By Forbes & Company — CPAs and financial advisors for social media influencers and content creators in Alpharetta, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; and across the United States.
If you create content for a living, you know no two months look alike, and that unpredictability makes taxes trickier than they are for someone with a single W-2. The good news is that the last few months of the year give you a real window to get organized, lower your tax bill and set up next year for fewer surprises.
At Forbes & Company, we work with social media influencers and entertainers from our offices in Alpharetta, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, and we serve creators all across the United States. Here’s the year-end game plan we walk our clients through.
Step 1: Track every source of income, including the ones you didn’t deposit
Income tracking is the first challenge for most creators because the money comes in from so many directions, including:
- Platform payouts from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitch and similar programs
- Brand deals and sponsored content
- Affiliate commissions from links and discount codes
- Merch sales through your own store or a print-on-demand partner
- Tips and subscriptions from fans on Patreon, Substack, Twitch, OnlyFans or platform features
- Free products and comped trips that brands send in exchange for content
Are free products taxable for influencers?
Yes, in most cases. When a brand sends you products, hotel stays, meals or trips as payment for posting about them, the IRS generally treats that as taxable income at its fair market value. It doesn’t matter that no cash changed hands, because you were paid in goods instead of dollars.
This is one of the most common blind spots we see, and even creators who know the rule usually have no record of what they received. Packages sent with no strings attached can be more of a gray area, so it’s worth asking your CPA how to handle them.
Reconcile your 1099s against your actual deposits
Year-end is the time to pull together every Form 1099-NEC and 1099-K you expect to receive and compare them against what actually hit your bank account. Brands, agencies and platforms don’t always report accurately, and a mismatch can trigger an IRS notice if you don’t catch it before you file.
It’s also important to know that you may not get a 1099 at all. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the Form 1099-K reporting threshold went back to $20,000 and 200 transactions, so many creators who earn through payment apps and platforms won’t receive one. Starting in 2026, businesses also only have to send a 1099-NEC once they’ve paid you $2,000 or more during the year. Here’s the part that matters most: the income is still taxable whether or not you receive a form. The IRS expects you to report every dollar, so your own records need to be the source of truth.
Build an in-kind income log
If you don’t already have one, start a simple spreadsheet for non-cash income. For each item, record:
- The date you received it
- The brand or sender
- A description of the product or experience
- Its fair market value (retail price is usually a reasonable starting point)
- What content you created in return, with a link to the post
Digging through this year’s emails, DMs and contracts is tedious, but it’s far easier now than in April.
Step 2: Document your deductions while the details are still fresh
Much of what influencers spend is both business and personal, which is exactly why the IRS looks closely at creator deductions and why clear documentation matters so much.
Can influencers deduct clothing?
Usually not. Clothing is generally not deductible if it’s suitable for everyday wear, even if it only ever appears on camera. Costumes and highly specialized wardrobe pieces are more likely to qualify.
Is travel deductible for content creators?
Travel is deductible only in proportion to its business purpose. If you take a five-day trip and spend three days filming, attending a brand event or meeting with partners, that business share may be deductible while the vacation days aren’t. The key is being able to show what you did each day, which is why a quick log of filming days, meetings and posts tied to each trip is so valuable.
What qualifies as a home studio or home office deduction?
Home studios and home offices have to meet the regular and exclusive use test. That means the space is used consistently for your business and for nothing else. A spare room set up full time as your studio can qualify, but a corner of the living room where you also watch TV with your family won’t.
Year-end is the time to write down the business purpose
For each mixed-use expense, add a short note explaining its business purpose. Something like “Airfare to Nashville for sponsored shoot with [brand], see contract and posts dated 10/14 to 10/16” is exactly the kind of record that holds up.
Should you buy new equipment before December 31?
If you’ve been planning to upgrade your camera, lighting, microphones or computer, the timing of that purchase matters. Bonus depreciation and Section 179 let you deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment in the year you buy it rather than spreading the deduction over several years, and OBBBA made 100% bonus depreciation permanent for qualifying property. To count for this year, though, the equipment needs to be purchased and placed in service (set up and ready to use) by December 31, so an order that arrives in January won’t help.
Buying gear only for the write-off rarely makes sense, but if you need it anyway, the deduction is worth more in a high-income year.
Step 3: Revisit your business structure once your income stabilizes
Most creators start out as sole proprietors, but structure matters more as income grows, especially because influencer income tends to spike and crash.
When should an influencer consider an S corporation?
A creator whose profit has grown past roughly $60,000 to $80,000 a year might consider an S corporation election. As a sole proprietor, you pay self-employment tax (about 15.3%) on nearly all of your net profit. With an S corp, you pay yourself a reasonable salary through payroll, and only that salary is subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes. The remaining profit can be taken as distributions that aren’t subject to self-employment tax, which can add up to meaningful savings.
An S corp does mean running payroll, filing a separate business return and paying yourself a reasonable salary, so we look for consistently strong profit rather than one big year. If the timing is right, an election to be taxed as an S corp starting January 1 is generally due by March 15, so year-end is the perfect time to have that conversation.
Step 4: Watch for the QBI wrinkle on endorsement income
The Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction lets many business owners deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income, and OBBBA made it permanent. Most influencer businesses qualify, but the regulations include a surprising wrinkle that affects creators directly.
Certain types of income are treated as coming from a specified service trade or business (SSTB), including:
- Endorsement income for promoting products or services
- Fees for licensing your name, image or likeness
- Appearance fees for showing up at events
SSTB income loses the QBI deduction once your taxable income rises above certain levels, which adjust for inflation each year. Ordinary content revenue, like ad share from your videos, often isn’t treated the same way. That’s why separating endorsement and licensing income from your general content revenue, both in your bookkeeping and possibly in how your business is organized, can protect more of your deduction as you grow.
Step 5: Consider family payroll and check your sales tax
Can influencers pay their children?
Yes, and when it’s done correctly, it’s a legitimate way to shift income into a lower tax bracket. If your kids do real work for your business, such as appearing in content, editing video, managing comments or packing merch orders, you can pay them reasonable wages for that work. Their earnings may be largely covered by their own standard deduction, and if your business is a sole proprietorship owned by you (or you and your spouse), wages paid to children under 18 generally aren’t subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes. Earned income also allows a child to contribute to a Roth IRA, which can be a great head start.
This strategy does draw IRS scrutiny, so careful documentation is essential. Keep timesheets or logs of the work performed, pay a rate that matches what you’d pay someone else for the same job, transfer the wages into an account in your child’s name and issue a proper W-2. Keep in mind that the payroll tax exemption doesn’t apply if you pay your kids through an S corporation, which is one more reason to plan these moves together.
Do influencers need to collect sales tax on merch?
If you sell merchandise, you need to check your state sales tax obligations, and possibly those of other states too. Many states require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax once their sales pass a certain dollar amount or number of transactions in that state. Some marketplaces collect and remit sales tax for you, while your own online store may not, so review where your customers are and what your platforms handle before assuming you’re covered.
Your influencer year-end tax checklist
Before December 31, try to work through the following:
- Gather every 1099-NEC and 1099-K you expect and reconcile them against your deposits
- Build or update your in-kind income log for free products and comped trips
- Document the business purpose for travel, wardrobe and home studio expenses
- Decide whether to buy and set up cameras, lighting or computers before year-end
- Review whether an S corporation election makes sense for next year
- Separate endorsement, licensing and appearance income from other content revenue
- Set up payroll records if you plan to pay your children
- Confirm your sales tax obligations for merch in every state where you sell
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Frequently asked questions
Do I have to report influencer income if I didn’t get a 1099? Yes. All income is taxable whether or not you receive a Form 1099-NEC or 1099-K, and the higher reporting thresholds mean many creators won’t receive one.
How do I value free products for taxes? Use the fair market value, which is generally what the item would sell for at retail. Record it in an in-kind income log along with the content you created in exchange.
At what income should an influencer become an S corp? Many creators start considering an S corporation election once their profit is consistently above roughly $60,000 to $80,000 a year, though the right answer depends on your full financial picture.
Let Forbes & Company help you plan
Forbes & Company is a family-owned accounting firm that’s been client-focused since 1997, and we love helping social media influencers and entertainers make sense of their taxes so they can get back to creating. Whether you’re in the greater Atlanta area, the Charleston area or anywhere across the United States, we’d be glad to help you finish this year strong and plan with confidence for the next one.