Do you need to/is it beneficial to register a business if making money on YT?

Uncivilized Elk

Uncivilized Elk

I Love YTtalk
So I recently started making enough money that the realization struck me - I have to do taxes for all that YT stuff for the 2016 year!

The follow-up realization is I don't know much about it, and while I've been doing research, the question this thread asks is one I haven't found a good answer to yet. I live in the USA for reference.

Do you need to register a business if you're planning to make a good chunk of your earnings (or hell, most of them if you're that lucky) from YT?
1.) Is it mandatory?
2.) If it is not mandatory, is it still recommended, and if so, why?

Thanks, I'd just really like to get this cleared up. I'm not even clear on the concept of when you are mandated to legally get a business license to avoid penalties in a general sense since I've never had to research it. Does YT even apply toward all that stuff or is it a whole separate thing?

The gist I'm getting from the research I did is that with website-type stuff, you can typically be considered a sole proprietorship without filing a single thing, as long as you do your taxes you're good, as you're operating your work at a "personal" level.
Is that correct?
 
Last edited:
Uncivilized Elk said:
So I recently started making enough money that the realization struck me - I have to do taxes for all that YT stuff for the 2016 year!

The follow-up realization is I don't know much about it, and while I've been doing research, the question this thread asks is one I haven't found a good answer to yet. I live in the USA for reference.

Do you need to register a business if you're planning to make a good chunk of your earnings (or hell, most of them if you're that lucky) from YT?
1.) Is it mandatory?
2.) If it is not mandatory, is it still recommended, and if so, why?

Thanks, I'd just really like to get this cleared up. I'm not even clear on the concept of when you are mandated to legally get a business license to avoid penalties in a general sense since I've never had to research it. Does YT even apply toward all that stuff or is it a whole separate thing?

The gist I'm getting from the research I did is that with website-type stuff, you can typically be considered a sole proprietorship without filing a single thing, as long as you do your taxes you're good, as you're operating your work at a "personal" level.
Is that correct?
Click to expand...
I filed last year as a business because H & R Block told me I should. I got taxed 25% on my online earnings, then the remaining earnings got taxed again from my total annual earnings. So basically I lost almost half of my online income to the IRS! I have been talking to other people and somebody else told me they make a living off of YouTube and they did a lot of research on this. She said to file it as "other income" and you won't be taxed twice on it. I think I'm going with that this year.
 
If you make enough to have $1000 taxed from your YT earnings, you also have to provide estimated taxes quarterly, and if you don't and just pay all at once at the end of the year, apparently the IRS can fine you for that.

So keep that in mind if you're planning to pull in enough moolah to get taxed more than $1000. I guess it never hurts to make the payments just in case anyway, as you're supposed to get a refund if you overpay.
Now I'm not 100% clear on if that $1000 in taxes is solely the federal tax portion independent of everything else, but I think it is.

And as far as state quarterly earnings... ugh, haven't even bothered to look it up. It obviously varies state to state so the answer can be anything in regards to what you have to do for estimated state taxes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top