This Tax Day, Content Creators Are Finally Getting the Financial Support They Deserve
When the world shut down in 2020, I was working full-time and quarantining in my tiny San Fernando Valley studio apartment, just trying to find something comforting and creative to ease the stress of the pandemic. Enter: Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Like so many others, I picked it up as a form of escapism as it gave me calm, control, and something to look forward to after work. What started as a personal escape eventually turned into filming island tours and uploading cozy gaming content to YouTube as a hobby.
At first, it was just a creative outlet to manage my anxiety, not a business plan. But the content resonated, and my channel grew. Fast. Brand deals, affiliate links, AdSense… every time I figured one thing out, five new opportunities (and questions) popped up.
I remember the first time I Googled “how to pay taxes as a creator” and ended up in a weird spiral of Reddit threads, influencer horror stories, and TurboTax articles that weren’t built for people like us. That’s when I realized something: creators aren’t just building audiences, they’re building businesses. But no one’s giving them the playbook.
That’s actually how I met Nate, the founder of Cookie Finance. I was looking for someone who got it: who understood the mess of brand deals, platform income, and all the weird little gray areas that come with making money online (not to mention, I still had my “normal” W2 job to deal with as well). I became one of Cookie Finance’s first clients, and immediately knew this company was different. No judgment, no confusion. Just clear, thoughtful advice from someone who truly understood what it meant to be a creator and a business owner.
That experience stuck with me. Now, full circle, I work with Cookie Finance full time because I believe in what we’re building, and I know firsthand how badly it’s needed.
That’s exactly why Cookie Finance exists. We work exclusively with creators because creators need something different.
Content Creators Are Running Businesses Whether They Realize It or Not
Today’s content creators are juggling 5 to 10 income streams at any given time: AdSense, brand deals, affiliate marketing, platform subscriptions, digital products, you name it. But most are also a one-person show from filming, editing, planning, responding to DMs, booking their own partnerships, and trying to keep it all afloat.
The operational side of things? It’s overwhelming, especially when it comes to taxes.
Most creators wait until March or April to even think about it, and by then, it’s too late to plan. We’ve seen so many creators hit with five-figure tax bills they didn’t expect, simply because no one told them how quarterly taxes work or what they should be writing off.
Was that trip to New York a brand opportunity or a vacation? Can you write off your home studio, camera gear, or the ingredients you bought for your latest sponsored recipe? What about Twitch subs or the Nintendo game you played on stream?
The answer is: yes, but most accountants wouldn’t say so.
Traditional Accountants Just Don’t Get It
We’ve talked to so many creators who’ve tried using a local CPA or DIY software and ended up more confused than when they started. The reality is that most traditional accountants don’t understand the creator economy. They don’t know what affiliate revenue looks like, how to classify income from platforms like Patreon, or what the difference is between a gifted product and a paid partnership.
We do. Because we’ve lived it, we’ve built around it, and we work in it every day.
Cookie Finance Was Built for This
We make the financial side of being a creator make sense. We’re here to handle the taxes, the bookkeeping, the messy spreadsheets, and the stuff that makes your eyes glaze over. And we do it without condescending or overcomplicating anything.
No one’s expected to understand how to read a P&L, although we LOVE educating and helping creators gain financial literacy. We’ll just tell you what you made, what you spent, and what you owe. No jargon, no lectures, just clarity.
And it’s not just about staying on the IRS’s good side. It’s about creating peace of mind and a real foundation to grow from.
We help creators choose the right business structure (LLC or S Corp), set up good systems, make strategic write-offs, and feel confident when tax season rolls around. Whether you’re earning $70k or scaling past seven or eight figures, you deserve tools and advice that actually apply to your world.
Why This Matters Now More Than Ever
The IRS is paying attention to the creator economy. Platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Patreon, and even TikTok Shop are required to issue 1099s once you earn $600 in a year, and whether you’re ready for it or not, that income is being reported directly to the IRS. This means even if you’re just getting started or your content is a “side hustle,” the IRS still expects you to file and report that income properly.
Creators who don’t understand this are at risk of massive penalties, overpaying in taxes, or missing thousands of dollars in deductions. We’ve seen it happen. And it’s usually not because they’re being careless, it’s because no one ever taught them what to do.
The Next Generation of Creators Will Be Financially Savvy
Creators are becoming entrepreneurs in every sense of the word. They’re hiring teams, launching product lines, working with agencies, and raising capital. But if the finances aren’t handled, it can all fall apart.
The next era of the creator economy won’t just be about who makes the best content … it’ll be about who runs the most sustainable business. That starts with getting your financial systems in place before you go viral.
So here’s my advice: don’t wait until tax season to think about taxes. If you’re earning money from your content, you’re already running a business. Make sure your finances reflect that. And if the tools you’re using weren’t made for creators, it might be time to find something that was.
By: Katie Callaway, VP of Sales & Marketing at Cookie Finance
