canadian taxes (MFC and CB model + Patreon)

[thr33]

GST/HST & self employed/independent contractor


I have been self-employed for the last 3 years almost. The last 2 years however, due to health issues, I did not work a lot and only made about 5k each year, so did not have to worry about gst/hst/business number.

This year I am still self-employed and my income will range between 40k to 60k

I am a content creator and use Patreon to generate income, as well as cam.

With all this being said, the cam sites and Patreon charges people, not me...so do I still need to worry about "collecting" HST/GST (because, well, I can't!) because I am not the one directly charging people. Do I need a business number/do i need to register for gst/hst? or do i keep declaring myself as self employed like I have for the past two years, except this year instead of 5k income, it will be say 50k and I just pay taxes at the end of the year kind of thing?

My other question is Patreon and Paypal fees, should I input these as some sort of business expense or does it not really matter...? My assumption is no, as this is a service they provide and I choose to use it/pay for it.

PS I have called CRA with no luck, they seem so clueless about the whole thing, even though I am sure there are tons of canadian cam girls and content creators.
PPS I live in a small town right now, so no good accountants around here, doing it all on my own. Like I said the last 2 years were fine, I used turbo tax and it was very user friendly =) ! I am just stuck on the questions above.


Your help is greatly appreciated

 

[a_haze420]

You def do not need a business number or to register or collect gst or pst as cam site members etc are charged tax in their country when they purchase tokens conrent or whatever.

You do exactly what you have been doing and claim it as self employed independent contractor and pay the tax you owe. Which at that income level would be at least 20% from what I can recall.

I claim my wire transfer fees as an expense so yes you can right off fees. Just a warning PayPal is not sex worker friendly and they shut down my personal pay pal not connected to my sex work in any way. So I would be very careful using it .

 

[thr33]

You def do not need a business number or to register or collect gst or pst as cam site members etc are charged tax in their country when they purchase tokens conrent or whatever.

You do exactly what you have been doing and claim it as self employed independent contractor and pay the tax you owe. Which at that income level would be at least 20% from what I can recall.

I claim my wire transfer fees as an expense so yes you can right off fees. Just a warning PayPal is not sex worker friendly and they shut down my personal pay pal not connected to my sex work in any way. So I would be very careful using it .

Thank you so much my dear, this is exactly the answer I was looking for! And Paypal is only used for my Patreon account, which is pretty PG
That is crazy they shut you down even though it is not connected to anything =( sorry to hear.
for MFC and CB, I get paid via check

Do you think I should write off Patreon/Paypal fees? Or not bother?
if it's too much of a hassle, I don't mind loosing out on that

I don't write anything off, I actually have nothing to write off ( I read about using like a certain space of your house for business, as well as a certain percentage of internet, but both have to be dedicated to just work so I don't bother ) and I don't have any other expenses, as I had all the equipment I needed from before.

Thanks again so so SOOO much

 

[a_haze420]

Thank you so much my dear, this is exactly the answer I was looking for! And Paypal is only used for my Patreon account, which is pretty PG
That is crazy they shut you down even though it is not connected to anything =( sorry to hear.
for MFC and CB, I get paid via check

Do you think I should write off Patreon/Paypal fees? Or not bother?
if it's too much of a hassle, I don't mind loosing out on that

I don't write anything off, I actually have nothing to write off ( I read about using like a certain space of your house for business, as well as a certain percentage of internet, but both have to be dedicated to just work so I don't bother ) and I don't have any other expenses, as I had all the equipment I needed from before.

Thanks again so so SOOO much

Id write off anything you possibly can to save yourself $ on taxes. As an independent contractor paying all your tax at once can be a huge bill so writing stuff off lowers that. Id contact an accountant as they can help you maximize your wrote offs and lower your tax bill!

 

[thr33]

Id write off anything you possibly can to save yourself $ on taxes. As an independent contractor paying all your tax at once can be a huge bill so writing stuff off lowers that. Id contact an accountant as they can help you maximize your wrote offs and lower your tax bill!

thank you so much my dear ^_^

 

[thr33]

Id write off anything you possibly can to save yourself $ on taxes. As an independent contractor paying all your tax at once can be a huge bill so writing stuff off lowers that. Id contact an accountant as they can help you maximize your wrote offs and lower your tax bill!

Hey babe, little bit of an update from a lawyer friend:
If you are claiming the Patreon amount after fees, you wouldn't write off fees, as you are just getting taxed on your net amount from patreon.
If you are claiming the gross Patreon amoount before fees, then yes, you can write them off, as you would be claiming the gross amount and paying tax on that

Unlike most content creators/cam girls, I will probably have absolutely nothing to write off LOL
Based on what I have read, anything that is EXCLUSIVELY used for work purposes can be written off, whether it's plane tickets to say a camming convention, or if you use a certain part of your home for camming, or any new stuff purchased dedicated for that.

I don't attend the conventions or travel for them (have enough on my hands at home lol!)
I don't buy anything new because I bought an excellent laptop and webcam years ago and they still work amazing, and my DSLR I received as a gift a year ago, so that is brand new too.

Taxes will suck, but I would rather be honest then risk getting audited, but yeah, I have nothing to write off lol. Oh well, still grateful AF I get to do something I love and make good money off of it. I have had my share of 9 to 5 jobs, and although I didn't mind them, I do remember how high taxes were even when I was making like 40 to 45k lol

THANKS AGAIN SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP! We should make a Canadian tax thread with like all this information combined lol from each and every one of us!

 

[a_haze420]

Hey babe, little bit of an update from a lawyer friend:
If you are claiming the Patreon amount after fees, you wouldn't write off fees, as you are just getting taxed on your net amount from patreon.
If you are claiming the gross Patreon amoount before fees, then yes, you can write them off, as you would be claiming the gross amount and paying tax on that

Unlike most content creators/cam girls, I will probably have absolutely nothing to write off LOL
Based on what I have read, anything that is EXCLUSIVELY used for work purposes can be written off, whether it's plane tickets to say a camming convention, or if you use a certain part of your home for camming, or any new stuff purchased dedicated for that.

I don't attend the conventions or travel for them (have enough on my hands at home lol!)
I don't buy anything new because I bought an excellent laptop and webcam years ago and they still work amazing, and my DSLR I received as a gift a year ago, so that is brand new too.

Taxes will suck, but I would rather be honest then risk getting audited, but yeah, I have nothing to write off lol. Oh well, still grateful AF I get to do something I love and make good money off of it. I have had my share of 9 to 5 jobs, and although I didn't mind them, I do remember how high taxes were even when I was making like 40 to 45k lol

THANKS AGAIN SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP! We should make a Canadian tax thread with like all this information combined lol from each and every one of us!

I don't use patreon so no idea about that. I claim my wire transfer fees internet costs etc if you speak to an account you would have some write offs I'm sure of it.

This business almost always has somethings you can write off like internet expenses etc.

Also it's not dishonest to write off things you use for work you would not automatically be audited for it and if you were you would he fine because you can write off work expenses. Id talk to an accountant over a lawyer. I would always recommend having an accountant do your taxes as an independent contractor they can help find you tax credits and write offs and its in no way dishonest.

 

[thr33]

I don't use patreon so no idea about that. I claim my wire transfer fees internet costs etc if you speak to an account you would have some write offs I'm sure of it.

This business almost always has somethings you can write off like internet expenses etc.

Also it's not dishonest to write off things you use for work you would not automatically be audited for it and if you were you would he fine because you can write off work expenses. Id talk to an accountant over a lawyer. I would always recommend having an accountant do your taxes as an independent contractor they can help find you tax credits and write offs and its in no way dishonest.

That's what I mean, there is nothing I really just use for work, I have always been kind of a geek so I had good laptop/webcam to begin with, and DSLR was a gift, there is nothing right now that I need to buy specific to camming, but if I do I definitely know I can write it off =)
As for my place, I don't have a dedicated camming area, I guess I can make one in the future and write that off.
I did read about a certain percentage of internet that you use for work can be written off too, but it is shared between my roommate and I so I only pay like $30 a month for it lol
Like I said, I think I am kind of a unique case cause I really don't actually have expenses related to the work I do
Not many friendly accountants where I am now, kind of closed minded out here, but I will try maybe to post an ad on kijiji or something specifically stating the kind of accountant I am looking for. I have no problem paying for their time to get things properly explained to me and see what options i have =)

 

[thr33]

I also finally applied for verified model status so that should help even more as I will have more access to forums =)