Parents and Guardians: A Guide to Managing Your Child's Social Media Earnings

Kidfluencing has been around for some time, but TikTok has taken it to a whole new level, turning children into overnight superstars with just a single video. As a parent, you may be wondering how to manage their income and whether kidfluencing is a good idea. This guide explores the risks and explains what managing your child’s earnings, including taxes, entails.

What are kidfluencers?

Kidfluencers are children who appear in online content on platforms such as TikTok or YouTube, earning money through views, ads, sponsorships, and partnerships. The term generally refers to children under the age of 16 who, like adult influencers, have a significant following.

Are there laws against kidfluencers in the UK?

Are there actual laws? Not exactly. There is no specific UK legislation governing kidfluencers, which creates a grey area that can be confusing for parents and guardians. There are child labour laws protecting children in the UK, which require licenses and limit the hours children can actually work, but this doesn’t cover social media – meaning there’s no legal limit to how long a child can work per day creating content.

The only real requirement for most social media platforms is for users to be at least 13 years old to create an account – but a parent or guardian can manage an account on behalf of younger children, which overrides this.

So, in a nutshell – kidfluencers lack major legal protections, meaning it’s up to the parent or guardian to ensure proper safeguarding is in place.

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What are the risks for creating online content using your children?

If your child wants to create content online, it’s important to weigh the risks first. Publishing content online exposes children to unique challenges. The key risks for children and their parents include:

1. Safety and privacy

Sharing personal details about your child online can attract unwanted attention, including from predators, and may lead to stalking or doxxing (a slang term which refers to the practice of compiling a dossier of documents on someone).

This practice, sometimes called ‘sharenting,’ creates a lasting digital footprint and, in rare cases, may increase the risk of identity theft or misuse of AI-generated content. Consider what you share, especially during vulnerable moments such as when your child is feeling sad or embarrassed, to protect their privacy.

2. Mental health

Online content creation can turn normal play into performance, causing pressure, anxiety, or burnout. For example, your child may feel the need to ‘act up’ a certain way for audience entertainment, which could in turn, affect identity development, self-esteem, and in some cases, create feelings of financial responsibility. Especially if they know the more viewers, the more income it can generate.

Cyberbullying and negative comments are also risks. Managed responsibly, though, it can provide positive experiences and future opportunities into adulthood.

3. Legal and exploitation

Kidfluencers in the UK have limited legal protection compared to child actors. Working hours, earnings protection, and safeguards against financial exploitation are often unclear. Parents may misuse income, and online content is hard to remove, limiting a child’s ‘right to be forgotten’. Young influencers may also face complex sponsorships they cannot fully understand, increasing the risk of unfair deals.

Who owns the content, me or my child?

If your child films or edits it themselves then they own it
If you film or edit it then you own it

If both contribute creatively, it may be jointly owned.

Platforms and brands may require usage rights, so always read contracts carefully. Even if you own the copyright, any income should usually be considered your child’s earnings.

Am I responsible for paying tax on my child’s earnings?

It depends! If the account is in your name and the income is paid to you, then HMRC are likely to see the income as yours and you’ll be the one responsible for paying tax on it – even if your child runs the account and the earnings belong to them. You won’t normally be responsible for reporting and paying income tax on your child’s self-employed earnings if they earn it in their own name. Your child is responsible for their own tax, and will start paying it if they earn over the £12,570 personal allowance in a tax year.

Children and taxes at a glance

Children have their own personal tax-free allowance (£12,570) and pay tax the same way adults do
They won’t pay any National Insurance until they turn 16, even if they earn more than the NI threshold
Parents can divert their income to (minor and unmarried) children, but this is limited. Earning more than £100 interest from money gifted by parents means it’s taxed on the parent, not the child

What type of income is taxable?

It’s the same for a kidfluencer as it would be an adult influencer. So, for example earnings such as:

Cash payments
Gifts or coins which can be easily converted to money
Sponsorships or brand deals
Merchandise sales
Gifted items (for example, if a brand sends you something, or pays for an experience in return for content)

The threshold for tax as a kidfluencer

The standard personal allowance applies to all individuals, including children – which is currently £12,570 per year. Your child won’t need to pay income tax if their total income is below this, but they might need to report their earnings to HMRC if their self-employed income is more than the £1,000 tax-free Trading Allowance which applies to this sort of miscellaneous income.

Above that, children pay tax the same way adults do, with the same tax thresholds and rates.

Children under 16 don’t pay National Insurance, even if their earnings exceed the NI threshold.

How do I report my child’s earnings?

Your child is responsible for reporting any self-employed earnings above the £1,000 Trading Allowance using either Self Assessment or MTD Income Tax depending on how much they earn in a tax year. The reality is that tax returns, and keeping records of income and expenses, can be quite confusing so they’re likely to need your help!

Plan what you do with the earnings carefully

There’s actually no legal legislation that requires money earned by a kidfluencer to be put aside for them – except in France. Whilst this isn’t the case for now, it’s possible this will change in the future, especially now kidfluencing is becoming more popular. Have a clear plan when it comes to earnings, and ensure money is put aside for your child (and any tax due).

Your child isn’t exempt from advertising rules

Children and teens on TikTok must follow advertising rules, and like anyone posting content that promotes a product, service, or brand-including influencer posts or free items, they must clearly disclose it. For example, all branded content must use TikTok’s commercial disclosure toggle. There are limits as to how advertisers reach out to users aged 13-17.

For example

Let’s say your child is into make-up and they’ve partnered with a brand that designs lip balms aimed at children. They’ll need to disclose their video is an ad by using #ad or by using the built-in branded content toggle.

If you’re ever unsure, you can refer to the ASA (Advertising Standard Authority) guide.

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