Donation incomes of YouTubers and other media content creators have been disclosed to the public for the first time.

This year, 2,337 individuals reported 165 billion won in donation income, with a value-added tax (VAT) of 9.5 billion won levied. The average donation income per person stood at 70.6 million won, with an average tax amount of 4.07 million won.

These findings were revealed on the 13th by Representative Yoon Ho-duck of the Democratic Party of Korea (Paju-gap, member of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee) after analyzing data from the National Tax Service on the "Current Status of Cash Sales by Media Content Creators."

YouTubers Required to Report Donations Starting This April... 19 Individuals Reported 'Over 1 Billion Won'

Under revised provisions of the Value-Added Tax Act (Article 55), media content creators have been required to submit cash sales statements detailing donation receipts starting this April.

This marks the first time that YouTubers' donation details for the year have been confirmed through the cash sales statements submitted in April and July.

There were 19 individuals with donations of 1 billion won or more, recording an average donation of 2.7 billion won and a VAT of 257.89 million won. On the other hand, 1,995 individuals reported less than 100 million won, with an average donation of 19.45 million won and a mere 550,000 won in tax.

The number of domestic media content creators stood at 4,038 as of 2020, but surged to 36,604 in 2025—a ninefold increase over five years. Among them, 20,452 creators (56%) are subject to value-added tax, while 16,152 creators (44%) are tax-exempt individual media content creators.

Deepening Income Polarization Among YouTubers... Concerns Over VAT Evasion

The total business income of 34,806 individuals who reported comprehensive income tax for 2024 amounted to 647.8 billion won, averaging 18.61 million won per person.

Breaking this down, 6,458 creators reported an average business income of 59.59 million won, while 28,348 creators averaged 9.28 million won—showing a more than sixfold gap. Furthermore, 1,231 creators (4%) earned 100 million won or more, whereas 33,575 creators (96%) earned less than 100 million won, averaging about 8.49 million won.

Income polarization proved severe, with the top 10% earning an average of 143.18 million won compared to just 90,000 won for the bottom 10%.

Representative Yoon Ho-duck pointed out, "The polarization of YouTuber income is problematic in itself, but we must also pay attention to the possibility that it could be used to evade value-added tax."

(Photo: Representative Yoon Ho-duck of the Democratic Party of Korea (Paju-gap) questioning officials during the National Tax Service audit held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 13th. Provided by Rep. Yoon Ho-duck's office) 2026.10.13 dream@newspim.com

Loopholes in Personal Account Donation Taxation for YouTubers... Supplementary Measures Needed

YouTuber revenues are generally classified into five distinct types.

Specifically, advertising revenue, Super Chats, and channel memberships receive zero-rating as they are processed through Google. Meanwhile, domestic advertisements and sponsorships are taxed via tax invoices and payment statements.

The real blind spot has been private account donations. Establishing proper taxation policies requires comprehensive statistics categorized by revenue type, such as sponsorship fees and personal donations.

Meanwhile, out of 20,452 media content creators registered as businesses, 6,458 filed comprehensive income taxes, and among them, only 2,337 filed cash sales reports.

"It appears there are numerous omissions in both comprehensive income tax and cash sales reporting," Representative Yoon urged. "Measures must be devised to raise the reporting compliance rate."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]