When running a cross-border campaign, the risks most visible to a client are usually the advance payment, product samples already shipped, or content that has not been delivered. For creators, the risk does not end with one transaction. Their name, receiving account and published content remain part of the record in the country where they live.

Creators also need to ask whether the product can legally be sold in their market, which claims may be made, how samples enter the country, and how the income can be substantiated if the tax authority asks questions. The client still carries brand and regulatory risk, but the person appearing publicly in front of local consumers is often the creator.

From IMVN’s operating perspective, one question should be settled before discussing the fee: who signs, who pays, who receives the money, and who must provide the supporting documents?

Information context: This article is based on rules and official materials that could be verified through 31 May 2025. The rates below help identify the correct payment process and document set; they are not tax or legal advice for a specific contract.

Money is only the most visible part of a cross-border booking

A foreign company may lose a deposit or a shipment of samples if a creator fails to perform. The creator can face several additional layers of exposure: income without adequate records, a product that is not authorized locally, advertising claims that go beyond the brand’s approved documents, or a payment placed on hold after the content is already live.

This is especially common when a campaign is agreed quickly over messages. A creator receives a brief, a shipping address and a screenshot showing payment, but may not know which legal entity is hiring them. When an invoice, withholding certificate or proof of income is later required, the sender of the email and the name on the payment may be two different entities.

Protecting the creator therefore requires more than a clause saying that the creator is responsible for all taxes. A workable file should answer three questions:

  1. Is the contract fee a gross amount or the amount the creator must receive after deductions?
  2. Is the payer required to withhold tax in the creator’s country?
  3. If there is no local payer, which documents will the creator use to report the income?

Identify the payer and payee before discussing tax

This article uses one shared scenario: the creator is a tax resident individual working independently, not an employee. The result can change if the payee is a management company, MCN or registered business; the contract includes royalties; or the foreign company has a local entity or permanent establishment.

Payment structure What usually happens What the creator should retain
Foreign company pays the creator directly If the company is not a withholding agent in the creator’s country, the creator will usually receive the gross fee and report and pay the applicable local tax Contract, valid invoice or payment request, delivery approval, bank/PayPal record and the payer’s legal details
Foreign company pays through a local business The local business signs or receives the budget, pays the creator and performs any withholding required of the local payer Local contract, gross–withholding–net calculation, withholding document and proof of payment

Neither route allows a payer to retain an arbitrary percentage and simply call it “tax.” If tax is withheld, the payer needs a legal basis and must provide the corresponding evidence. If withholding is not required, the contract should state that the creator receives a gross fee and remains responsible for their own filing, while preserving any mandatory withholding obligation imposed on the payer.

For the wider operating decision, see booking local creators directly or through a local agency.

Payment comparison across five markets in May 2025

The percentages below are payment-time withholding rates for qualifying situations. They are not automatically the creator’s final annual personal income tax. The “foreign company pays directly” column assumes that the company has no local entity or permanent establishment and is not a local withholding agent.

Market Local business pays an individual Foreign company pays directly Creator and campaign documents
Vietnam For a resident individual without an employment contract, or with one shorter than three months, qualifying remuneration of VND 2 million or more per payment is subject to 10% withholding The creator receives the contractual fee and handles the applicable filing; a foreign company should not retain 10% unless it has a Vietnamese withholding obligation Contract, tax details, PIT withholding certificate, payment record and a copy of the product authorization/registration applicable in Vietnam
Thailand Revenue Department guidance lists 3% for service/professional fees, 2% for advertising fees and 5% for remuneration paid to a Thai-resident public entertainer The creator records the foreign income and includes it in the appropriate PIT filing Withholding Tax Certificate, invoice/receipt, payment record and product authorization accepted by the Thai authority
Indonesia For an individual treated as bukan pegawai, PPh 21 is calculated as 50% of gross remuneration × the Article 17 rate The creator records the income and reports it in the appropriate SPT; there is no domestic Bukti Potong without an Indonesian withholding agent NIK/NPWP, Bukti Potong PPh 21, invoice, payment record and product documents valid in Indonesia
Philippines Professional, promotional or talent fees paid to an individual commonly attract 5% EWT where current-year gross income does not exceed PHP 3 million, or 10% when it exceeds that level or the individual is VAT-registered The creator registers, issues the appropriate invoice, files and pays tax, retaining the foreign client’s details and payment evidence Certificate of Registration, invoice, BIR Form 2307, payment record and product authorization/registration applicable in the Philippines
Korea Qualifying personal-service business income is commonly subject to 3.3%, consisting of 3% income tax and 0.3% local income tax The creator records foreign-currency revenue received directly and completes the appropriate comprehensive income filing Business registration details where applicable, withholding receipt/payment statement, payment record and product documents applicable in Korea

One nominal fee can therefore produce five different net payments. In Vietnam, a VND 20 million fee may result in VND 2 million withheld and VND 18 million paid. A THB 100,000 service fee in Thailand produces THB 3,000 withholding. For IDR 100 million in Indonesia, IDR 2.5 million is only correct when the 50% tax base of IDR 50 million stays entirely within the 5% bracket. In the Philippines, PHP 100,000 may result in PHP 95,000 or PHP 90,000. In Korea, KRW 10 million subject to 3.3% results in KRW 9.67 million paid.

The point is not to memorize five calculations. It is to avoid reusing the result from another country or an earlier creator without checking the new facts.

Vietnam: there is no fixed two-to-three-year creator audit cycle

In practice, some creators only focus on tax when they are asked to explain income from an earlier period. This can lead to the statement that the tax authority checks creators “every two or three years.” We could not verify any rule that establishes such a cycle for creators. Vietnamese tax administration materials refer to tax inspection and audit based on risk management, not a fixed timetable for every individual.

What matters is that a booking may need to be substantiated long after the campaign ends. As of May 2025, the relevant threshold for qualifying payments to resident individuals without an employment contract, or with a contract shorter than three months, remained VND 2 million per payment with 10% withholding, under Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC as consolidated in 02/VBHN-BTC.

A creator receiving money from abroad should keep one folder per campaign containing:

  • the contract and scope of work;
  • the payer’s name, address and registration details;
  • bank or PayPal evidence showing the amount, currency and receipt date;
  • the appropriate invoice, payment request or receipt for the creator’s status;
  • content approval emails and proof that the post went live;
  • product-sample documents, declared value and return arrangements;
  • a withholding certificate if payment passes through a Vietnamese business.

A clause stating that the creator is responsible for tax can allocate duties between the parties. It does not replace evidence of income and cannot remove a mandatory withholding duty that applies to the payer.

Philippines: creators must actively manage registration, invoices and filing

The Philippines clearly illustrates the work that remains after the creator has been paid. BIR Revenue Memorandum Circular 97-2021 treats social media influencers as taxpayers who must register, keep books of accounts, file returns and pay tax, as well as withhold and remit when they themselves fall within a withholding obligation.

The circular also states that free products received in exchange for promotion must be reported at fair market value. A campaign described as “product only” is therefore not automatically outside the creator’s income records.

Older checklists may also use outdated document terminology. Following the Ease of Paying Taxes reforms and 2024 implementing guidance, the invoice became the primary sales document for goods and services. It is too broad to say that a creator must issue a paper tax invoice. Manual, loose-leaf, computerized or electronic forms may be available depending on the creator’s registration and the system accepted by the BIR. The relevant question is whether the invoice is valid for that creator’s registration.

Where a Philippine business withholds 5% or 10%, the creator needs BIR Form 2307 to account for the tax already withheld. BIR RR 14-2018 connects the 5% rate to an individual whose current-year gross income does not exceed PHP 3 million, and the 10% rate to income above that threshold or a VAT-registered individual. The separate 8% option sometimes mentioned for Philippine creators is a tax regime for eligible self-employed taxpayers, not an 8% deduction from each booking.

PayPal moves the money, but it does not complete the file

PayPal can be useful when the client and creator use different banking systems. Calling PayPal either “safe” or “unsafe,” however, misses the operational issue. The PayPal User Agreement effective from June 2024 provides for holds, limitations, reserves, reversals and chargebacks in specified circumstances. A balance shown in the account is not necessarily available for immediate withdrawal.

The creator carries more risk when all content has already been produced or posted before the payment becomes withdrawable, the receiving account name does not match the contract, or the transaction description is unclear. Transaction charges and currency conversion can also reduce the final amount received.

IMVN separates the PayPal question into two checks:

  1. Has the money moved? Confirm the transaction status, currency, fees, account name and withdrawal availability.
  2. Can the payment be supported? Confirm the contract, invoice, campaign reference, paying entity and delivery evidence.

PayPal describes itself as a payment service provider, not the party that determines whether a user owes tax. A screenshot saying “payment sent” should not replace a contract or invoice. With a new client, milestone payments—such as one portion after signing and the balance after approval or posting—are often more reasonable than asking the creator to finance all production costs.

Verify the product before the creator accepts the brief

Tax is only one part of local exposure. Before a creator receives samples and begins filming, the campaign organizer should answer in writing:

  • Is the product authorized for sale or distribution in the market?
  • Does the category require a licence, registration, warning or age restriction?
  • Which advertising claims have been approved, and may the creator paraphrase them?
  • How must the commercial relationship or sponsorship be disclosed?
  • How will samples be imported, returned or handled after the campaign?
  • Who handles complaints, product incidents or a takedown request?
  • Is the value of gifted products recorded in the contract and income file?

The creator should not be asked to certify a product’s legality merely because they are local. The client supplies the product file and approved claims; the agency or local operator checks how those materials apply; and the creator follows the confirmed content. Sensitive categories require local legal review before posting.

IMVN once worked with a Vietnamese client on a project involving Thai creators. At the start, the client supplied the inspection certificates and FDA materials it already held. To promote the product in Thailand, however, the project still required documents accepted by the Thai regulator. Materials held in Vietnam or issued for another market did not automatically satisfy the local requirement.

Preparing and submitting the Thai application took almost six months. The local authority ultimately refused approval because the product did not meet the standards applicable in Thailand. The problem did not originate with the creator or their draft content. The stopping point was the product itself. Had the campaign been booked and published before the decision, the local creator would have been publicly associated with a product that had not been approved.

This experience led IMVN to separate two questions: what documents does the client already have, and are those documents valid in the exact country of the campaign? Only the second question protects the creator and determines whether the campaign can proceed.

Keep one document chain before, during and after payment

A practical process does not need excessive forms, but it must create an evidence trail from contract to published content.

Stage What must be confirmed Minimum file
Before signing Payee status, tax ID, residence, invoice capability, receiving account, gross/net fee, content category, product and approved claims Payee file, quotation, scope of work, draft contract and product documents
Before payment Invoice or payment request matches the contract; withholding rate; currency; FX source; bank/PayPal fees; account holder name Gross–withholding–net calculation, payment approval and invoice/reference
After payment Funds have been received or can be withdrawn; withholding evidence is available; content was delivered and posted Bank/PayPal record, BIR Form 2307/Bukti Potong/withholding certificate where applicable, post link/screenshot and reconciliation record

The payment process and tax responsibilities belong in the contract, not only in a finance email.

IMVN standardizes local documents and workflows

IMVN has companies within the same business ecosystem in Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. Depending on the project, a client may contract in the campaign market or through one coordinating country. IMVN then standardizes the local workflow: product documents, contracts, payee verification, payment, tax evidence and reconciliation. This reduces the number of contracts the client must manage while preserving the local file the creator needs.

For Korea and markets outside this company network, the contract structure and operating party must be verified before a commitment is made. IMVN does not represent that it has a legal entity in every country.

Before a booking is confirmed, IMVN can review four layers together: product eligibility, the payee, the payment process and the documents that must return to the creator. If the product or advertising claims are not properly supported in the market, that should be a campaign stop—not a problem left for the creator after the post is live.

References

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Nhật Hoài
Nhật Hoài

CEO – Chief Entertainment Officer

Joined 11/2023103 published posts

Nghiêm túc với tăng trưởng, còn bản thân thì… tùy hôm. 😏