Yes, you pay tax on the money you make through affiliate marketing. When you partner with an affiliate program, you’re using your blog, website, or social media profile as a business. You’re selling products that generate income, so you have to pay tax on that profit. You’ll file taxes similarly to self-employed people, except you can only deduct expenses that relate directly to the content you generated for the affiliate program. If you’re running your online presence as a hobby and don’t make enough income to qualify for a tax bracket, you most likely won’t have to pay anything. But if you make significant profits, you’ll have to pay taxes.