Are you making money through your blog?
Well, as a self-employed person, you need to pay taxes.
Don’t fret! Blogger taxes aren’t complicated.
They’re calculated based on the income you make from your blog.
Do you want to find out more? You’ve come to the right place!
In today’s article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about blogger taxes, what to know, and what to avoid. Let’s dive in.
- How Do Bloggers Get Paid?
- Do You Have to Pay Taxes as a Blogger?
- How Are Bloggers Taxed?
- How to Calculate Taxes From Blog Income
- Tax Deductions for Bloggers
- Do I Need to Register My Blog as a Business?
- What Legal Documents Do I Need for a Blog?
- How to File Taxes as a Content Creator or Blogger
- Our Suggestion: Talk to a Tax Professional
- Wrapping Up
How Do Bloggers Get Paid?
Bloggers get paid in various ways.
The most common way is through Ad revenue.
Affiliate marketing and monetization are other ways that bloggers get paid.
Bloggers also make money through sponsored posts and paid partnerships.
Additionally, bloggers can sell products or services on their blogs and gain profit.
Do You Have to Pay Taxes as a Blogger?
Every blogger who makes money from their blog is mandated by the IRS to pay taxes, just like any brick-and-mortar store.
So, if you gain any profit from your blog, you need to pay taxes and file annual tax returns.
Otherwise, you’ll face many problems, including financial penalties on your business.
Nobody wants that, right?
How Are Bloggers Taxed?
The taxes bloggers pay are calculated according to the amount of money they earn through all profitable methods on their blog.
Furthermore, bloggers who get paid more than $600 are taxed through the 1099-NEC tax form.
On the other hand, bloggers who make less than $600 get the IRS form 1040 income tax.
Also, bloggers need to pay taxes for any product they review on their blog, excluding products that value at less than $100.
1. Self-Employment Tax
As a blogger, you need to pay self-employment tax (SE tax).
The SE tax consists of your Social Security and Medicare taxes.
It’s similar to the normal Social Security and Medicare taxes that get deducted from wage earners.
2. Estimated Tax
Since bloggers don’t receive a standard income, their taxes are only estimates.
Additionally, bloggers need to pay a percentage of their income as quarterly estimated taxes.
3. Sales Tax
You need to pay sales tax only if you’re selling products on your blog.
Sales tax is just a small percentage of the product sales that happen through your blog.
However, this applies to taxable items only, as sales tax is a consumption tax.
4. Income Tax
All income-earning citizens, including bloggers, need to pay income tax.
The income tax amount depends on the federal tax rate, and it can increase as your salary grows.
How to Calculate Taxes From Blog Income
According to the IRS 1040 and 1040-SR, you’ll need to file an income tax return if your total earnings are more than $400 or if you meet any of the other filing requirements.
As a blogger, you need to pay tax on the income you earn, while excluding any deductibles and write-offs.
After calculating your net income by subtracting deductibles from your earnings, you can then determine which tax bracket you fall in to calculate how much you should pay for taxes.
Tax Deductions for Bloggers
The tax deduction is simply the business expenses that have the potential to be deducted from your taxes.
That’s why you need to keep track of all your expenses when running a blog.
What Are Tax Deductions?
Tax deductions are items or expenses that you can remove from your taxable income.
This can substantially lower your taxes.
This includes any charitable contributions and casual losses such as theft.
There are also many special cases such as student loan interests, mortgage interests, contributions to the retirement account 401 (K), and any investment losses.
Additionally, you can get a tax cut if you’re married, head of the household, or widowed.
What Can Bloggers Write Off?
Many expenses go into a business.
As bloggers are self-employed, they can deduct the costs of items and services that are necessary for their business.
Additionally, if you work from home or have a home office, you can also write off a portion of your rent or mortgage as well as utilities.
Here are some items you can write off as a blogger:
- Electronic devices such as laptops, cameras, or mobile phones
- Office supplies
- Travel expenses
- Domain hosting fees
- Digital advertising
- Editing software and email services
What Expenses Can’t Bloggers Write Off?
Tax deductions can be a little complicated for bloggers.
That’s because you can’t write off anything that doubles for personal use.
That means if you use your laptop for work and personal reasons, you can write it off.
Additionally, the IRS has regulations about what constitutes a home office, so you can’t deduct the small corner of your bedroom.
Do I Need to Register My Blog as a Business?
You’re not obligated to register your blog as a business, even if you’re treating your blog as a business.
No law necessitates registering your blog as a business.
Do Bloggers Need an LLC?
LLCs are a good way to save some money on taxes and protect your assets.
Typically, bloggers should consider an LLC when the LLC operating cost is close to the proprietorship.
In this case, LLC is likely to reduce your running costs.
The tax structure of an LLC is more flexible, and you’ll be protecting your savings with limited liability protection.
Additionally, this can increase your business’s credibility.
What Legal Documents Do I Need for a Blog?
Every blogger needs to have three legal documents:
- Privacy Policy
- Disclaimer Policy
- Terms and Conditions
Additionally, if your blog includes affiliate marketing monetization, you’ll need to include an Affiliate Disclosure.
Do Bloggers Need Insurance?
It’s always better to be safe than to be sorry.
Additionally, it depends on how big your blog is.
To put it simply, as your blog grows, the risks increase.
Many things can go wrong in the blogging business.
Having an insurance strategy that makes sense for your business is always a good option.
So, depending on the risks you’re facing and how much your blog is growing, you can decide whether you need insurance or not.
How to File Taxes as a Content Creator or Blogger
Are you ready to file taxes for your blog?
Here are the steps you should take:
1. Determine Your Taxable Income
The first step you need to do is to calculate your income in detail.
Then, you’ll need to write off any business expenses and deductibles to determine your taxes.
2. Get the Appropriate Forms for Your Entity
The next step would be acquiring all the forms and filling them out.
First, you’ll need to have a clear idea of what your blog is.
If you’re the sole proprietor of your blog, you’ll need to fill out a Schedule C form or a Schedule C-EZ, whether or not you have an LLC.
However, if your blog is a partnership, you’ll need to fill out Form 1065.
3. File Your Taxes
Filing your blogger taxes depends on which legal entity you operate your blog under, which includes:
Our Suggestion: Talk to a Tax Professional
You have to remember that you’re responsible for your taxes, from calculating your income to the proper filing.
So, any small mistake can count as tax evasion.
To avoid having any legal trouble, you should consult a tax professional.
After all, they’ll have the most accurate information to help you out with blogger taxes.
Wrapping Up
To sum things up, any blogger who makes money from their blog is mandated to pay taxes.
You’ll need to pay self-employment taxes, income taxes, and estimated taxes.
Finally, blogger taxes aren’t complicated.
If you’re having trouble with your taxes, it’s best if you talk to a tax professional.
If you still have any questions regarding our topic, feel free to leave them in the comments section.
