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OnlyFans 1099 Form: Why Was it Sent to You as an OnlyFans Creator?

Are you a US-based content creator who has earned and withdrawn $600 or more on OnlyFans in the previous tax year? If yes, then you’ll receive an OnlyFans 1099 Form from OnlyFans as part of tax obligations to be met both by OnlyFans and you.

IRS 1099-NEC form is the form that you’ll receive at the mailing address that you provide in the OnlyFans W9 form at the time of setting up your content creator account on OnlyFans.

Many content creators new to OnlyFans or creators earning the highest payouts on OnlyFans still struggle to understand OnlyFans tax forms, their purpose, and how important they are for them.

This results in issues like incomplete or incorrect furnishing of the information to OnlyFans and confusion between various tax forms required for your OnlyFans earnings.

You must remember that both OnlyFans W9 form and OnlyFans 1099-NEC form apply to you if you are a US-based content creator whose earning and withdrawing $600 or more in OnlyFans payouts.

This means if you aren’t meeting any one or both of the above criteria (you are not a US-based content creator, you don’t earn and withdraw $600 or more on OnlyFans, or both), form W9 and form 1099-NEC do not apply to you.

In this article, we’ll help you understand –

  • What is OnlyFans 1099-NEC form?
  • Why do you need Form 1099-NEC form?
  • When does OnlyFans send 1099?

What is OnlyFans 1099 Form or Form 1099-NEC?

IRS Form 1099-NEC, or Non-Employee Compensation, is the tax form that is required to report earnings of US-based content creators by OnlyFans to the IRS.

The persons making payments during the calendar year as business or self-employed file information returns to the IRS. Thus, as a business making you (US-based content creator) payments for the services rendered by you as its non-employee, OnlyFans is bound to collect your TIN and other tax details in the form W9 and use such information to report your earnings to the IRS in the form 1099-NEC. Does OnlyFans Report to IRS? Yes, OnlyFans is bound to report to the IRS.

According to the IRS rules, any business or self-employed, making $600 or more in payments to the persons who render services to such business or self-employed as a non-employee during the calendar year, must file an information return to the IRS in the form 1099-NEC by January 31.

Additionally, such a business or self-employed filing the form 1099-NEC to the IRS is also required to furnish these statements to recipients of the payments. The statements furnished to recipients should be clear and legible and must be sent after they have been furnished to the IRS.

Accordingly, if you are a US-based content creator who is earning and withdrawing $600 or more from OnlyFans for the services you render as a non-employee, OnlyFans gets bound to report such earnings to IRS in form 1099-NEC.

However, form 1099-NEC does not apply to you if you:

  • are not a US-based content creator
  • are a US-based content but do not earn $600 0r more on OnlyFans
  • not a US-based content but earn $600 or more
  • not a US-based content creator and do not earn $600 or more

OnlyFans will ask the US-based content creators to complete and/or update their W9 forms by 31 December each year. This is because if you are a US-based content creator earning and withdrawing $600 or more, OnlyFans will use the information you provide in your W9 to report such earnings to the IRS by January 31 in the form 1099-NEC.

Additionally, OnlyFans is also bound to send you copy B of the form 1099-NEC, which is specifically for the recipients.

How Do I Get My 1099 from OnlyFans?

Many US-based content creators eligible to receive OnlyFans 1099 form ask the question, “Does OnlyFans send 1099?” Yes, Onlyfans sends you your 1099-NEC at the mailing address that you provided in your W9 after filing it with the IRS.

Therefore, it is important to provide the correct address details on your W9. In case of any change of address from the time you last filled out your W9 form, it is advised to update your OnlyFans W9 with the latest address details.

You can also access the digital version of your OnlyFans 1099 form under the ‘Add Bank’ option in the ‘Banking Section’ of your OnlyFans account.

To give you more clarity about what tax form you get from OnlyFans, let’s have a look at the 1099-NEC form and its components. But before that, it is important to understand how your OnlyFans income gets taxed.

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Do I Have To Pay Tax On OnlyFans Income?

Since you are a self-employed person in the eyes of the IRS, you as an OnlyFans content creator are typically required to file your annual returns and pay estimated tax quarterly.

As per IRS rules, self-employed individuals are generally required to pay both the federal income tax as well as self-employment tax on their earnings.

You must note that self-employment tax is nothing but the Social Security Tax and Medicare Tax for individuals who work for themselves. It is much like the Social Security Tax and the Medicare Tax withheld by the employers from the pay of the majority of the wage earners.

Income tax, on the other hand, is the tax that you pay on your gross income as per the tax brackets set for income tax. Therefore, you must check the federal income tax rates to see if you need to file an income tax return with the IRS and pay income tax.

Likewise, you must pay Self-employment Tax and file 1040-SE if your net earnings from self-employment (excluding the church employee income) are $400 0r more. The SE tax rate on net earnings is 15.3% – 12.4% for Social Security Tax plus 2.9% for Medicare Tax.

The following table gives you the tax forms you must file and the corresponding due dates for filing such forms with the IRS.

If You Are Liable To Pay File Form  Due By
Income Tax 1040 or 1040-SR, and 1040 Schedule C 15th day of the fourth month after the end of the tax year
Self-Employment tax 1040 Schedule SE The same day as Form 1040. In other words, you must file Schedule SE with Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR
Estimated Tax 1040-ES 15th day of the fourth, sixth, and ninth months of the tax year, and the 15th day of the first month after the end of the tax year. 

Remember, Federal income tax is a pay-as-you-go tax. This means that you as a self-employed OnlyFans content creator need to pay income tax as you earn or receive income during the year.

Since there is no employer in your case to withhold the taxes as you are self-employed, you must pay the estimated tax quarterly on the due dates mentioned in the above table. You are required to use Form 1040-ES to pay and figure out your estimated tax.

IRS Form 1099-NEC: How Does it Look?

As mentioned above, Form 1099-NEC will be sent to you by onlyFans at your mailing address as provided in your OnlyFans W9. You can also have access to your 1099 under the banking section of your account.

Remember, OnlyFans is bound to send you form 1099-NEC after it files the same with the IRS.

OnlyFans 1099 Form

As you can see, this is the copy of form 1099-NEC that you will receive from OnlyFans. Box 1 shows your self-employed income. You need to report this self-employed income on Form 1040 Schedule C, as mentioned above.

You’ll also be required to file form 1040-SE, in case your net earnings are $400 or more. Additionally, you’ll file your quarterly estimated income tax returns in form 1040-ES.

Does OnlyFans Count As Self-Employment?

Yes, OnlyFans counts as self-employment. To know why, you need to understand what is OnlyFans and how it works.

OnlyFans is a subscription-based social media platform offering income-generating opportunities to Content Creators just like any other digital platform facilitating gig work like ride-share drivers or food-delivery couriers.

It is an intermediary between content creators (service providers) and fans (consumers) that charges a fee for operating the OnlyFans platform and governs Content Creators’ activities through its Terms of Service.

Content Creators are the users who set up their accounts on OnlyFans to post content like photos, videos, direct messages, and livestream material to be viewed by Fans.

Whereas, Fans are the users who subscribe to or follow the accounts of Content Creators on OnlyFans to view the Creator’s content. Thus, the standard contract between subscribers and creators allows the subscribers to access the content produced by the Creators on OnlyFans.

Thus, OnlyFans brings consumers of content and service providers in one place through a digital platform. The platform facilitates another form of gig work just like any other digital platform that provides an opportunity for people to earn income by providing on-demand services.

If you are a Content Creator on OnlyFans, you are a part of the gig economy. You provide on-demand services in the form of content you create over time on your OnlyFans account.

The content can be accessed by Fans or Subscribers once they subscribe or follow your OnlyFans account. As a Content Creator, you earn money by either charging a subscription fee or providing Pay-Per-View (PPV) content.

Thus, you work as a gig worker for the OnlyFans platform. As a result, you are a self-employed person if you are an OnlyFans Content creator.

So this even answers the question:

Is OnlyFans Considered a Job?

No, OnlyFans is not considered a job. It is considered self-employment. That’s because OnlyFans as the payer has the right to control or direct the result of the work only through the Terms of Service Agreement and not what the Content Creator (self-employed) will do and how he or she will do the work at hand.

As per IRS, an individual is considered self-employed if he or she:

  • Carries on a trade or business as a sole proprietor or an independent contractor.
  • Is a member of a partnership that carries on a trade or business.
  • Is otherwise in business for himself or herself including a part-time business or a gig worker.

This is unlike the employer-employee relationship wherein the employer can control what will be done and how it will be done by the employee. That is, the employer may give ​​the employee freedom of action. However, he or she has the right to control the details of how the services are performed by the employee.

In the case of the employer-employee relationship, it does not matter how the relationship is labeled. That is, whether the employee works full-time or part-time for the employer. What matters is the substance of the relationship. It is the substance that governs the worker’s status and not the label of full-time or part-time.

Thus, OnlyFans is not considered a job. Rather it is considered self-employment.

Is 1099-NEC Subject to Non-Employment?

Yes, Form 1099-NEC is subject to non-employment. An individual or an entity received this Form from the payer because the payer did not consider the individual as an employee and did not withhold income tax or social security and Medicare tax from his paycheck. Rather the payer considered the individual as self-employed.

Note that Form 1099-NEC showcases the total non-employee compensation made to the OnlyFans Creator for the previous tax year and the backup withholding if any.

The Non-Employee compensation of the OnlyFans Content Creator is showcased on Form 1099-NEC only when the Creator earns a minimum income of $600. These are the payments that are made in the course of the OnlyFans Creators’ business and do not include any personal payments.

Since OnlyFans Content Creators are self-employed, they may receive Form 1099-NEC from OnlyFans.

When Does OnlyFans Send Out Tax Forms?

As an OnlyFans Content Creator, you may be wondering when does OnlyFans send 1099?

Well, as OnlyFans Content Creators in the USA, you may receive Form 1099-NEC no later than January 31 of the year following the calendar year in which OnlyFans made payments to them. Provided, you have withdrawn more than USD 600 in the previous tax year.

The 1099-NEC Form will be sent to the Content Creators in the mail to the address on their W-9 form. In case the OnlyFans Creator’s address changes, they need to update their W-9 form with the new address to ensure they receive their tax documents at the new address.

The OnlyFans Content Creators can view and download a digital copy of their Form 1099 from their Banking page in their OnlyFans account.

What Can I Deduct As An OnlyFans Creator?

OnlyFans Content Creators can deduct business expenses that are both ordinary and necessary.

An ordinary expense is common and accepted in a particular industry. Whereas, a necessary expense is the one that is helpful and appropriate for a trade or a business.

Note that an expense does not have to be indispensable to be considered a necessary expense.

Therefore, it is important to distinguish between normal business expenses and expenses towards COGS, personal expenses, and capital expenses.

Therefore, the primary expenses that OnlyFans Content Creators can deduct from their Gross Income include:

  • Business Home Office Use
  • OnlyFans Platform Fees
  • Travel Expenses
  • Insurance: Business and Health
  • Software and Apps Fees
  • Professional Services
  • Phone and Internet Fees
  • Staging Supplies
  • Advertising and Marketing Costs
  • Payment Processing Fees

To understand why OnlyFans Content creators can use these expense write-offs, read our article Top 10 OnlyFans Write-Offs for Online Creators.

What I Can’t Deduct As An OnlyFans Creator?

As mentioned in the previous section, for an expense to be deductible, it has to be both an ordinary expense and a necessary expense.

Therefore, before deciding whether an expense is a deductible expense or not, you must ensure that a business expense meets both the ordinary expense and necessary expense criteria.

Keeping this into consideration, you cannot deduct personal, living, or family expenses from your Gross Income as an OnlyFans Content Creator.

However, if you incur an expense partly for business and partly for personal purposes, then you must divide the total cost between the business expenses and personal expenses and then deduct business expenses from your Gross Income.

Say, for instance, you use part of your home for your OnlyFans business. In such a case, you must deduct expenses for the business use of your home. These expenses may include mortgage interest, insurance, utilities, repairs, and depreciation.

For an expense to qualify as business use of your home for claiming a deduction, it must meet the following criteria:

  • You must use the business part of your home exclusively and regularly for your OnlyFans business.
  • The business part of your home must be:
    • Your principal place of OnlyFans business;
    • A place where you deal with Fans or Subscribers in the normal course of your OnlyFans business; or
    • A separate structure (not attached to your home) is used in connection with your OnlyFans business.

Your home office qualifies as the principal place of your OnlyFans business if:

  • You use the office exclusively and regularly for administrative or management activities of your OnlyFans business.
  • You have no other fixed location where you conduct substantial administrative or management activities of your OnlyFans business.

Likewise, if you use the internet partly for your OnlyFans business and partly for personal use, then you can deduct the charges you pay to your internet service provider (ISP) from your Gross Income ​based on the proportion you use to operate your OnlyFans business.

How To File OnlyFans Taxes?

Since self-employed individuals do not have an employer to withhold income from their pay, it is their duty to pay taxes on the income they generate in the normal course of their business. As per IRS, self-employed individuals are required to pay Self-Employment (SE) tax as well as Income Tax.

a. Self-Employment Tax

SE tax is a Social Security and Medicare tax for individuals who work for themselves. This is similar to the Social Security and Medicare taxes that employers withhold from the pay of their employees. Note that “self-employment tax” only refers to Social Security and Medicare taxes and does not include any other tax like income tax. To calculate self-employment tax, OnlyFans Content Creators can use Schedule SE of Form 1040.

Schedule SE of Form 1040 is the one that OnlyFans Content creators use to determine the SE tax due on their net earnings from OnlyFans as self-employed.

Note that the Social Security Administration uses the information from Schedule SE to figure out the Creator’s benefits under the social security program. Also, the OnlyFans Content Creators must pay SE tax if their net earnings from OnlyFans was $400 or more.

The self-employment tax rate is 15.3% – 12.4% for social security including old-age, survivors, and disability insurance, and 2.9% for Medicare including hospital insurance.

b. Federal Income Tax

Since OnlyFans Content Creators are self-employed individuals, they must declare their net annual earnings from OnlyFans on a Schedule C of Form 1040. Further, they must declare their personal income in Form 1040.

After completing both Forms, they must submit the same to the IRS to file their annual tax return. Note that Form 1040 reports the personal income, while Schedule C records the business income of OnlyFans Content Creators.

Also, the federal income tax bracket and the amount of income tax OnyFans Content Creators owe will depend upon their combined income from both Form 1040 and Schedule C. OnlyFans Content Creators can use the information on Form 1099-NEC that they received from OnlyFans in order to accurately calculate the tax they owe on Schedule C of Form 1040.

c. Estimated Tax

Now, besides filing the annual tax returns, the OnlyFans Content Creators must also file Estimated Tax Returns every quarter in form 1040-ES. Since the US Tax System works on a pay-as-you-go basis, the OnlyFans content Creators must pay at least 90% of their taxes as they earn or receive the income through estimated tax payments. If they fail to do so, they may owe an estimated tax penalty when they file.

Estimated tax is a method used to pay tax on income that is not subject to withholding like earnings from self-employment, interest, dividends, rents, alimony, etc. Since OnlyFans Content Creators are self-employed, they need to make estimated tax payments. They must make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe tax of $1,000 or more when their return is filed.

To determine the estimated tax, the OnlyFans Content Creators must use Form 1040-ES.

How To Avoid Tax On OnlyFans?

There is no way you can avoid tax on OnlyFans. If you are a Content Creator on OnlyFans in the United States, you have to pay tax on the income you earn through OnlyFans.

The income that you may earn on the OnlyFans platform may be in the form of subscriptions, pay-per-views, tips, and donations. Therefore, you must add all the money you earn to determine the amount of tax you owe as an OnlyFans Content creator.

Though, you can claim deductions for the expenses you incur to run your OnlyFans business. As mentioned earlier, OnlyFans Content Creators can deduct business expenses that are both ordinary and necessary. And there are a host of expenses that Creators can deduct from their Gross Income and avoid paying more taxes.

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