Tallyterms: the money, deals and rules of creator work, sourced

In short

Tallyterms is a reference for creators who run their channel as a small business: how platforms pay, how to price and write up a brand deal, music rights, strikes, tax reporting and tools. Every rule links to its source, with the date checked.

Checked 2026-09-28

Each guide on Tallyterms states a rule, links the page of the platform, regulator or tax authority that sets it, and prints the date that page was read. Where a source is silent, the guide says the answer is unknown instead of filling the gap. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.

Which rules were checked most recently?

Every line below was read on the source's own page on 28 September 2026. When a source changes, the line and the guide that uses it are checked again and the date moves.

Fact	Source	Checked
YouTube Partner Program with ad revenue sharing: 1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 qualified watch hours on public long-form videos in the last 12 months or 10 million qualified public Shorts views in the last 90 days.	YouTube Help: YouTube Partner Program overview and eligibility	2026-09-28
TikTok Creator Rewards Program, US terms: 18 or older (or the age of majority where you live), at least 10,000 authentic followers, at least 100,000 authentic video views in the 30 days before applying, not a Business or Organization account, and videos at least 1 minute long. The terms were last updated on 20 July 2026.	TikTok Creator Rewards Program Terms (US)	2026-09-28
Under US copyright law, a commissioned work is a work made for hire only if it fits one of nine listed uses, such as part of an audiovisual work, and both parties sign a written agreement saying it is one.	US Copyright Office, Circular 30: Works Made for Hire	2026-09-28
EU: member states must ensure a business-to-business payment period in a contract does not exceed 60 calendar days, unless the contract expressly agrees otherwise and the term is not grossly unfair to the creditor. Late-payment interest is the reference rate plus at least 8 percentage points, and the creditor can claim at least €40 in fixed recovery costs.	Directive 2011/7/EU on late payment, Articles 2(6), 3(5) and 6(1)	2026-09-28
UK: statutory interest on a late business-to-business payment is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate.	GOV.UK: Charging interest on commercial debt	2026-09-28
YouTube Community Guidelines: a strike expires 90 days after it is issued. A first strike blocks uploading, scheduling, thumbnails and playlist changes for 1 week. Three strikes in the same 90 days may remove the channel permanently. A first violation usually gets a warning instead of a strike.	YouTube Help: Community Guidelines strike basics	2026-09-28
YouTube copyright strikes expire in 90 days if you complete Copyright School and the channel has fewer than 3. With 3 in 90 days, the account and any associated channels are subject to termination. The other routes are a retraction by the claimant or a counter notification.	YouTube Help: Copyright strike basics	2026-09-28
Partner Program members can monetize videos that use music and sound effects from the YouTube Audio Library. Tracks under a Creative Commons licence must credit the artist in the video description.	YouTube Help: Audio Library	2026-09-28
US: payment apps and online marketplaces must file Form 1099-K when your payments for goods or services exceed $20,000 in more than 200 transactions. You must report the income whether or not a 1099-K arrives.	IRS: Understanding your Form 1099-K	2026-09-28
US: for tax years beginning after 2025, a business files Form 1099-NEC for each non-employee it paid at least $2,000 for services. The IRS says the figure may be adjusted for inflation in later years.	IRS: Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC	2026-09-28
US: the fair market value of goods or services received from bartering is gross income in the year you receive it.	IRS Tax Topic 420: Bartering income	2026-09-28
UK: content creators must count the value of gifts or services received for promoting products online as income.	HMRC, Tax help for hustles: tax rules for content creators	2026-09-28
UK: the trading allowance exempts up to £1,000 a year of trading income, measured as gross income before expenses.	GOV.UK: Tax-free allowances on property and trading income	2026-09-28
US email: under CAN-SPAM, an opt-out request must be honoured within 10 business days, and the opt-out mechanism must work for at least 30 days after the message is sent.	FTC: CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide for business	2026-09-28
Google Takeout exports YouTube videos along with other Google account data. An export can take from a few minutes to a few days, and the archive expires in about 7 days.	Google Account Help: How to download your Google data	2026-09-28

What does Tallyterms cover?

Five subjects, each from the creator's side of the deal. Every guide is also listed on the guides page, with its checked date.

Getting paid by platforms

Monetization programs, their eligibility rules, and the affiliate and shop programs that pay creators directly.

Creator monetization requirements by platform: every program's thresholds in one table, with account type, minimum age, country gate, payout route and a source on each row.
TikTok Creator Rewards Program requirements: the official eligibility list, the qualified-view rule, and the standards that make a video ineligible.
Affiliate links by platform: where Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest and X let a link go, their own affiliate programs, and each platform's branded-content label.

Brand deals, creator side

What to charge, what the brand may do with the content, and what the contract should say.

How to price a sponsored post: a formula built from your own view counts and costs, with usage, ad codes and exclusivity priced as separate lines.
Usage rights and ad codes: what a Partnership Ads or Spark Ads code lets a brand do, for how long, and how you revoke it.
Brand deal contract checklist: deliverables, approvals, usage, exclusivity, payment terms and kill fees, clause by clause, with the late-payment statutes that apply.

Rights and account standing

Which music and media a paid post may use, and how strikes, appeals and recommendation eligibility work.

Music in sponsored and business posts: which in-app sounds a paid post may use from a personal or a business account, and what to check in a third-party licence.
Strikes and appeals on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram: how long each strike lasts, what it blocks, where to see your account status, and how to appeal.

Creator money admin

What gets taxed, and what platforms and brands report to tax offices about you.

Are gifted products taxable?: PR packages as income in the US, the UK and Germany, from each tax authority's own guidance, with a worked example.
Tax forms platforms send creators: 1099-K, 1099-NEC, 1042-S, DAC7 and UK platform reporting, and which kind of payout triggers which report.

Owned audience and tool stack

What you can take with you if an account is lost, and what the tools for a one-person creator business cost.

Can you export your followers?: what each platform's official data download contains, and the consent rules for moving an audience to an email list.
The creator tool stack and its cost: editing, design, subtitles, link in bio and newsletters, each job priced from the vendor's own page, free options first.

How is each rule checked?

An editor opens the primary source (the platform's help centre or terms, the regulator, the statute or the tax authority) and records the date it was read. Tool prices come only from the vendor's own pricing page. Tallyterms publishes no ratings, no reader numbers and no figures it cannot link. The full rules, and how to report an error, are in the editorial policy. Who publishes the site is on the about page.

Tallyterms is written by the Tallyterms editors for creators, UGC creators and creator-freelancers who run their work as a small business.