Spotify royalties are taxable income in the UK. If you are still working as a musician they form part of your trading profits; if they come from a back catalogue you have left behind, they are reported as other income instead. Royalties paid through a US distributor lose 30% to withholding tax unless a valid W-8BEN is on file, and anything already deducted can usually be recovered through double tax relief. A personal Spotify Premium subscription is not an allowable expense, because it fails the wholly and exclusively test.

TikTok earnings become taxable once gross income passes £1,000 in a UK tax year. Here’s when to register for Self Assessment, what counts as income, what you can deduct, and how Making Tax Digital already affects larger creators.