YouTube Channel Monitization

[Snake Eyes]

I am 100% (TDIU) and am considering doing a YouTube channel that covers civics and the constitution for home based learners. 
 

In some cases, YouTube automatically monitizes channels with more than 1,000 subscribers. What impact would such proceeds have on VA benefits. I don’t want to get in trouble with the VA for doing something good. 

[Dustoff1970]

This is a recent quote from a VA rater on another forum.  "

    "Possible the lawyers say, sure.  But the issue is capacity for gainful employment.  If the rater finds a veteran is self limiting wage/salary income, a proposal to terminate IU may follow" 

Another note from a knowledable Admin is that the Federal poverty threshold from u.s. census bureau is around $15,000 per year and this FPL level is just one of several indicators the VA raters go by in determining entitlement to continued TDIU rating.

This second comment by me on this topic is an update to my first comment.

Edited September 11, 2023 by Dustoff1970

[Snake Eyes]

On 8/30/2023 at 12:15 AM, Dustoff1970 said:

Some vets believe that if you stay below the poverty limit threshold then this is legal and you should be safe from a TDIU termination.  However, those same VA pukes disagrees with this.  They say raters will look for obvious pattern of continued work at amounts below the court definition of earned income amount for continued TDIU as a very red flag note.

I have never had a desire to test any of these theories.  There are many other BVA decisions and court cases on this very subject such as Robert v. Principi of many years ago, etc.

Excellent points. I wouldn’t even rely on case law or CVA decisions because VA is a bureaucracy like any other federal agency and their rules change to keep up with new developments.

That said, the question of whether royalties from creative content applies to YouTube or other digital media the way it would for books or music. If that’s how the VA sees it, there’s nothing to stop them from saying royalties count as earned income if the content was created after the disability was discovered. Real lawyers are invited to chime in on this one. For example, I have copyrights from the 70s and 80s which could (theoretically) generate royalties that VA would not have an issue with, but what about songs I wrote after getting my rating?  Could be a fun batch of billable hours for some lawyer

[Snake Eyes]

5 hours ago, Tbird said:

I think you have to sign up for Google Adsense to monetize your channel, which would entail giving them your SSN OR Tax ID Number and meeting their eligibility requirements.

YouTube can't just force income on you, though they can make money off of your content. Please read this article YouTube Partner Program Overview & Eligibility

That makes sense. I wonder how many people have active YouTube channels that are not monetized for altruistic reasons. I know SubStack does not require you to monetize your publication, but I don’t see any way they could make money (no ads…. Maybe they gather info based on what you do on their platform).

[Rattler]

Royalties are not capacity for gainful employment. Royalties are considered income for IRS purposes. For example lets say you are receiving royalties from a natural gas lease on property that you or your family owned. You can receive royalties from say a McDonalds franchise that you own or are a partner in. The point of it is TDIU is not income based unless you are deriving income from work. That's not to say that if you are earning $50k a year from royalties it won't set off a red flag with someone. Also for example my wife earn's say $26K a year we file jointly. This is over the poverty level of 15k. Neither the IRS or the VA will look at it because its her income.

About commercial I fly UAVs and have for some time. The FAA has been cracking down on pilots braking the FAR's. They have been using  youtube videos to bust people. This usually happens when someone (another pilot) sees a video of someone screwing up and sends it to the FAA. (or someone else reports it) 

Here's how the licensing work for UAVs. If you receive income or you are doing some kind of work for a business it is considered commercial with a UAV regardless of if you are receiving direct compensation or not. For example you work for a real-estate company. You have a UAV and you take video and photos of homes for the real-estate company but you are paid as an employee. Would this require a FAA license even though you are not paid directly for flying the UAV.  (This is an actual test question on the FAA exam.) The answer is yes it is considered commercial. Now if you are flying in your own yard and not getting any kind of income it would net get you a second look.

Having said all that it will depend on what you are doing in the videos. The facts are neither the VA, IRS, or FAA has the man power to go through youtube videos to try and find violations.