You probably won't get a 1099 this year
The threshold moved. Your obligation didn't. What changed for the 2026 tax year.
AdSense, subs, tips, affiliate, brand deals, and a box of product someone sent you. It's all income, it all lands on one return, and neither the platforms nor the agencies will reconcile it for you.
Get started — from $19/mo No credit card required · Cancel anytimePlatforms take their cut before the deposit lands, but the income you report is generally the gross amount before that cut — with the fee deducted separately as an expense. Report only the deposit and you understate both sides.
Creator income is self-employment income. The 15.3% comes off the top, income tax stacks on it, and it's due four times a year regardless of whether the algorithm cooperated.
The gear, the room, the software, the people. Creators routinely deduct the camera and forget the eight other line items that make the camera useful.
Cameras, lenses, lighting, audio, capture cards, and the computer that edits it all.
Editing suites, stock and music licensing, thumbnails, scheduling, analytics, cloud storage.
The square footage used regularly and exclusively for production.
Editors, thumbnail designers, moderators, VAs — and the 1099s you may owe them.
Anything consumed making the content, including product you buy to review.
Shoots, conferences, collabs, and creator events with a documented business purpose.
The cut taken before your deposit is still a deductible expense.
The business-use share of the connection the whole operation runs on.
The cut taken off the top of a brand deal is a deductible business expense.
Legal fees for reviewing deliverable scope and licensing terms.
Clothing suitable for everyday wear generally doesn't qualify, even if you only wore it on camera.
The rules changed for 2026. The 1099-NEC threshold moved from $600 to $2,000, and the 1099-K threshold went back to $20,000 and more than 200 transactions.
Two thresholds moved at once. The 1099-K is back at $20,000 and 200 transactions, so most platform payouts now generate no form. And with the 1099-NEC threshold at $2,000, a brand that pays you $1,800 has no filing obligation either. Many creators will document a five-figure year entirely on their own books.
The rule that didn't move: all income is reportable whether or not a platform sends you a form. If your books are the only record, your books had better be right.
Here's what the year looks like when someone else holds the calendar.
Prepared by licensed CPAs and EAs who handle creators & influencers constantly — not a seasonal preparer meeting your situation for the first time.
Your return comes out of reconciled monthly records, so nothing is reconstructed from memory in March.
On the Professional plan, a CPA reviews the return before it is filed.
Included on the Professional plan, so a notice is a phone call rather than a crisis.
Tax Hotline access on every plan. Ask before you sign the deal, buy the equipment, or take the write-off.
Keeps your records clean and current so you always know where you stand.
Builds the year-round strategy that shrinks the bill through planning, not scrambling.
Files accurately and on time, claiming every deduction you have earned.
Keeps everything on track and nudges you when we need something.
We handle the tax side of whatever they pay you.
The threshold moved. Your obligation didn't. What changed for the 2026 tax year.
Gifted product sent in exchange for coverage generally is. How to value and track it.
Regular and exclusive use is a real standard. What qualifies and what quietly doesn't.