Beware of the tax advice you're getting on TikTok (2024)

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Not all 'experts' are experts.

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Beware of the tax advice you're getting on TikTok (1)

Be careful who you trust with your money. Credit: Tanja Ivanova / Getty Images

Tax season sucks. Lots of us — and this includes me — need a little help getting our taxes done.

But be warned: You should be wary of where you get your advice. As Mashable's Elena Cavendar covered in detail, lots of folks use TikTok as a search engine. The results you might get about doing your taxes could be dangerous and dead wrong.

Keeper, a tax app aimed at gig and creator economy workers, published a detailed report on the myths and bad advice circulating on TaxTok ahead of tax season. Keeper parsed through hundreds of tax-related TikToks, spoke with tax experts, and compared those insights to anonymized 2022 purchase and write-off data from nearly 25,000 users of the app.

Using that insight, Keeper debunked some of the myths you might come across on TikTok. A big one? That people who rely on their appearance for work can write-off expenses for their appearance. Basically, no, an influencer cannot and should not claim that an expensive hair tool or fancy suit is a business expense. There have been a number of court cases that decided, basically, that if something for your appearance can be for personal use, as well as a business expense, then it can't be written off.

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Another myth spreading on TikTok, according to Keeper? That influencers can write off "lifestyle expenses" like...buying clothing hauls. The IRS has a pretty narrow definition of what counts as a necessary business expense for entertainers. These sorts of things viral because people always want to beat the system and people love hearing about loopholes. That doesn't mean those hacks are necessarily a good idea.

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"People want to get rich quick and want there to be some secret formula that only rich people know about, when the truth is it's a secret formula designed for rich people, so you're already excluded," he said. "So the personal expense stuff takes off because it's basically saying, 'Your home is full of tax write-offs and you just didn’t know it,'" CPA Tim Owens told Keeper.

The New York Times wrote an in-depth piece on influencers navigating tax season. It's a tough world to navigate. For instance, gifts that brands sent to them should be taxed at market value but items they were paid to promote wouldn't be taxable.

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That leaves room for people to insert themselves as "experts" on taxes and, oftentimes, "experts" focused on helping influencers file their taxes. Like anything else online, it's a mix of genuine experts and people looking to cash in on a timely thing.

Look around TaxTok and you'll see lots of folks promising loopholes or luxury vehicles you can write-off. Oftentimes this advice is outright wrong or not exactly true. For instance, for those certain, heavy luxury vehicles: You can only write off the amount of usage that was actually for business. So let's hope all those folks taking their advice from TikTok have been tracking miles.

If you're looking for reliable tax advice and services, Mashable has reviewed and rated popular software for regular employees, small business owners, as well as freelancers, independent contractors, and gig workers.

For people online, it's important to navigate tax season with the aide of folks who know what they're doing. Think about all the hacks you've seen on TikTok that weren't hacks at all. Remember those air fryer recipes that turned out to be gross as hell? The lesson remains, there's bad advice about everything on TikTok — taxes included.

TopicsTikTok

Beware of the tax advice you're getting on TikTok (2)

Tim Marcin

Tim Marcin is a culture reporter at Mashable, where he writes about food, fitness, weird stuff on the internet, and, well, just about anything else. You can find him posting endlessly about Buffalo wings on Twitter at @timmarcin.

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Beware of the tax advice you're getting on TikTok (2024)

FAQs

Why does TikTok ask for tax info? ›

Anytime a platform or a brand is going to pay you money, they are required by law to collect your information. so they can report that information to the IRS. This is very normal business practice.

Do you have to claim taxes on TikTok? ›

Anything you make over $600, TikTok will issue you a 1099. that you will have to claim in your taxes for the following year. So your responsibility will be to pay federal and state taxes.

How do I get my TikTok tax information? ›

Go to your TikTok Shop dashboard.
  1. There, you'll see a banner at the top. Click on Go complete Tax Verification to set up your tax information.
  2. Complete TikTok's tax form, and click Submit.

Is TikTok a taxable income? ›

If you're doing the TikTok stuff on the side then you'll need to understand paying tax as a side hustle. You can read more about side hustles in our blog post here. If you're going full-time influencer mode then you'll need to understand paying tax as self-employed.

Is it safe to give SSN to TikTok? ›

This is very normal business practice. But if you're a content creator, you should never be given out your personal name. and Social Security number. to these platforms and these brands. Instead, you need to set up what's called a loan out corporation.

Will TikTok send me a 1099? ›

Tiktok has issued your 1099 forms for everyone who made over 600.00 in 2023. Make sure to print and give the form to your tax person when you file your taxes its just like a w-2. Hopfully you put 15% aside to cover taxes. #tiktokshop #taxes2023 #contentcreators #tiktokcreators.

Do you have to apply to get paid on TikTok? ›

To apply, you must submit a complete Program application via the Platform. TikTok will evaluate Creator's application and eligibility and will notify Creator of their acceptance or rejection, which shall be determined by TikTok in its sole discretion.

Is it true that TikTok pays money? ›

TikTok does not directly pay creators to produce and upload videos. TikTok does offer funding for creators in the form of the TikTok Creativity Program. Still, payment varies based on factors like the number of video views, engagement rates, and the authenticity of users engaging with the post.

Does TikTok Shop report to IRS? ›

A: TikTok Shop is required to report payment transactions to the IRS. US merchants must complete a W9 Form and provide the corresponding Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), which can be an EIN or SSN.

Does TikTok send you a w2 form? ›

Unlike some employees, social media influencers and TikTok stars rarely receive W-2 forms. In some cases, they might not receive any tax documents at all. Most of the time, though, influencers receive 1099 forms from anyone who has paid them money. If you receive a 1099 form, you likely need to file taxes.

Who pays for TikTok returns? ›

If you are returning your product because you had a “change of mind,” the shipping fee is placed on the customer unless otherwise agreed upon by the seller (or TikTok Shop has granted you a free return).

How do I claim payment on TikTok? ›

How to receive your payment. If the total amount of payment accumulated on your account from a Series is equal to or exceeds $50 (or equivalent local currency), your payment will be sent to you automatically on the 15th of each month.

Do I have to claim TikTok money on taxes? ›

Yes, You Need To Report Your TikTok Earnings To The IRS And Here's How... taxes | TikTok. Lots of content creators are missing this key tax form. and it could cause you to misreport your income.

How much does TikTok pay per 1000 views? ›

According to reports from top influencers, TikTok pays around $0.02 and $0.04 for every 1,000 views. These are reports based on payments received through the TikTok Creator Fund. This is a program that TikTok introduced in 2021 in a bid to compensate content creators for creating content on the platform.

Can TikTok be a source of income? ›

The TikTok Creator Fund rewards creators for their content, while TikTok Live allows real-time interaction and the receipt of virtual gifts that can be converted into cash. Affiliate marketing on TikTok can earn you a commission for every purchase made through your affiliate link.

Why does TikTok take your information? ›

We generally use the Information We Collect: To fulfill requests for products, services, Platform functionality, support and information for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical, and survey purposes and to solicit your feedback.

What information does TikTok collect about you? ›

We may collect information about the videos, images and audio that are a part of your User Content, such as identifying the objects and scenery that appear, the existence and location within an image of face and body features and attributes, the nature of the audio, and the text of the words spoken in your User Content ...

What tax documents do I need for TikTok Shop? ›

Tax Information

A: TikTok Shop is required to report payment transactions to the IRS. US merchants must complete a W9 Form and provide the corresponding Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), which can be an EIN or SSN.

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