What to expect in this course:
Paying taxes is something you’ll inevitably have to face and as a self-employed content creator, they can be tricky. No one wants to learn about taxes; it can be stressful, overwhelming, and just downright boring to read through. Hopefully, you aren’t starting this course on April 14th but if you are, we’re here to make your day less stressful!
All information here is provided for information purposes only. This is not tax advice specifically for you. Your own facts and circumstances will dictate how you should be filing. If you have specific questions, please consult a certified public accountant (CPA) or other tax professional.
Course Goals
- Let’s break taxes down into simple and digestible pieces
- Equip you with the foundation of tackling tricky taxes so you can have one less thing to worry about
- Provide information on individual tax documents and forms
Our course focuses on United States taxpayers. We’d love to expand to helping creators in other countries so if you’re a certified tax professional outside the U.S contact us!
For free users, check out our Tax Basics guide and overview of important tax documents.
Tax Basics for U.S Creators
Taxes as a content creator are substantially different than if you work a job that takes out taxes from each paycheck. You may notice you get your Twitch payouts without any taxes being taken out. Now, this does not mean you are just exempt from taxes because you are a content creator. You more than likely do still have to pay them; it just works differently. Let’s get you started with learning tax basics so you don’t get in trouble with the government. The 1099 You are not a standard employee of Twitch so you don’t get paid like normal. You are an independent contractor and will receive a 1099 for your tax filings. You are basically considered self-employed in this situation and don’t get taxes taken out from each paycheck. Instead, you claim your earnings during tax season (typically you get your tax documents for this in January) and pay the taxes you owe then. Self-employed earners are recommended to set aside 20-30% of their earnings from tips, Twitch payouts, and other income sources in order to have enough to pax taxes. Not saving properly can cause issues when tax time comes. Now not everyone will just be given a 1099 because you are an independent contractor at tax season. There is typically a minimum earning you have to make to get sent a 1099. Often that minimum is $600 for the year’s earnings. This doesn’t mean you don’t have to file your earnings though you will simply need to self-report them without a 1099. When to File This is something that is very often misunderstood by creators. In most cases, for 99% of creators, you’ll be making quarterly payments. Essentially, you take your tax liability for the previous year (how much you paid in taxes) and divide that...
The rest of this course is available to Premium Members.