Creators

Free products, trips and barter deals: how creators are taxed

Updated: 2026-08-16 Holdwise editorial team

Free products, trips and barter deals are taxable income for a creator, at market value. A brand sends you a watch or a phone with a briefing, or a hotel gives you three free nights. It feels like a gift, but for the tax authority it is payment. If you record it correctly, it takes little work. At Holdwise, we keep this answer up to date and change it when the rules change.

The principle

You delivered a service (content, exposure) and received something of value (goods, travel, stays). This is barter. You count the market value of what you received as revenue, for income tax and for VAT. A €1,200 watch for a post is €1,200 of turnover, as if the brand had paid cash and you had bought the watch.

Common mistakes

Volume: ten packages a month is real turnover. If you leave it unrecorded, you have to reconstruct it years later, when the inspector asks for it.
Keep or return: items you return, or can show you use only for the production, are treated differently from items you keep for private use. A watch you wear every day is income.
Unsolicited packages: a package with zero obligations is in a grey zone. When you post about it under an agreement or expectation, it becomes barter.

How to record barter

Keep one running sheet: date, brand, item, market value, what was delivered in return.
Invoice barter deals like cash deals. Send an invoice for the service at market value, paid in kind. The invoice also shows the VAT.
Photograph the deal terms (the email, the briefing) into the same folder.

Spend ten minutes a week on this, and a later tax audit takes little work. It also helps with deductions. You enter gear that you receive for real production use in your books at market value, and you depreciate it like gear you bought. You can read more about deductions in the complete deduction list.

When barter becomes your main model

Some creators earn a large income entirely in kind, for example in travel, fashion or tech. For them, careful records are a central part of the administration. With a BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited company) and correct books, banks, mortgage lenders and the tax authority all see the same figures. See start here.

Free advice

Want our team to have a look?

We help creators with their income, their company and their tax. Tell us where you stand or what you are planning. You get free advice on your next step.

Part of Doing Business in the Netherlands, the complete 2026 guide.

Frequently asked questions

Are free products from brands taxable income? +

Yes, at market value, when received in exchange for content or under an agreement. Payment in kind is treated as payment.

What about unsolicited packages? +

Items with zero obligations are in a grey zone. If you post about them under an agreement or clear expectation, they count as barter revenue.

Do I charge VAT on a barter deal? +

Barter follows the same VAT rules as cash: you invoice the service at market value and the usual VAT treatment applies to that invoice.

How do I value a gifted trip? +

At the price a paying guest would have paid for the same flights and nights: the market value when it was received.