Making Money on Twitch in 2026: Monetization Is Now Open to Everyone – and What That Means for Your Taxes

Up to now, Twitch worked in a clear order: stream first, gather followers, become an Affiliate – and then, eventually, make some money. Twitch flipped that order back in May. Since 13 May 2026, basically any streamer can turn on Subs, Bits, and Channel Points without unlocking a status first. Shortly after, in June, Twitch also lowered the bar for Affiliate status. For anyone who streams on the side, that noticeably changes the starting point – and raises a question a lot of people underestimate: at what point does a hobby turn into taxable side income?

What Twitch Actually Changed

The more eye-catching of the two moves is called "Monetization for All." The key monetization and community tools – Bits, Subscriptions, Emotes, Badges, and Channel Points – have since become available to all eligible channels worldwide. You can switch them on right in the Creator Dashboard, no Affiliate or Partner status required.

There's one catch, though, and the headlines love to skip it: sure, you can activate the tools instantly, but you still only get paid out once you hit Affiliate or Partner status. If you haven't reached the threshold yet, your earnings pile up as a balance for now. In the US, Twitch introduced the "Spendable Balance" for exactly this: you can use your accumulated balance to buy Bits yourself or gift Subs. The worldwide rollout is announced for later in 2026, so in Germany the feature is still a wait-and-see thing.

The Road to Affiliate Just Got Shorter

At the same time, Twitch eased the Affiliate requirements in June. Instead of the old numbers, the updated details now call for:

• 4 hours streamed (previously 8),
• across 4 different days (previously 7),
• with 3 concurrent viewers on those days – the old average-viewer requirement is gone.

That sounds technical, but the effect is clear: the payout threshold moves a lot closer for small and casual streamers. If you used to fall short on the 7-day rule or the average-viewer bar, you'll now reach real money faster.

The Moment Many People Miss: A Hobby Becomes Income

This is exactly where it gets interesting for you as a streamer in Germany – and it doesn't matter whether you pull in 20 euros or 2,000 euros a month. As soon as money flows through your channel on a regular basis, you're running a business in the eyes of the tax authorities. That covers pretty much every type of income: Subs, Bits/Cheers, ad revenue, donations, sponsorships, Affiliate links, and merch. This income is taxable from the very first euro.

Here's what that means in practice:

• Register your business. Once income starts coming in regularly, you need to register with the trade office (Gewerbeamt) – the fee is usually between €15 and €65.
• Document your income. Every payout is business income and needs to be recorded properly. Keep your receipts and records.
• Check the small-business rule (Kleinunternehmerregelung). If your turnover stays within the small-business threshold, you can skip VAT and don't have to charge 19%. For most streamers with side income, that's the simplest route – we've laid out the details and the typical pitfalls in a separate article on the small-business rule for 2026.
• Income tax. Your profit (income minus expenses) is subject to income tax as soon as your total taxable income exceeds the basic tax-free allowance (Grundfreibetrag).

The key point: Twitch lowers the barrier to your first euro – but your tax obligations don't hang on your Affiliate status, they hang on how regularly your income comes in. So if you take advantage of the new, lower hurdles, factor this in from day one instead of putting it off until your first big payout year.

Free Accounting Software for Streamers – and Earn While You're at It

We've got an unbeatable offer for you as a streamer:

• a free accounting platform for you
• 20% commission on every booking and recurring payment
• promotional assets like banners and OBS sources are ready to go

Stream regularly, promote us, and we'll sponsor your accounting software while you earn on top of it. It costs you nothing and there's no risk. You can check detailed numbers on bookings and clicks anytime in the Partner Dashboard. Sign up and get going ...

Manage Your Twitch Income and Expenses with the Easy Invoice Cloud Platform

The easiest way to save yourself the sorting-out later: keep your numbers clean from the very first euro. With the Office Cloud platform Easy Invoice, you manage your income and expenses so your records hold up to the tax office's requirements – log Subs, Bits, and sponsorship payments as income, offset expenses like streaming software, hardware, or overlay graphics, and issue an invoice yourself for sponsorship deals when needed. Our guide to writing an invoice shows how a proper invoice is put together.

You can access your invoices from anywhere, through your browser or your phone. And if you later decide to sell merch or your own products through a shop, the Office Cloud also offers countless shop connections to Etsy, TikTok, Shopware, and other shop systems. That lets you import all your orders at the push of a button.

Free Accounting for You and 20% Commission

Since reach is already your business, you might as well turn it straight into cash: through our partner program at partner.office1.cloud, you get 20% lifetime commission on every booking that comes through your referral – not a one-off, but ongoing, for as long as the booking runs. Anyone who promotes it can even use their own Easy Invoice accounting for free, after applying via a ticket in our Partner Dashboard – so the platform you keep your numbers on basically pays for itself.

Promoting it is deliberately kept simple: we provide ready-made promotional material like banners and matching OBS sources that you drop straight into OBS. That way you show your partner link in the stream without having to design anything yourself. Missing something in the promo assets, or is there something specific you'd like? Send us a ticket through the Partner Dashboard – we'll take care of it.

Bottom Line

Twitch is making it more accessible to earn money in 2026: tools for everyone, lower Affiliate hurdles, a more flexible balance system. For streamers, that's a real relief – but at the same time, the point where a hobby turns into tax-relevant income moves earlier. Whoever uses the new options and factors accounting in from the start gets the more relaxed beginning.

This article is not a substitute for tax or legal advice. For your individual situation, consult a tax advisor or the relevant authorities.