Udemy and Teachable Course Creator in Paraguay: Structuring Your Royalties for 0% Tax in 2026

You have expertise — in digital marketing, Python development, photography, personal finance, yoga, cooking, UX design, trading, foreign languages. You create an online course, publish it on Udemy, Teachable, Skillshare, or Coursera, and thousands of students worldwide buy it while you sleep. This is the ultimate digital passive income business: you work once (course creation), and you get paid thousands of times (each new student). In France, this income is taxed at 45-60% (income tax + social contributions + TNS contributions). In Paraguay, it's 0%.

This guide covers the taxation and structuring of online course income for a creator based in Paraguay: which platforms, which payment mechanisms, how to structure via a US LLC, the specifics of royalties vs. direct sales, digital VAT, and the long-term capitalization strategy to transform course income into sustainable wealth.

The online course market in 2026

The e-learning explosion

The global e-learning market is estimated at ~$400 billion USD in 2026 (vs ~$250 billion in 2020). Growth is structural — driven by the digitalization of education, remote work, professional retraining, and the global appetite for digital skills. Online course platforms are the highways of this market:

Platform	Headquarters	Model	Commission / Price	Creator payout
Udemy	San Francisco, USA	Marketplace: Udemy sells the course, sets the price (often on sale for $9.99-$19.99 USD), and pays a share to the creator.	Creator receives 37% of the price if sold via Udemy (organic), 97% if sold via creator's promotional link (coupon).	PayPal or Payoneer, monthly
Skillshare	New York, USA	Subscription: students pay a monthly subscription (~$14 USD/month). Creators are paid based on minutes watched.	Variable: ~$0.05-$0.10 USD/minute watched. A popular course can generate $500-$5,000 USD/month.	PayPal, monthly
Teachable	New York, USA	Sales platform: the creator hosts their course, sets the price, and sells directly. Teachable provides the infrastructure (site, payment, video hosting).	Basic Plan: $39 USD/month + 5% commission. Pro Plan: $119 USD/month + 0% commission.	Stripe or PayPal, depending on the plan
Thinkific	Vancouver, Canada	Similar to Teachable. Sales platform with complete infrastructure.	Basic Plan: $49 USD/month + 0% commission. Start Plan: free + limitations.	Stripe, PayPal
Podia	USA	All-in-one platform: courses + newsletter + community + digital products.	$33-$75 USD/month + 0% commission (except free plan: 8% commission).	Stripe, PayPal
Coursera / edX	USA	Institutional partnership: individual creators rarely publish on Coursera (reserved for universities). But independent experts collaborate with universities to create accredited courses.	Variable (negotiated with the partner institution).	Bank transfer
Kajabi	USA	Premium all-in-one platform: courses + website + email + community + coaching.	$149-$319 USD/month + 0% commission.	Stripe

Marketplace vs. proprietary platform: the strategic choice

The fundamental distinction is between marketplaces (Udemy, Skillshare) and proprietary platforms (Teachable, Thinkific, Podia, Kajabi):

Criterion	Marketplace (Udemy, Skillshare)	Proprietary Platform (Teachable, Kajabi)
Audience	Built-in (Udemy has ~70 million users). The platform brings the students.	You must bring your own audience (newsletter, social media, SEO).
Course price	Set or strongly influenced by the platform. Udemy promotes prices at $9.99-$19.99 USD.	You set the price (€49-€2,000). Total pricing freedom.
Commission	High (Udemy: 63% on organic sales). Skillshare: opaque model based on minutes.	Low or none (Teachable Pro: 0%. Kajabi: 0%).
Control	Limited (the platform controls pricing, customer relationship, student data).	Total (you control price, relationship, data, branding).
Revenue per student	Low (~$3-$7 USD/student on Udemy via organic sales).	High (€49-€2,000 per student depending on course price).
Scalability	The platform's audience does the work. High volumes at low margin.	Depends on your marketing capacity. Lower volumes but high margin.
Ideal for	Beginners without an audience, creators who want volume, low-priced courses.	Creators with an audience, premium experts, high-priced courses.

For an expat in Paraguay, both models are viable. The marketplace model (Udemy) generates passive income with little marketing effort. The proprietary model (Teachable/Kajabi) generates higher income per student but requires marketing investment (newsletter, social media). Most successful creators combine both: a course on Udemy for visibility + a premium course on Teachable for margin.

Royalties vs. direct sales: the tax distinction

What is a royalty in the context of online courses

The term "royalty" is often used by Udemy and Skillshare to describe payments to creators. Technically, there is an important distinction:

• Royalty in the tax sense: a payment for the use of intellectual property (patent, copyright, trademark, software license). In the context of online courses: when Udemy pays a "royalty" to a creator, it is a payment for the right to exploit the course content (which is protected by the creator's copyright). The creator retains intellectual property — Udemy has a license to exploit it.
• Direct sale: when you sell a course on Teachable, you are selling directly to the student (Teachable is a technical intermediary, not a licensee of your IP). The payment is income from the sale of a digital service/product — not a royalty in the strict sense.

Why the distinction matters (and why it doesn't matter in Paraguay)

The royalty vs. service sale distinction is important in countries with worldwide taxation because withholding taxes differ:

• In France: royalties paid to a non-resident are subject to a 30% withholding tax (in the absence of a tax treaty that reduces the rate). Service income paid to a non-resident is generally NOT subject to withholding tax (except in specific cases).
• Impact for a creator in Paraguay: if Udemy (US company) pays "royalties" to your US LLC (US entity), there is NO US withholding tax (the US-US tax treaty does not apply — it's a domestic transaction between two US entities). Royalties flow from Udemy US → your US LLC → Mercury Bank → you. No withholding, no complication.
• If royalties came from a French platform: MYM Education (hypothetical) pays royalties to your US LLC (French non-resident). In the absence of a FR-PY tax treaty, France could apply a 30% withholding tax on royalties. But the France-USA tax treaty reduces this rate (0% for royalties paid to a US entity under certain conditions — Article 12 of the treaty). Your US LLC benefits from the FR-US treaty for payments from French sources.
• In Paraguay: the royalty vs. service sale distinction is irrelevant. Both are foreign source income = 0% (territoriality). Whether the income is classified as royalty, service income, commission, or "content payment" — territoriality applies uniformly. Paraguay does not distinguish between types of foreign income.

Detailed structuring by platform

Udemy: the marketplace model

How it works:

• You create a course and publish it on Udemy. Udemy makes it available to its ~70 million users.
• Udemy sets the selling price (often on sale for $9.99-$19.99 USD during flash sales — which frustrates creators but generates volume).
• You receive 37% of the price for "organic" sales (Udemy brings the student via its own marketing channels) and 97% for sales via your own coupon link (you bring the student).
• Monthly payment via PayPal or Payoneer.

Structuring with US LLC:

• Udemy account: create your Udemy instructor account in the name of your US LLC (LLC name, US address, EIN). Provide the W-9 form (your LLC is a domestic US entity).
• Payment: set up PayPal Business (in the name of the US LLC) or Payoneer (in the name of the LLC). Udemy payments arrive on PayPal/Payoneer → you transfer them to Mercury Bank.
• US taxation: Udemy income paid to your US LLC (domestic US entity) is NOT subject to FATCA withholding tax (domestic transaction). Form 1099-MISC may be issued by Udemy if payments exceed $600 USD/year — your CPA handles compliance (Form 5472, no US tax for a foreign-owned LLC).
• PY taxation: Udemy income is from a US source (paid by Udemy Inc., US company) → foreign source in Paraguay → 0%.

Typical income:

Creator level	Number of courses	Students/month	Net monthly income
Beginner	1-3	50-200	$100-$500 USD
Intermediate	3-10	200-1,000	$500-$3,000 USD
Advanced	10-30	1,000-5,000	$3,000-$15,000 USD
Top instructor	10-50+	5,000-50,000+	$15,000-$100,000+ USD

Top Udemy instructors (top 1%) earn $100,000+ USD/month — but that's exceptional. A serious French-speaking creator with 5-10 good courses can aim for $2,000-$10,000 USD/month on Udemy. This is truly passive income: courses are created once and sold indefinitely (as long as they remain relevant and up-to-date).

Teachable / Thinkific / Kajabi: the proprietary model

How it works:

• You create your online school (sales website + course hosting) on Teachable, Thinkific, or Kajabi.
• You set the price of your courses (total freedom — from €29 for a mini-course to €2,000 for a premium program).
• You bring your own audience (newsletter, social media, webinars, advertising).
• Payments are collected via Stripe (or PayPal) and paid to your bank account.

Structuring with US LLC:

• Teachable/Thinkific account: create your school in the name of your US LLC. The URL can be your custom domain (courses.yourdomain.com) or a Teachable subdomain.
• Stripe: set up Stripe in the name of the US LLC (EIN, US address, Mercury Bank). Student payments → Stripe → Mercury Bank. Same setup as for newsletters (see our newsletter guide).
• Taxation: identical to newsletters. Payments collected by Stripe (US/Ireland) → Mercury Bank (US LLC) → distribution to owner (PY resident) → 0% in Paraguay.

Typical income:

Model	Course price	Sales/month	Monthly income
Mini-course (lead magnet)	€29-€49	50-200	€1,450-€9,800
Standard course	€97-€297	20-100	€1,940-€29,700
Premium program (coaching included)	€497-€1,997	5-30	€2,485-€59,910
Community/membership subscription	€19-€99/month	100-1,000 members	€1,900-€99,000

The proprietary model generates 10-100x higher income per student than Udemy (because you set the price and keep 95-100%). But it requires your own audience — which takes 6-24 months to build. The optimal strategy: start on Udemy (for visibility and initial passive income), then migrate to Teachable/Kajabi (for margin and control) when your audience is sufficient.

Skillshare: the shared subscription model

How it works:

• Skillshare works like Netflix: students pay a monthly subscription (~$14 USD/month) and access all courses on the platform.
• Creators are paid based on the minutes watched of their courses by premium subscribers. The per-minute rate fluctuates monthly (based on Skillshare's revenue pool divided by total minutes watched). In 2026, the rate is estimated at ~$0.05-$0.10 USD/minute.
• For a 2-hour course (120 minutes) watched 1,000 times/month: 120 × 1,000 × $0.07 USD ≈ $8,400 USD/month. But most students don't watch the entire course — the average is often 30-50% full viewership.

Structuring: identical to Udemy — Skillshare account in the name of the US LLC, payment via PayPal → Mercury Bank. Foreign source → 0% in Paraguay.

Realistic income: $200-$5,000 USD/month for an active creator with 5-20 courses. Less lucrative than Teachable (low margin per student) but more passive than Teachable (Skillshare brings the audience).

Digital VAT: the essential technical point

The EU rule on electronic services

When you sell an online course (digital product) to a European consumer (B2C), the VAT of the consumer's country applies (EU rule since 2015). This is the same rule as for ebooks, software, digital subscriptions, and online courses:

• Student in France → French VAT 20%
• Student in Germany → German VAT 19%
• Student in Spain → Spanish VAT 21%

Who collects and remits VAT?

The answer depends on the platform:

Platform	EU VAT management	Creator action required
Udemy	Udemy collects and remits VAT. Udemy acts as "Merchant of Record" (the official seller is Udemy, not you).	None. Udemy handles everything. You receive your net share after VAT.
Skillshare	Skillshare collects VAT on subscriptions.	None. Your remuneration (minutes watched) is net of VAT.
Teachable	Teachable can act as Merchant of Record ("Teachable:pay" plan) and manage EU VAT. Or you are the Merchant of Record (direct Stripe plan) and you must manage VAT yourself.	Check your plan. If Teachable is MoR: no action. If you are MoR (direct Stripe): use a service like Paddle or LemonSqueezy to manage EU VAT, or register for the OSS (One-Stop Shop) in an EU country — complex and not recommended from Paraguay.
Thinkific	Thinkific does NOT manage EU VAT. You are the Merchant of Record.	Use Paddle, LemonSqueezy, or a similar MoR service to manage EU VAT. Or sell only B2B (no B2B VAT – buyer self-assesses).
Podia	Podia handles EU VAT automatically (collection + remittance).	None. Podia is MoR and handles VAT.
Kajabi	Kajabi does NOT natively handle EU VAT. The creator is MoR.	Same solution as Thinkific: Paddle/LemonSqueezy as MoR, or manual management (not recommended).
Gumroad	Gumroad collects and remits EU VAT. Gumroad is MoR.	None. Gumroad handles everything.

Recommendation for a creator in Paraguay: choose a platform that handles EU VAT for you (Udemy, Skillshare, Podia, Gumroad, or Teachable in Teachable:pay mode). If you use a platform that doesn't handle VAT (Thinkific, Kajabi, direct sales via Stripe), integrate an MoR service like Paddle or LemonSqueezy that collects VAT from your European students, remits it to the relevant administrations, and pays you the net amount. The additional cost (5-8% Paddle commission) is much lower than the complexity of managing VAT for 27 European countries yourself from Paraguay.

VAT outside the EU

• USA: no federal VAT (but some states have sales taxes on digital products – handled by Stripe/Paddle if you use these services).
• Canada: GST/HST on digital services sold to Canadian consumers (since 2021). Handled by MoR platforms.
• UK: 20% VAT on digital services sold to UK consumers. Handled by MoR platforms.
• Australia: 10% GST. Handled by MoR platforms.
• Paraguay: Paraguayan IVA (10%) does NOT apply to foreign-sourced income. Sales of courses to students outside Paraguay are not subject to PY IVA. If a Paraguayan student buys your course: PY IVA could theoretically apply (PY-sourced sale to a PY consumer), but in practice, the sale is made via a foreign platform (Teachable US) with payment in USD → the source is generally considered foreign.

The complete tax comparison

Online Course Creator: €200,000/year in revenue

Item	France (BNC réel)	Paraguay (US LLC)
Gross platform revenue	€200,000	€200,000
Platform commissions (~10-15% average)	-€25,000	-€25,000
Operating expenses (hosting, tools, design)	-€10,000	-€10,000
Net profit before taxes	€165,000	€165,000
Income Tax + Social Security Contributions	~€55,000	€0
Self-employed contributions (URSSAF/CIPAV)	~€40,000	€0
US LLC accounting + DNIT	—	~€2,500 (US CPA + PY accountant)
Total deductions	~€95,000	~€2,500
Net income retained	~€70,000	~€162,500
Annual savings in Paraguay	~€92,500/year

Over 10 years, the course creator in Paraguay accumulates ~€1,625,000 in net income (vs ~€700,000 in France). Invested at 7%/year, the additional wealth reaches ~€1.3 million compared to a creator who remained in France. This is retirement at 45 instead of 65.

Course production from Paraguay

Required equipment

All necessary equipment is available in Asunción (or can be ordered online):

• Computer: MacBook Pro or powerful laptop (~1,500-3,000 USD). Available in Asunción (iShop, Nissei, Salemma) or orderable on Amazon US via courier (Aerobox, GDE Express).
• Microphone: Blue Yeti (~130 USD), Rode NT-USB (~170 USD), or Audio-Technica AT2020 (~100 USD) for voice recording. A good microphone is the most important investment – audio quality directly impacts student experience.
• Camera (if screencast + face): your computer webcam is sufficient to start. For superior quality: Logitech C920 (~80 USD) or Sony ZV-1 (~700 USD). If your course is 100% screencast (screen recording + voice-over), no camera is needed.
• Lighting: a ring light (~30-50 USD) or two softboxes (~60-100 USD). Paraguayan natural light is abundant – but artificial lighting ensures consistency.
• Screencast software: OBS Studio (free), Loom (~13 USD/month), Camtasia (~300 USD one-time license), or ScreenFlow (~150 USD, Mac only).
• Video editing software: DaVinci Resolve (free and professional), Final Cut Pro (~300 USD, Mac), or Adobe Premiere Pro (~22 USD/month).
• Presentation software: Keynote (free, Mac), PowerPoint (~7 USD/month), or Canva Pro (~13 USD/month) for course slides.

Total initial equipment budget: ~500-2,000 USD (deductible as an expense for the US LLC). A modest investment for a business that can generate €100,000+/year.

Production environment in Asunción

• Noise: Asunción is a lively city – traffic noise, construction, neighbors, tropical birds. For audio recording, choose quiet hours (early morning, afternoon between 2 PM and 4 PM) or invest in basic acoustic treatment (absorbent panels, acoustic foam – available in Asunción for ~50-100 USD). A good directional microphone (cardioid) significantly reduces ambient noise.
• Internet: fiber optic 100-500 Mbps in premium neighborhoods. More than enough for video uploads (a 10-hour course in 1080p ≈ 10-20 GB – uploadable in 30-60 minutes on fiber). Occasional outages are not a problem for course uploads (you upload when the connection is stable – not live).
• Electricity: power outages are rare in Asunción's premium neighborhoods but possible (storms). Solution: an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to protect your equipment and give you 15-30 minutes of battery in case of an outage (~50-100 USD).
• Studios: if you need a professional studio (for high-production-quality courses), Asunción has some video production studios available for rent by the hour or day (500,000-2,000,000 PYG/day ≈ 70-280 USD). But for 95% of online courses, your home office is sufficient.

Multi-platform strategy from Paraguay

Recommended approach

1. Udemy: publish your "general" courses (introduction to a topic, beginner courses) at a low price (19.99 USD on promotion). Goal: visibility, volume, basic passive income. Udemy brings the audience – you don't need to do marketing.
2. Teachable / Kajabi: publish your "premium" courses (advanced, specialized, with coaching/community) at a high price (€197-€1,997). Goal: high margin, direct relationship with students, full control. You bring the audience via your newsletter and social media.
3. Skillshare: publish short courses (30-90 minutes) suitable for the Skillshare format (creative projects, practical skills). Goal: complementary passive income (minutes watched).
4. YouTube: publish free content (course excerpts, tutorials, educational vlogs) to attract an audience to your paid courses. YouTube is not a sales platform – it's an acquisition channel. YouTube advertising revenue (AdSense) is a bonus, not the goal.
5. Newsletter: a newsletter (Substack, Ghost) that nurtures your audience between course launches. The newsletter maintains the relationship and pre-sells future courses.

All these revenue streams converge to the same structure: US LLC → Mercury Bank → PY resident → 0%. A single structure, multiple income sources, zero tax on foreign income.

Typical launch schedule

Month	Action
Months 1-2	Relocation to PY. US LLC created. Mercury Bank opened. PY residency obtained.
Months 2-4	First course creation (planning, recording, editing). Publication on Udemy (first course, entry price).
Months 4-6	Udemy course promotion. Audience building (newsletter, YouTube, social media). First Udemy revenues (~500-2,000 USD/month).
Months 6-9	Second and third courses on Udemy. Launch of a premium course on Teachable (higher price, audience acquired via Udemy and newsletter).
Months 9-12	First premium course launches (~€5,000-€20,000 per launch). Combined monthly revenue (Udemy + Teachable): €3,000-€10,000/month.
Year 2+	Catalog of 5-15 courses (Udemy + Teachable). Recurring revenue + periodic launches. Goal: €10,000-€30,000/month.

Intellectual property of your courses

Copyright on educational content

Your online courses are protected by copyright from their creation:

• What is protected: the specific content of your courses (texts, scripts, slides, videos, exercises, quizzes). The way you explain a concept is protected – not the concept itself.
• What is NOT protected: ideas, facts, methods, general concepts. You cannot "protect" the concept of "digital marketing" – but you can protect YOUR course on digital marketing (your structure, your examples, your slides, your voice).
• Automatic protection: copyright is automatic – no registration required. Your course is protected from its creation (Berne Convention, signed by Paraguay). Registration with a copyright office (US Copyright Office – ~55 USD) is optional but offers enhanced protection in case of dispute.

Platform licenses

When you publish a course on a platform, you grant a license to the platform to distribute your content:

• Udemy: you grant Udemy a non-exclusive license to distribute your course. You retain intellectual property. You can publish the same content on other platforms (Skillshare, your website) – exclusivity is NOT required (but Udemy may offer promotional benefits for exclusive courses).
• Teachable / Thinkific / Kajabi: you are the full owner of the content. The platform provides the technical infrastructure – no content license. If you leave the platform, you take your content (videos, texts, student data) with you.
• Skillshare: non-exclusive license. You can publish elsewhere simultaneously.

Online course piracy

Piracy is an endemic problem in the e-learning industry: pirate sites redistribute paid courses for free (via torrents, file-sharing sites, Telegram groups). Solutions:

• Accept a level of piracy: piracy is inevitable. Students who pirate would probably not have paid – the actual loss is lower than the apparent loss.
• Watermarking: some platforms add an invisible watermark (student ID) to videos. If content is redistributed, the source student can be identified and their account suspended.
• "Live" and community content: courses that include live coaching, an active community, or regularly updated content are less susceptible to piracy (the value is in the interaction, not in the static video).
• DMCA takedowns: send DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) removal requests to sites that redistribute your content. Most hosts and search engines remove pirated content upon DMCA request. Cost: free (you do it yourself) or ~50-200 USD/month for a protection service like Piracy Guard or MarkMonitor.

Language diversification: the advantage of Paraguay

Courses in French + Spanish + English

Paraguay is a bilingual country (Spanish + Guarani). By living in Paraguay, you naturally develop Spanish skills – which opens up the Spanish-speaking market (Spain + Latin America = 500+ million people). Language diversification strategy:

• Courses in French: your natural market (France, Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec, Francophone Africa). 300+ million French speakers.
• Courses in Spanish: massive market (Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, etc.). 500+ million Spanish speakers. Less competitive than the English-speaking market for many technical subjects.
• Courses in English: the largest market (1.5+ billion English speakers). More competitive but volumes compensate. Prices are higher (English-speaking students pay more).
• AI and translation: AI translation tools (Claude, GPT, DeepL) and AI dubbing tools (HeyGen, ElevenLabs) allow you to translate and dub your courses into other languages at a reduced cost. A course recorded in French can be dubbed into Spanish and English in a few hours – multiplying your potential audience by 5-10×.

Time zone for live courses

If you offer sales webinars, live Q&A, or group coaching (the "live" component of your courses):

• European Francophone audience: Asunción UTC-4 vs Paris UTC+1 = 5 hours time difference. A webinar at 2 PM Asunción time = 7 PM in Paris. Compatible.
• Hispanic audience: most Latin American countries are between UTC-3 and UTC-6. Asunción (UTC-4) is in the middle = ideal. A webinar at 7 PM Asunción time = 7 PM in Buenos Aires, 6 PM in Bogotá, 5 PM in Mexico City.
• US Anglophone audience: Asunción UTC-4 vs New York UTC-5 = 1 hour time difference. Perfectly compatible.

Paraguay is an ideal geographical hub to serve European Francophone, Latin American Hispanic, and North American Anglophone audiences. This is an advantage that few other expatriate destinations offer (Dubai is UTC+4 = 9-hour difference with the US East Coast; Thailand is UTC+7 = even worse).

Conclusion

Online course revenues (Udemy, Teachable, Skillshare, Kajabi, Thinkific) are among the most "Paraguay-compatible" there are: single creation → recurring revenue, US/UK platforms → foreign source → 0% in Paraguay, 85-97% margins, and unlimited scalability (each new student costs €0 extra to serve). A creator earning €200,000/year retains ~€162,500 in Paraguay vs ~€70,000 in France – a differential of ~€92,500/year which, invested over 10 years, generates ~€1.3 million in additional wealth.

The structuring is the same as for any digital activity in Paraguay: US LLC (Stripe, Mercury Bank) + Paraguayan residency (cédula, RUC, DNIT certificate) + DNIT accounting (€30/month). Udemy royalties, Teachable sales, Skillshare minutes, sponsorships, ebooks – everything converges to the same 0% structure. EU VAT is managed by the platforms (not by you). Intellectual property is protected by international copyright law.

Paraguay also offers a unique geographical advantage: a time zone (UTC-4) compatible with Francophone, Hispanic, and Anglophone audiences. And a bilingual environment (Spanish + Guarani) that naturally encourages the linguistic diversification of your courses – multiplying your potential audience by 5-10×.

You have expertise. The world wants to learn it. Paraguay allows you to teach it with 0% tax. The question is not "is it worth it" – it's "why are you still waiting".

Are you creating online courses and want 0% on your royalties? Contact our team: Paraguayan residency (from €1,400), US LLC, bank account, DNIT accounting (€30/month). Teach from Asunción. Invoice from Wyoming. Keep 95% of your income. This is the education of the future — tax-optimized.