tax-law germany
Is it legal to earn money from YouTube as a BlueCard holder in Germany?
<p>Suppose that Bob is a non-European living in Germany and has a blue card. He doesn't have a permanent residence yet, just a blue card.</p>
<p>He also has a freelance tax number (for software engineering).</p>
<p>Is it legally possible for Bob to earn money from YouTube given his current status? Does he need need a special tax number to make this work? Which tax number should he use if not?</p>

<p>For a definite answer, Bob should ask his tax advisor.</p>
<p>German freelance status (&quot;Freiberufler&quot;) is a bit difficult to navigate, because legally speaking, this status can only be applied to contract work that requires a university degree, everything else is a regular business (&quot;Gewerbe&quot;) that is taxed differently and requires you to join the chamber of commerce.</p>
<p>This has become a bit murky as there are freelance software developers without a degree (who should be careful about using the word &quot;engineer&quot;) and the tax office seems to accept that, but I'm not entirely sure they are as lenient towards entertainers (which YT would fall under).</p>
<p>The way I understand the <a href="https://www.bamf.de/SiteGlobals/Forms/Suche/EN/Expertensuche_Formular.html?cl2Categories_Bereich=migrationaufenthalt&amp;cl2Categories_Typ=faq&amp;cl2Categories_Themen=blauekarteeu&amp;sortOrder=title_text_sort+asc&amp;pageLocale=en" rel="noreferrer">Blue Card FAQ</a>, freelancing is not allowed for Blue Card holders, I'd consider that the bigger problem (but that's an immigration issue, not a tax issue).</p>
