How to Pay International Influencers: Currency, Invoicing and Tax Basics

Paying an influencer outside your own country comes down to three separate decisions: how you send the money (currency and transfer method), what their invoice needs to show, and whether local VAT or foreign withholding tax applies to the payment. Get these three right before the first payment goes out, not after. This is general guidance, not tax advice for your specific situation — talk to an accountant about the specific collaboration, especially on VAT/moms and tax treatment.

Why this is three decisions, not one

Most brands paying an international influencer for the first time treat it as one problem: "how do we send the money?" In practice it's three independent questions, each of which can go wrong on its own:

• Transfer — which method, and what does the currency conversion actually cost?
• Invoice — what does the document from the influencer need to show so you can book it correctly?
• Tax and VAT — do you need to self-account for VAT on the purchase, and do you need to withhold tax before sending the money?

None of the three depends on the others. An influencer in Germany can trigger reverse-charge VAT with no withholding-tax question at all. An influencer in the US can trigger a withholding-tax question with no VAT obligation for you at all. Treat them as three separate checks every time you sign a creator based outside your home market.

This article assumes you've already decided the payment model itself — upfront, commission or hybrid (see upfront vs commission and hybrid influencer deals) — and covers only the mechanics of actually getting the money there.

Sending the money: currency and method

Three types of transfer method cover most collaborations: a bank wire (SWIFT/IBAN), a payment service like PayPal, and a provider built around the mid-market exchange rate, such as Wise or Revolut Business.

The most important difference between them isn't the fee you see quoted — it's whether the exchange rate itself hides a markup. Wise describes its own model directly: it uses "the mid-market rate — the one you can check on Google" and charges a separate, visible fee on top, while it says other providers "hide fees in the exchange rate" instead. That doesn't mean a bank wire or PayPal is always the more expensive option — it means you need to compare the total, real-world rate you actually get for your money, not just the fee printed on the confirmation screen.

For a single payment, the difference rarely matters much. For a retainer or an ambassador program where you pay the same international influencer every month, a hidden rate markup compounds — see the worked example below.

What does an international influencer's invoice need to show?

Wherever the influencer is based, the invoice needs to give you enough to book the payment correctly and document it if your accountant or tax authority asks. As a minimum:

• Both parties' names and addresses — your company's registration details and the influencer's full name or business name
• Invoice date and a unique invoice number
• Description of the service — what content, on which platform, and whether usage rights are included (see what to put in an influencer contract for what the contract should already have fixed)
• Amount and currency — the figure you agreed, in the currency the deal was struck in
• VAT status — whether the influencer has added VAT, or the invoice is VAT-free because reverse charge applies (see below)
• Payment details — IBAN/SWIFT or payment-service details so you send it to the right place

If the influencer has a VAT number in another EU country, it should appear on the invoice — that's what lets both sides document to their respective tax authorities that this is a cross-border B2B service.

VAT: who accounts for it when the influencer is abroad?

The general rule for B2B services is that the place of supply is where the buyer — your business — is established, and that holds even when the seller, the influencer, is based abroad. Using Denmark as the concrete example, since it's Make Influence's home market: Denmark's own tax authority states that "it is the buyer who must pay the VAT" when a foreign supplier's service has its place of supply in Denmark — this is reverse charge. In practice: the influencer invoices you without Danish VAT, and you self-account for 25% Danish VAT on the purchase in your own VAT return, under "VAT on purchases of services from abroad with reverse charge." This applies from the first payment — there's no minimum threshold.

The reverse case follows the same logic in the other direction: a Danish influencer selling a service to a VAT-registered business abroad typically doesn't charge Danish VAT either, because the place of supply sits with the buyer's country instead.

There are exceptions (services tied to real property, passenger transport and restaurant services among them), so always confirm the specific service type with your accountant before relying on this for a large or recurring deal.

US tax: W-8BEN and 30% withholding

If you (or a US arm of your business) pay an influencer who is a US tax resident, or a Danish/European influencer is paid by a US brand, US withholding tax can come into play. The IRS's own rule is that "most types of U.S. source income received by a foreign person are subject to U.S. tax of 30%" — but that only applies to income that is US-source. For personal services, including content production, the source is determined by where the work is actually performed, not where the paying business is based. The IRS is explicit on this: income for services performed entirely outside the US is "foreign source income" and is generally not subject to US withholding, regardless of whether the payer is a US company.

In practice: a Danish influencer who films and posts content from Denmark for a US brand is typically performing the work outside the US, so the payment shouldn't normally fall under the 30% US withholding rate — even if the brand asks for a W-8BEN for documentation. The reverse also holds: if a US-based influencer does all the work inside the US, the income is US-source, and a US-based payer typically needs to collect a W-8BEN and may be required to withhold tax, unless a tax treaty reduces the rate. As a Danish business paying a US influencer, the US withholding obligation itself sits with US "withholding agents," not with you — but it's still the influencer's own US tax exposure to manage.

This article isn't a full walkthrough of US tax law. If a collaboration involves recurring, material payments to or from a US party, both you and the influencer should get it confirmed by an accountant with international tax experience.

Decision framework: what to check, by where the influencer is based

Worked example: what the payment method costs you (hypothetical)

The figures below are a made-up example to illustrate the point — not a real customer case, and not a current exchange rate.

Assume you're paying a US-based influencer USD 2,000 for a sponsored video, and — for this example only — assume the mid-market rate is 6.90 DKK per USD. The pure mid-market value of the payment is 2,000 × 6.90 = DKK 13,800.

Route A (markup built into the exchange rate): Assume a 2.5% markup on the mid-market rate plus a flat DKK 150 wire fee. The cost is DKK 13,800 × 1.025 = DKK 14,145, plus DKK 150 = DKK 14,295.

Route B (mid-market rate + separate fee): Assume a visible 0.5% fee and no flat wire fee. The cost is DKK 13,800 + (DKK 13,800 × 0.005) = DKK 13,800 + DKK 69 = DKK 13,869.

The difference is DKK 14,295 − DKK 13,869 = DKK 426 per payment. Pay the same influencer monthly on a retainer (see per post vs per month) and that's roughly DKK 5,112 a year — for the exact same deal, just routed differently.

Common mistakes

• Comparing only the visible fee — and missing the rate markup, which is often the larger cost
• Assuming VAT always applies — most B2B collaborations with foreign influencers should be invoiced without VAT, because reverse charge applies
• Requesting a W-8BEN "just in case" without checking whether the income is US-source at all
• Leaving currency and payment method out of the contract — see what to put in an influencer contract for where that belongs
• Asking your accountant after the first payment has gone out — VAT and tax questions are cheaper to fix before the money moves, not after

Make Influence's perspective

This is Make Influence's own operational experience, not a general rule: for ongoing international collaborations, the administrative win from picking one fixed payment method and rhythm (say, payment on the 1st of the month through the same provider) is usually bigger than what you'd save negotiating the fee down further. Unpredictable payment timing, not the exchange rate itself, is what most often causes friction in international collaborations. The more international influencers you run at once, the more this administration adds up — see how to scale from 10 to 100 influencers without losing control for the broader process.

FAQ

Should we always use a dedicated payment service for international influencers?

Not for a single, small payment. The advantage of a mid-market-rate provider grows with the size of the payment and how often you pay the same influencer.

Can the influencer choose the payment method?

The method should be fixed in the contract along with the payment deadline, so it doesn't need to be renegotiated every time an invoice falls due.

Should we request a W-8BEN from every foreign influencer?

No — W-8BEN is a US tax form and only relevant if the income could be US-source. An influencer in Germany or Sweden has nothing to do with W-8BEN.

What if the influencer can't issue an invoice that meets the requirements?

Ask before the collaboration starts, not after the work is delivered — see the contract article for how payment terms should be written in from day one.

Does reverse charge also apply to influencers outside the EU?

Generally yes for most services, but always confirm the specific service type and country with your accountant, since exceptions exist.

How is a Danish influencer's affiliate-link income taxed, as opposed to invoiced fees?

Differently in one respect: affiliate commission is often B-indkomst (honorarium income) rather than invoiced business income, and it carries its own DKK 50,000 VAT-registration threshold and market-value rule for gifted products. See affiliate influencer marketing in Denmark for the Danish affiliate-specific tax treatment.

Is the payment itself tax-deductible for our business?

Whether the invoice carries VAT or reverse charge is a separate question from whether the payment is deductible as an expense. For the Danish advertising-vs-representation test that decides your income tax and VAT deduction rights, see VAT and tax deductions for buying influencer marketing in Denmark.

What can a creator do if we, as the brand, pay late?

See what happens if a brand doesn't pay on time for the creator-side view: statutory interest, reminder fees and the simplified Danish payment-order process.