Patreon taxes

[Freade]

Hi, im trying to understand how the earnings work in patreon. Does patreon give receipts? Do i have to show the receipt when im doing my taxes and do you know what information it has? And how does it work, do they know specifically what content im doing or they just know that patreon is paying me?
Because i dont really want them to know what i do for my extra income.
Thanks for the help
Ps: not from the US

 

[anne O'nymous]

And how does it work, do they know specifically what content im doing or they just know that patreon is paying me?

I'm don't use Patreon as creator, so don't take this as granted, but from what I understood:

They'll help you fill your taxes, accordingly to your country of residence (verify that they effectively handle your country, they probably don't cover the 191), and at most the information will be that you earned X during the period covered by the taxes, but no information regarding how you earned them. I don't know all the taxes policy all around the world, but so far I never heard about one that include a "how do you earned this" field on their forms.


This being said :

Because i dont really want them to know what i do for my extra income.

You understand that you own to the equivalent of IRS on your country a full transparency, right ?

By default, therefore when you're filling your taxes form, you don't have to tell them how you got this money. But if for some reason they decide to control you, they'll surely ask you the origin of this money, and what you did exactly to earn it. And then, you'll have to tell them that you are making an adult game.

 

[Freade]

I'm don't use Patreon as creator, so don't take this as granted, but from what I understood:

They'll help you fill your taxes, accordingly to your country of residence (verify that they effectively handle your country, they probably don't cover the 191), and at most the information will be that you earned X during the period covered by the taxes, but no information regarding how you earned them. I don't know all the taxes policy all around the world, but so far I never heard about one that include a "how do you earned this" field on their forms.


This being said :


You understand that you own to the equivalent of IRS on your country a full transparency, right ?

By default, therefore when you're filling your taxes form, you don't have to tell them how you got this money. But if for some reason they decide to control you, they'll surely ask you the origin of this money, and what you did exactly to earn it. And then, you'll have to tell them that you are making an adult game.

Yeah i do understand. But in some way i dont feel confortable with that. I know we have to tell the truth and im not even thinking of lying but it feels kinda embarasing.
For example The creator DarkCookie doesnt have anything in is patreon that says that he is doing an adult game, i dont even think you have to be +18 to enter that, just the people who play the game knows. i know that if they wanna know they wil know but will they "waste" that much time just to find out exactly what i do?
Thanks for the help

 

[moskyx]

Yeah i do understand. But in some way i dont feel confortable with that. I know we have to tell the truth and im not even thinking of lying but it feels kinda embarasing.
For example The creator DarkCookie doesnt have anything in is patreon that says that he is doing an adult game, i dont even think you have to be +18 to enter that, just the people who play the game knows. i know that if they wanna know they wil know but will they "waste" that much time just to find out exactly what i do?
Thanks for the help

For starters, due to their own policies and ToS, when you create your Patreon account you must indicate you're creating +18 content. If you fail to do that you can be deplatformed as you were lying to Patreon about your creations, so don't do that. (BTW, DarkCookie's patreon is rightly labeled as +18 and you're asked to verify your age when you try to enter it without being logged, as it should be).

That said, I don't know how a Patreon's receipt looks like, but it will probably link somewhere your real ID to your Patreon's account. This could be easily confirmed just by asking some active dev. Does it mean your tax agency can snoop around to find out what are you offering in Patreon? No... unless you're under investigation. So yeah, they could eventually find out, but anyway they don't know you personally and no one is going to use that info against you - at least, not in a decent country with a non-totalitarian regime, so probably there's no need to feel ashamed. Now, if you still fear this info could be unveiled in the context of a legal process because you somehow broke some taxing rule, thus causing you some personal problems, then yeah, your fears are justified. It will happen.

Then, the tax part. You really should look for blogs or forums specialized in your country's tax system and ask there. I'm sure there are a quite a few, as taxes are one of the hottest topics in the net. I know in some countries you just need to say how much money you earned from this 'extra' activities and not what those activities actually are, but usually this changes depending on the amount (sometimes if you earn more than a certain hard limit you must be registered as a profesional even though it's not your main activity, sometimes when those incomes reach a certain % of your total income you need to provide some extra information about them...). As I said, ask in a specialized forum in your own country, you'll surely get better info than here.

 

[Freade]

For starters, due to their own policies and ToS, when you create your Patreon account you must indicate you're creating +18 content. If you fail to do that you can be deplatformed as you were lying to Patreon about your creations, so don't do that. (BTW, DarkCookie's patreon is rightly labeled as +18 and you're asked to verify your age when you try to enter it without being logged, as it should be).

That said, I don't know how a Patreon's receipt looks like, but it will probably link somewhere your real ID to your Patreon's account. This could be easily confirmed just by asking some active dev. Does it mean your tax agency can snoop around to find out what are you offering in Patreon? No... unless you're under investigation. So yeah, they could eventually find out, but anyway they don't know you personally and no one is going to use that info against you - at least, not in a decent country with a non-totalitarian regime, so probably there's no need to feel ashamed. Now, if you still fear this info could be unveiled in the context of a legal process because you somehow broke some taxing rule, thus causing you some personal problems, then yeah, your fears are justified. It will happen.

Then, the tax part. You really should look for blogs or forums specialized in your country's tax system and ask there. I'm sure there are a quite a few, as taxes are one of the hottest topics in the net. I know in some countries you just need to say how much money you earned from this 'extra' activities and not what those activities actually are, but usually this changes depending on the amount (sometimes if you earn more than a certain hard limit you must be registered as a profesional even though it's not your main activity, sometimes when those incomes reach a certain % of your total income you need to provide some extra information about them...). As I said, ask in a specialized forum in your own country, you'll surely get better info than here.

Thanks for your answer!
You are completely right about the +18. Im sry for my mistake since i saw it when i was logged in my account and it didnt show that.. yeah im gonna put +18 of course..
I didnt break any tax rules and i do not intend to im just worried its just not really something i want people to know.

 

[moskyx]

Thanks for your answer!
You are completely right about the +18. Im sry for my mistake since i saw it when i was logged in my account and it didnt show that.. yeah im gonna put +18 of course..
I didnt break any tax rules and i do not intend to im just worried its just not really something i want people to know.

Any modern tax office just cross-reference data: Patreon will tell them you earned X and they'll just check if you included that X in your tax form. If everything is right nobody is going to dig in more, usually there are laws about data protection that prevent tax officers from snooping around unless they are carrying an investigation (also, they have tons of work so there isn't any valid reason to take a break and look up what are you especifically doing in Patreon, chances are they won't even get to know you are actually earning money from Patreon as the system will just tell them everything is OK). But again, what would be the problem, if those people knowing you are making a lewd game don't actually know who you are? If this is such an issue for you, maybe you should just forget about all of this, that's just not a healthy mindset

 

[Freade]

Any modern tax office just cross-reference data: Patreon will tell them you earned X and they'll just check if you included that X in your tax form. If everything is right nobody is going to dig in more, usually there are laws about data protection that prevent tax officers from snooping around unless they are carrying an investigation (also, they have tons of work so there isn't any valid reason to take a break and look up what are you especifically doing in Patreon, chances are they won't even get to know you are actually earning money from Patreon as the system will just tell them everything is OK). But again, what would be the problem, if those people knowing you are making a lewd game don't actually know who you are? If this is such an issue for you, maybe you should just forget about all of this, that's just not a healthy mindset

Yeah you are right about all of this. Thanks so much for the help. Helped a lot

 

[-HND]

Very useful. Thanks

 

[GNVE]

Something tax related that is important when deciding to use Patreon or the like over Pay-Pal for instance is VAT and Sales Tax. In the EU you need to collect VAT at the percentage that the country where the customer lives taxes. (Which can vary wildly per country and depending on the nature of the services) It does not matter whether you yourself reside in the EU. Same goes for US States Sales Taxes.
Now as a small creator that is not a problem as you are most likely exempt. If you start to grow however it becomes a major pain in the backside quickly. Patreon and it's competition take away those issues as they are responsible for VAT/Sales Tax and since you are buying a B2B service you can circumvent the hassle as VAT is only added at the end when a service or product reaches the consumer. (It's more complicated obviously but it boils down to the above).

 

[foiphoto]

I’m happy to help clarify how earnings and receipts work on Patreon!

Earnings on Patreon:
Patreon allows creators to earn income from their supporters, called patrons, who subscribe to various membership tiers in exchange for exclusive content and perks. Here’s a breakdown of how it works:

1. Monthly Payouts: Patreon collects payments from your patrons at the beginning of each month and then disburses the funds to you after processing fees and Patreon’s commission.
2. Payout Methods: You can choose to receive your earnings via direct deposit, PayPal, or other available methods depending on your country.

Receipts and Taxes:

1. Receipts: Yes, Patreon provides receipts. Both you and your patrons will receive receipts for the transactions. These can be accessed in your Patreon account under the ‘Billing History’ for patrons and ‘Earnings’ for creators.
2. Tax Documentation: You will need to report your Patreon earnings on your tax return. While the specifics vary by country, it’s generally recommended to keep all your receipts and financial records organized for tax purposes.
3. Privacy of Content: Patreon does not provide detailed information about your specific content to tax authorities. They only report your earnings. For privacy, Patreon does not disclose the nature of your content; they simply report it as income from Patreon.

Information Included in Receipts:

• Date of Transaction: When the payment was made.
• Amount: How much was paid or received.
• Service Description: Usually a general description like "Patreon subscription" or "Membership fee."

Handling Tax Concerns:

• Consult a Tax Professional: Since you mentioned you’re not in the US, tax laws can vary significantly by country. It’s best to consult with a local tax professional who can provide specific advice tailored to your situation.
• Documentation: Keep your Patreon receipts and records as part of your financial documentation for the tax year.