So you started streaming because you loved video games and wanted to share your fun with others? Or maybe you wanted to make playing video games your full time job because you loved them so much. Or maybe you lost your job and streaming was your only hope to succeed.
Regardless of why you started your content creation journey you are here now receiving money from subscribers, donations, sponsorships and maybe even partnerships. So what about your taxes at the end of the year? How does it all work? A lot of streamers and content creators do not know where to begin when it comes to their taxes at the end of the year. They are left scrambling trying to figure them out, some paying outrageous prices to a place last minute to get them filed on time. While your taxes have gotten much more complicated then maybe your previous W-2 job they can be simple with proper planning.
That is what I hope this article will be for you a way to begin your planning so you are not scrambling at the end of the year to gather all the information you need to file. Planning generally allows for someone to save a bit more money on their taxes as well but we will go into that in a separate article another time. :)
So to give some simple information you as a content creator are now your own business. This means that your taxes have become slightly more complicated as they require you to file either a schedule C or a completely different tax return all together if you have created an organization for your streaming career. Regardless, the advice I have to give in this article is no different. I will give you 3 tips to succeed with your taxes as a content creator.
1. Track All Your Expenses From Creating Content
The one best piece of advice I can give a content creator is TRACK EVERYTHING YOU BUY FOR YOUR CONTENT CREATION! I have seen time and time again self employed individuals (which streamers are as I mentioned) come to tax time and have all the income from their content but no expenses to record! This means they are paying taxes on all the money that has come in! This as a CPA(Certified Public Accountant) makes my skin crawl as it means you are more then likely paying way more tax then you need to! TRACK EVERYTHING YOU BUY FOR YOUR CONTENT CREATION! I will go in detail more about what can be deducted and what can not in a separate article but for now good advice would be to track it all!
2. Make Sure You Are Paying Quarterlies
Next, I would say make sure to pay quarterly tax payments to the IRS! This one can be costly if left undone. When you are self employed the IRS requires you to make estimated payments each quarter to cover the tax you have incurred. This estimate is typically calculated off of your previous years tax return. Adjustments may need to be made if your income has increased significantly in the year. The reason this is important is if you choose to not pay quarterly payments then you will be hit with a penalty for not doing so at the end of the year. This is additional tax that is completely unnecessary to pay if you just pay your quarterly payments so make sure you are sending those out to the IRS each quarter!
3. Contact A CPA Or Tax Accountant
Lastly, I would advise to get a CPA involved. (I know I know, oh here is where he shamelessly plugs his services) While yes that is correct you should give us a call :) I think regardless it is a good idea to get a CPA to consult with. Depending on the practice they can alleviate a lot of this extra work so you can focus on streaming. I offer full service packages to content creators which essentially has me take over all the items I just mentioned above so the creator can focus on just that creation. I get software set up and track all their revenue and expenses for them calculating estimated quarterly payments while also consulting with them on best tax planning actions we can take to save them the most money on their taxes each year! This while I know coming from me is not much usually ends in saving them a ton of time and money! On the tax side we are able to save them a ton of money while maximizing their deductions and overall reducing their tax to be paid and on the time side we track everything so when it comes to tax time we can just ask a few simple questions and file away! Making the experience rather stress free.
Regardless, if you give us a call or you feel you can do it yourself you are definitely leaving a ton of money on the table if you are not doing anything with your newly found income from content creation! No one likes to pay unnecessary money in taxes so make sure you are attempting to not do so!
Give me a call if you are interested in getting all of this taken care of so you can focus on creating the best content you can. I offer free consultation calls so we can talk and figure out if I can help you!
Schedule a call with me at https://cas-accounting-scheduling.as.me/ hopefully I can help you save some money and time!