You built the channel. We handle the taxes.
Ad revenue, brand deals, tips, merch, and product sent to your door all get taxed differently. We sort it out, file it right, and help you plan what to set aside next time.
Nothing is due today. Personal returns start at $250.
Creator money arrives in pieces. Platform payouts, subscriptions, tips, affiliate links, brand invoices, merch sales, and free product that came with a posting requirement all land in different places under different rules, and little of it arrives with tax already withheld. The return has to pull all of that back together. The work that matters is knowing which of the things you bought to make the content actually count, and being able to prove it if anyone asks.
What content creators can usually deduct
Ordinary and necessary costs of your work. Rules and dollar limits change year to year, so we confirm every one of these against the current year when we prepare your return.
Cameras, lenses, and lighting
Bodies, lenses, key lights, softboxes, ring lights, tripods, gimbals, and the batteries and memory cards that keep a shoot alive. This is the gear the channel runs on and it belongs on the return.
Gear you also take on family trips is deductible only for the business share, so keep an honest split. Larger purchases can sometimes be deducted in the first year or recovered over several years, and which choice fits depends on the year you are having.
Audio and streaming hardware
Microphones, boom arms, audio interfaces, mixers, acoustic panels, capture cards, stream decks, green screens, and the extra monitor you actually stream from.
The equipment has to be placed in service in the year you want to deduct it. A box that ships in December and sits unopened until January generally belongs to the next year.
Editing computer and storage
The machine you cut on, the GPU upgrade, external drives, the NAS holding your archive, and the card readers. The phone you shoot vertical video on counts too.
If the same computer is also the household computer, only the business share counts. A phone usually carries personal use as well, so pick a percentage you can explain and document how you arrived at it.
Editing and design software
Adobe subscriptions, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Final Cut, Canva, plugins, LUT packs, caption and transcription tools, thumbnail tools, and the scheduling software you post through.
Prepaying a subscription that runs past the end of the year has timing rules, so keep the invoice that shows the period it covers, not just the charge on your card.
Music, stock, and asset licenses
Epidemic Sound, Artlist, stock footage, sound effect packs, motion graphics templates, and fonts licensed for commercial use.
A commercial license bought to put in your videos is a business cost. A personal music streaming account is not, even if you listen to it while you edit.
Editors, thumbnail artists, and moderators
What you pay a video editor, thumbnail designer, channel manager, moderator, or virtual assistant is a deductible business expense, and on the cash method you deduct it in the year you actually pay it.
Get a Form W-9 before you send the first payment. If your payments to a US contractor for services pass the reporting threshold that applies for the year, you have to issue a Form 1099-NEC. Chasing someone for a tax ID in January is how that gets missed.
Platform cuts and payment fees
The share YouTube, Twitch, Patreon, Substack, or a marketplace keeps, plus Stripe and PayPal processing fees, are ordinary business expenses.
Report what you earned gross and deduct the fees separately. A Form 1099-K reports the gross amount processed, so reporting only what hit your bank account creates a mismatch the IRS can see.
Home studio space
A room, a defined corner, or a converted garage that you film and edit in can carry a share of rent or mortgage interest, utilities, renters or homeowners insurance, and repairs.
The space has to be used regularly and exclusively for the business. A guest room that doubles as a studio does not qualify. If it really is one clearly identifiable corner of a room, measure that corner and claim only that. The deduction is also capped by the income from the business, so it cannot be used to create a loss.
Internet, phone, and cloud storage
Home internet, your phone line, the cloud storage holding raw footage, and the backup service that keeps the archive from dying with one drive.
Internet and phone lines usually carry personal use too, so only the business share is deductible. Pick a defensible percentage based on how you actually use them and stay consistent year to year.
Travel to shoots, cons, and brand events
Flights, hotels, baggage fees for gear, rideshares, and passes to creator conferences or a brand shoot. Driving to a location shoot counts, using either the standard mileage rate in effect for that year or your actual vehicle costs.
The trip has to be primarily for business, and personal days you add on are not deductible. Commuting from home to a regular work location is never deductible, and filming a vlog in the car does not turn a grocery run into business miles.
Props, sets, and products bought for content
Backdrops, set decor, the desk in frame, and products you buy specifically to review, unbox, test, or cook with on camera.
Clothing is the trap. If it is suitable for everyday wear it is not deductible, no matter that you only wear it on camera. A costume or wig with no use outside the shoot is different. Everyday hair, makeup, and skincare are personal even when the channel is the reason you keep them up. If you keep a reviewed product and use it personally afterward, that changes the answer, so tell us.
Merch inventory and fulfillment
Blank goods, printing, print on demand charges, packaging, shipping supplies, postage, and the marketplace fee taken out of each sale.
Unsold shirts sitting in your closet are generally not an expense yet. The cost of goods is usually recovered when the item sells, so a count at the start and the end of the year matters. The exact method depends on how your business is set up, which is worth a conversation.
Creator income is commonly reported on Schedule C, and that is a workable place to be while income is uneven or seasonal. The conversation changes when profit is steady enough that paying yourself reasonable compensation through an S corp could still leave self employment tax savings after payroll costs and a second tax return. That is arithmetic that depends on your own numbers, not a follower milestone, and it is worth rechecking every year.
What to bring us
You do not need all of it to start. Send what you have and your checklist shows what is still open.
- Every 1099 that came in, including a Form 1099-NEC from a brand and a Form 1099-K from a payment processor, even the ones that look wrong to you
- A full year earnings report from each platform that pays you, showing gross earnings and the fees they kept
- Bank and card statements for the accounts the channel runs through, plus a record of any estimated tax payments you already sent
- Receipts for gear bought this year, and a list of gear you already owned and converted to business use with what you paid, when you bought it, and when you started using it for work
- Your software, music, and storage subscriptions with the annual amount for each
- Names, addresses, tax IDs, and amounts for everyone you paid to help make the content, with their W-9s if you have them
- Home studio numbers: the square footage used regularly and exclusively for work, the total home square footage, and your rent or mortgage interest, utilities, and insurance
- A mileage log or tracker export, plus receipts for cons, location shoots, and travel
- Merch numbers: inventory on hand at the start and end of the year, what it cost you, and fulfillment fees
- A list of product, trips, or services you received in connection with posting, with what each was worth and what you agreed to in return
What trips people up
Reporting only the money that landed in the bank account.
Start from gross platform earnings, then deduct the platform's cut, refunds, and processing fees as expenses. The Form 1099-K the IRS receives shows the gross amount, and reporting it that way reduces the chance of a mismatch notice.
Treating tips, bits, subs, and donations as gifts.
Money viewers send you because of what you make is generally business income, even when the button says donate. Put it in gross receipts. A genuine personal gift is a separate question worth asking about.
Paying nothing until April.
Nobody withholds tax from a brand payment or an ad revenue payout. Move a share of every payout into a separate account and make quarterly estimated payments, which can reduce or avoid an underpayment penalty and takes the shock out of April.
Writing off the wardrobe, the hair, and the makeup.
Leave out anything suitable for wear or use off camera. Keep the costumes, wigs, and special effects makeup that have no life outside the shoot, and let the rest go. This area draws attention on exam.
Assuming gifted product and comped trips are free.
If you received it in exchange for posting or promoting, the fair market value is generally income. Product that arrives unsolicited with no obligation attached depends on the facts, so do not assume it is tax free. Log what arrived, what it was worth, and what you agreed to in return.
What it costs
Our published list, the same one everyone sees. Prices marked "from" are starting points, and your exact number is confirmed in writing before any work begins.
$0 is due today. You pay when you sign, or you can have your fee come out of your refund, so it can be $0 out of pocket.
Questions we get from your trade
A platform never sent me a 1099. Do I still report that money?+
Yes. Income is income whether or not a form shows up. Small platforms, foreign brands, tips, and cash all count, and reporting thresholds change from year to year, so a missing form tells you nothing about whether the money is taxable. Bring your own earnings reports and we work from those.
My Form 1099-K is much bigger than what I actually made. What now?+
That is common and it is workable. The form reports the gross amount processed, before the platform's cut, refunds, chargebacks, and processing fees came out. We report the gross and deduct those costs, so the return lines up with the form the IRS has and still lands on what you really earned.
Can I deduct the food I buy to film?+
Be careful with this one. A business meal with a collaborator, client, or brand contact where you actually discuss business is deductible only in part, and you should write down who was there and why. Food bought as a prop for a cooking or eating video is a different question that depends on how the content and the business are set up. Ask before you assume, because this area gets challenged.
I use the same PC and camera for gaming and for work. Does that kill the deduction?+
No, it splits it. You deduct the business share, so a setup you stream on most of the week and play on the rest gets a percentage rather than all or nothing. Pick a percentage you can explain, write down how you arrived at it, and use the same approach next year.
I lost money on the channel last year. Is it still a business?+
It can be. The question is whether you are genuinely trying to make a profit, which shows up in things like a separate bank account, real records, a rate card, and changes you make when something is not working. If the activity is treated as a hobby, the expenses generally cannot be deducted against your other income. Bring what you have and we will tell you straight.
Should I form an LLC or elect S corp?+
It depends on your profit, not your follower count. An LLC is a state law entity and by itself does not change how your income is taxed, so a single member LLC that has made no other election still reports on Schedule C. An S corp election can reduce self employment tax once profit is steady, but it requires paying yourself reasonable compensation through payroll, filing a separate business return, and carrying real annual cost. We run your numbers before recommending it.
Let us take the tax part off your plate.
Tell us what you need and see your price. A real person on your team replies within one business day.