Can a 13-year-old middle schooler do affiliate? Legal reality

"I am 13, can I do affiliate and earn money?" The single most common question in middle-school Discord servers. ChatGPT's surface-level answer — "yes, with parental consent" — is misleading. Civil law, tax codes, and payment processor age policies differ. thMenu's affiliate program fixes the intersection at 16+ with verified parental signature. Here is the honest line.

Legal framing: capacity to contract

Under the Turkish Civil Code Art. 11, anyone under 18 is a minor. Art. 16 allows discerning minors to contract with parental consent, but Art. 449 forbids minors from incurring long-term recurring obligations such as a business contract. An affiliate agreement is a continuing-performance contract — squarely inside this restriction. On the tax side, the Turkish Revenue Administration's 2024 ruling states that income earned by under-18s is added to the parent's tax base and the parent is jointly liable.

Translation: technically a 13-year-old can do affiliate through a parent, but the income is taxed under the parent, the contract is valid only with parental signature, and the parent carries all legal obligations. Many parents say "it's the kid's money" — in law it is the parent's tax matter.

The payment-processor wall

Even with full parental consent, technical walls remain. Stripe Connect requires 18+ minimum (Stripe Services Agreement §1.2). PayPal also 18+. Wise Business 18+. There is no workaround.

• Stripe Express → 18+ hard floor
• PayPal Business → 18+ and sole proprietorship needed
• Wise Business → 18+ TR locale

So a 13-year-old can earn commission on paper but cannot withdraw to a bank — only to a parent's account, which triggers parent-side tax events.

thMenu policy and the "learning period"

The thMenu affiliate form asks for age and auto-rejects under 16. For 16-17, a notarized parental consent letter is mandatory. For ages 13-15 we recommend a learning period: set up the family's restaurant on a free Starter plan, produce content on YouTube and TikTok, and wait until 16. No commission, but real portfolio.

Be skeptical of "I earned $1000 at age 13" videos — most operate under a parent's account and would collapse under a tax audit (5-year retroactive penalty). Waiting 2-3 years is cheap compared to the audit risk.

FAQ

Can I share an affiliate link on YouTube at 13? You can post the link, but commission cannot be withdrawn because of payout-age rules.

If my parent consents, can a 13-year-old open Stripe? No. Stripe TOS requires the actual account holder to be 18+. A parent can open it, but income falls under the parent's tax base.

Does thMenu offer a learning-period certificate? Not yet; a "Junior Affiliate Path" is on the 2028 Q3 roadmap so prior activity speeds up onboarding when the applicant turns 16.

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