate (Best practice)

  • UK: Certificate of Tax Residence (HMRC)

Not always legally mandatory, but critical protection in an audit.

B) Influencer invoice

Must include:

  • Full name or business name

  • UK address

  • Tax ID (UTR)

  • Service description

  • Invoice date and number

📌 No Spanish VAT. No IRPF.

C) Service agreement

Recommended for recurring or high-volume collaborations:

  • Confirms where the service is performed

  • Confirms no permanent establishment in Spain

  • Confirms influencer’s tax responsibility

What is NOT required

  • VAT registration certificate

  • Spanish autónomo registration

  • Spanish tax withholdings

Audit risk if documentation is missing

Without tax residency proof, authorities may claim:

  • The income should be treated as Spanish-source

  • Withholding tax should have been applied

Paying UK Influencers Through a Payout Solution like Zexel Pay

Zexel Pay is built to make it easy to outsource affiliate, UGC, and creator payouts.

 

How the flow works for companies

Zexel Pay simplify the transaction with one consolidated invoice to payout all your influencers and affiliates. This is a good thing for your accounting team.

European company

⬇️

Invoice from Zexel Pay

⬇️

Zexel Pay pays UK influencers

Key structural difference

  • Your company’s supplier is Zexel Pay

  • Influencers are not your direct suppliers

  • Creator onboarding, documentation, and payout execution are handled externally

What Zexel Pay solution manages

  • Creator identity verification (KYC)

  • Tax residency declarations or self-certifications

  • Invoice or self-billing structures

  • Payment execution and reconciliation

  • Documentation storage for audit support

Official tax certificates may still be required in specific cases (high volumes, banking requirements, audits), but this is managed by us.

 

 

HOW THE PAYOUT WORKFLOW WORKS 

Who Needs a Creator Payout Service?

The ideal users include:

  • Creator agencies

  • Influencer marketing platforms (e.g., Cruwi, Influencity)

  • UGC production platforms

  • Affiliate networks (Monetize, CJ, Awin, Impact)

  • Brands using affiliate software without payout modules

  • Marketplaces and apps managing creators at scale

If your team spends hours chasing invoices, fixing fiscal data, or uploading payments manually — this service is for you.

 

Questions You Must Ask Before Choosing a Payout Solution (and the Real Answers)

What information Zexel Pay collect from creators to payout legally?

Only the minimum required for:

  • KYC/KYB compliance,

  • AML regulations,

  • platform payout safety,

  • and DAC7 reporting (when applicable).

The required data:

Profile information

  • Full name

  • Email address

Fiscal identification

  • Tax Identification Number (NIF or equivalent)

  • Current fiscal residence address

Banking information

  • Bank account where the creator is the verified account holder

  • Alternative payout methods when legally permitted

We do not request more information than necessary.

 

Does the solution support non-freelancer creators legally and compliantly?

Yes — Zexel Pay does.

Most tools only work with freelancers.

Zexel Pay is one of the few solutions in Europe that legally supports non-self-employed creators, handling IRPF, fiscal verification, and all required local compliance.

Most generic payout tools = ❌ no legal coverage.

Zexel Pay = ✅ full compliance for autónomos + non-autónomos.

Can it consolidate hundreds of invoices into one invoice?

Yes — Zexel Pay consolidates everything into a single invoice per cycle.

This is essential for finance teams.

Tools like PayPal, Stripe, or Tipalti do not consolidate creator invoices — leaving your team with hundreds of documents to reconcile manually.

Zexel Pay = 1 invoice for all creators, all campaigns, all payouts.

Does it handle global payouts in multiple currencies?

Yes — Zexel Pay supports creator payouts in 180+ countries and multiple currencies, while you receive one invoice with one currency .

Affiliate networks, influencer agencies, and UGC platforms increasingly work with creators worldwide.

Stripe/PayPal handle payments, but do not solve invoice validation or creator verification across borders.

Zexel Pay = payments + compliance + global coverage.

Is it software only, or does it also offer outsourced operations?

Zexel Pay is a hybrid: software + fully managed operations.

Unlike tools where your team still has to:

  • chase invoices

  • fix tax errors

  • validate creator data

  • filter duplicates

  • explain compliance rules

Zexel Pay manages all of this for you.

Your team focuses on revenue, not admin work.

UK influencers can be paid whether they are VAT registered or not.

What determines complexity is not VAT — it’s how payments are structured and documented.

  • Direct payments are workable at small scale but require strong internal controls

  • As volumes grow, payout solutions like Zexel Pay help companies:

    • Centralise documentation

    • Reduce operational friction

    • Maintain consistent compliance processes

This isn’t about avoiding rules — it’s about building a payment structure that can scale without breaking.

 

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