Coworking Session: Creator Tax Filing, Distribution Hacks, and Best Practices with Cookie Finance

Hey Katie.

Hi. Welcome Nate.

Thank you.

Um Nate, we're going to give a few minutes after the start to um to get started but uh while we're here,

um thought that we could just chat. So, I'm

curious if you've done your taxes already.

Um, so I am like one of those doctors who smoke and they're like, "Smoking is absolutely terrible. Don't do it." And

absolutely terrible. Don't do it." And

they are actually smokers. Um, no, I have not done my taxes. Uh, it'll

probably be April 14th and I will file an extension and then I will get to it.

You know, October 14th is most likely what will happen. So, um I am what not to do uh of of your taxes for sure.

So, you're not eating your own cookie dog food.

Um you know, I am organized. I have

everything organized and ready.

And I wish I could just pay for someone.

I should just pay for someone, but I'm also uh pretty cheap. And so, I'm like, "No, I'm a CPA. Like, I can just do this myself." And then, you know, April 14th

myself." And then, you know, April 14th hits, I'm like, "No, this is why I just need to hire an accountant to like file my taxes for me."

Oh my gosh.

Um, it's Yeah, that's true. It's

It's not fun.

No, I understand. We're having the same I'm having the same challenge with uh hiring at the moment. And hiring has been the thorn in my side. Yet, here we

are as higher innovations. we're

innovating and I'm like, why am I not innovating my own process better? But so

with that, we're starting our own hiring campaigns with Jobstream because I was like, we do this for everyone else.

Yep.

Speaking of which, um, uh, let's connect afterwards. We actually have a few open

afterwards. We actually have a few open positions. I I'm actually going to throw

positions. I I'm actually going to throw a few up to you as well.

Oh, sweet. All right.

Um, and Jasmine is our she's on our team. She is uh also moderating our uh

team. She is uh also moderating our uh co-working session today. The way that these run is sometimes people join at the beginning, sometimes they join

midway through, sometimes they leave, sometimes they all know that we're going to send the recording and put it on YouTube. Um, I've already had a bunch of

YouTube. Um, I've already had a bunch of a handful of people ask for the recording and so just want you to know like we'll Um, I can see Kate, she's in our

community as well. Um, and then Jasmine also sends around a reminder just before. So,

before. So, so why don't we kick off? Jasmine, are

we good to start recording?

Yes.

Okay. Awesome.

Yes, sir.

Um, and just wanted to make sure you did send the because I can't see the guest list right now. the um the reminder email.

Yeah, I received it.

Awesome.

I send it.

Okay, so this is our co-working session. This is

about like the fourth or fifth one that we've done of these, but really came arised out of the need from our creator community saying, "Hey, we want more community. We want more events. We want

community. We want more events. We want

to be able to share ideas across the community, more peer-led discussion."

And so they've been quite in quite casual I should say and we usually have like it's semi-odderated. We have an agenda. People often come off and ask

agenda. People often come off and ask questions but um so today with you Nate I just thought we'd do like I have like two questions just to kind of set the context and then I know that you have a

wonderful presentation to take us through. Um, and I can talk a little bit

through. Um, and I can talk a little bit about the our new partnership up front and at the end Q&A for anybody who has live questions which we have a few

questions as well that people have written in that we can jump to.

Great.

All right, let's get started. So, anyone

who's joining, please also use this as an opportunity to connect with each other and you can open up the chat, put in your LinkedIn, tell us who you are, share your questions directly as well,

and we'll get to them in the Q&A. Um,

but again, I'm Katie, co-founder and president of JobStream. We are a fast growing creator platform for a new kind

of monetization. We have uh about 140

of monetization. We have uh about 140 career creators in the network who are essentially connecting their audiences

with job opportunities from our employer network. And like an affiliate model, an

network. And like an affiliate model, an LTK or a ShopMai, they earn for that engagement. Every click and application

engagement. Every click and application that their audience takes, they receive a commission up to $25 eligibility.

Um, and so for some of our community, the careers that they've spent literally decades building have been very lucrative for them. They've that we have

a few career coaches, we have a few exrecruiters, we have a few of the regular traditional influencers as you think about them and as you know them,

Nate. So the the range is widespread. We

Nate. So the the range is widespread. We

have everybody from new creators creating new revenue and new monetization to established some who are managed even by talent managers. So we

have that that breadth of who we're talking to here. Um but if you can maybe just introduce yourself and your company and then I'll ask you two questions then

we can jump into your presentation.

Cool. Uh yeah so I am Nate. I am the founder of Cookie Finance. Uh I've been a CPA for uh 12 or 15 years. I think I'm younger than

I am. I turned 40 this year, so I think

I am. I turned 40 this year, so I think I'm a lot younger than I actually probably am. Um but started Cookie three

probably am. Um but started Cookie three years ago. I have two sister-in-laws who

years ago. I have two sister-in-laws who are content creators and they were to tell me how terrible of a time they were having finding accountants who actually understood what they were doing and how

they worked and how deductions. Uh so

started cookie to really be that partner with creators. Uh we work with creators

with creators. Uh we work with creators across every platform across all the United States. Uh we've seen everything

United States. Uh we've seen everything you could possibly imagine. Um and

really we are here to help you from the beginning to get your business set up, your LLC, to get banking, uh to do your monthly bookkeeping, quarterly taxes, end of the year taxes. We're here for

everything to help you. So, uh, you're not like me and you wait until like the very very very last moment to get your things done. And if you have, that's

things done. And if you have, that's okay. Uh, welcome to like pretty much

okay. Uh, welcome to like pretty much every other creator out there. Um, but

then to really set you up long term so that you are always staying on top of your finances, have a good handle on everything. And we we'll kind of get to

everything. And we we'll kind of get to some of that stuff in here.

Incredible. Nate, not to sound dramatic, but what is the risk if you are a creator who's monetizing and you don't file your taxes?

Yes. Uh we see this a lot. I I think there are obviously the obvious risk of not filing your taxes on time or just at all. Um comes with really really big

all. Um comes with really really big penalties and interest. The IRS and the state you're living in, they really don't like that. So, uh, you can expect

some pretty hefty fines and penalties, uh, for every month that you are, uh, putting off junior taxes after April 15th, assuming you don't have an

extension. But, probably the biggest

extension. But, probably the biggest risk I see, is once you get behind one year, it's really hard and and quite honestly embarrassing, right? Like we

feel embarrassed and we say, "Well, I don't want to go to an accountant now.

Now I'm a year behind." And so then they wait a little bit longer and then they're like, "Oh, well now it's even more embarrassing." And then it just

more embarrassing." And then it just sort of like escalates until it gets to a breaking point where they get a letter from the IRS or something else. Um that

then forces them into it. And we've seen that happen a lot with creators of just putting it off, putting off, they're scared, then they get embarrassed and they're scared, then they get more embarrassed. Um so that's probably like

embarrassed. Um so that's probably like the biggest risk. Uh rather than just let's learn it up front, let's learn what we need to do, let's bite the bullet. It sucks, but let let's just

bullet. It sucks, but let let's just take care of it now to avoid those things in the future.

Absolutely. I think you know what surprised us in starting out JobStream was how many people didn't even realize that they have to file taxes and

technically if you are on ShopMai or LTK or any part of any other affiliate platform, you're technically a 1099 employee. So the risk

and the opportunity to for the companies who are essentially sponsoring creators I also feel like have a duty to educate their creators and in the same way you

would treat your employees like with the best possible experience like you know how why why are you why do you think more people aren't talking about this

and why aren't companies doing more to like set their creators up for success?

us.

Yeah. The the big thing is they really don't want to stray outside of their realm of of of expertise, right? Uh we

have this one very large platform that we're currently having conversations with and and it's the same thing, right? They say

we get these questions all the time, but we don't want to risk saying something because if we say something that's not right, then we put ourselves at risk.

So, uh, we just say nothing. We say, "Go talk to your own accountant." And then the creator is like, "I don't have an accountant." And so, then they just kind

accountant." And so, then they just kind of like goes back to that bad path that we just talked about. So, I think a lot of it is they just don't know how to navigate it. They don't want to run a

navigate it. They don't want to run a foul. And so, then they just don't u,

foul. And so, then they just don't u, and that is why we're here. Uh, and

Sydney from my team, uh, just joined as well. Um, and so that's what we are

well. Um, and so that's what we are trying to like we love just get the education out there of let's teach everyone about these things because it's really important that we understand what

we're doing. Uh, the more you understand

we're doing. Uh, the more you understand the less scary it is and then you're able to put your arms around it and actually be able to do something about it.

Well, thank god you're here. I think

what we've seen in the early days of our company just getting started is really fast um like people coming to us looking

for a side hustle and they're growing a new income stream for themselves independently and we do work with associations and brands as well but I think for the purposes of our discussion

we're mostly talking about like the individual creator what we've been so surprised by and excited by is how Job

streams like income stream has been something people are building their business around now. So we're seeing

already and very quickly you know incremental side hustle gig paychecks whatever you want to call it to now becoming the core thing. So, you

know, what can we be doing to really help our creators like set up this as a business for long-term success and not just, you know, I think of the

traditional influencer with the quick brand partnership or the UGC campaign, but what we're talking about is longevity. So, like what should our

longevity. So, like what should our creators be thinking about for the future?

Yeah, great question. So if you don't mind, I'm actually going to share my slides because that actually plays well into uh what we are going to talk about.

Um jump in.

Let me share this. Not that we have to like go through the slides right now, but um want to share this. Can you see that? Okay,

that? Okay, we're good.

Okay, perfect. Um, for us it's really a I know it sounds like so cheesy and corny, but it it's a shift in your

mindset of this is a side hustle to this is a business I'm growing.

And what we have found working with thousands of creators is that very rarely do they ever think of themselves as a real business. Uh we were at a

conference uh this past year and I was talking with this one creator and she was like, "Yeah, yeah, you know, like this is like just like a fun little side thing whatever."

thing whatever." And I'll call her Sarah. I was like, "Well, Sarah, like how much are you making per month on average?" She's

like, "Between like 12 to 16,000 per month." And they're like, "That's not a

month." And they're like, "That's not a side business. Like that's a real

side business. Like that's a real business." And she's like, "Uh yeah."

business." And she's like, "Uh yeah."

I'm like, "No, that's a lot of money you're making. like just be think of

you're making. like just be think of yourself as a side business. So what

happens is uh creators don't get themselves set up right from the beginning. And so we always talk about

beginning. And so we always talk about building good financial hygiene right away. Uh not waiting until you're making

away. Uh not waiting until you're making tens or hundreds of thousands like right away. It's not never too early to really

away. It's not never too early to really get these things set up. And for us the big thing is get an LLC

soon. get one today. Right. Um LLC's are

soon. get one today. Right. Um LLC's are cheap to set up. Uh

for uh L'Oreal or K uh if you guys can just put in the chat like where you're what states you're in uh would would be great. Um but for most states it is uh

great. Um but for most states it is uh incredibly cheap to set up an LLC. Uh

get an EIN and that's always like the very first step to kind of shift your mind of like okay I'm setting up a real business. Uh we usually tell folks as

business. Uh we usually tell folks as soon as you start to monetize uh go ahead and actually start uh you know getting these things set up. Uh Texas is extremely cheap. So is Virginia. Uh we

extremely cheap. So is Virginia. Uh we

are based in Virginia. We're in

Richmond, Virginia is where we're located. Um and so uh we'll connect

located. Um and so uh we'll connect afterwards, Kate. Um and you know it's

afterwards, Kate. Um and you know it's cheap. Uh it get an LLC right away. The

cheap. Uh it get an LLC right away. The

next big thing, please, for the love of everything, get a separate checking account. Uh, your life will be so much

account. Uh, your life will be so much better and easier when you get a separate checking account. There are

tons of options. I'll kind of go through a few of these things in more detail.

Uh, but just get an online checking account or if you already have a relationship with your existing bank like Chase or Wells Fargo, that's fine, too. to get a separate banking account

too. to get a separate banking account and have all of your job stream income, all your income from these different platforms, all of your expenses running through your business. Why that is so

important is, you know, uh my favorite story from last year of this was a creator who signed up on the sales call.

She said, "Uh, yeah, you know, I'm making I I think I made like 750,000 last year." And we're like, "Hey,

last year." And we're like, "Hey, fantastic. That's amazing. Uh, do you

fantastic. That's amazing. Uh, do you have a separate bank account? Oh, no,

no, no. Like everything's run through my personal. And and by the way, uh, for

personal. And and by the way, uh, for anyone listening, almost 100% of creators who come to us, we work with a lot of creators. Almost

100% do not have an LLC, do not have a separate bank account. So, you're not alone. You're not behind. Like, welcome

alone. You're not behind. Like, welcome

to everyone else. Okay? Just like

there's no shame. No one has their crap together, right? Including me, right? uh

together, right? Including me, right? uh

who just said that he hasn't filed his tax return yet and he's a CPA. So um you know once we actually dug through her financials right our team will get everything separated for you. We

separate all the business and personal put all together. I hopped on a call with her. I'll call her uh L and I was

with her. I'll call her uh L and I was like L good news bad news. Bad news is you actually didn't make 750,000 last year. The good news is it was 1.2 2

year. The good news is it was 1.2 2 million. She's like,

million. She's like, "Whoa, oh, oh, wow. I I I had no idea because everything was all mixed in with her personal. So, she couldn't see all the

personal. So, she couldn't see all the income expenses, which kind of goes to the third point of tracking your financials. She couldn't see all of

financials. She couldn't see all of these things coming and going. It was

way too difficult to separate these things out. So, get your LLC and bank

things out. So, get your LLC and bank account. Do that today. That's super

account. Do that today. That's super

easy. You can do it online. Do that

today. Start tracking your financials.

Uh we actually have um a a kind of a starter pack on our platform. It's

called business essentials uh creator business essentials where you know you get an LLC, get an EIN, get an online checking account through us. Uh we're

partnered with a bank out of Nebraska um to kind of get these things set up. But

there's other platforms like Mercury um and other ones that can do online banking as well. Uh, the important thing is get one. Get an LLC, get a set ring count, start putting everything over

into that. That will make your life so

into that. That will make your life so much easier. And kind of back to your

much easier. And kind of back to your original question, Katie. Uh, that

that's really like the foundation of like getting that mindset shift. I know

that was like a way long-winded answer, but uh yeah, that's that's our advice there.

Well, it's it makes a lot of sense when you look at the um the amount of people who in last year had uh filed to create

their own LLC. This whole concept of like entrepreneurship is growing for people. Um you know, I'm a mom and a

people. Um you know, I'm a mom and a woman and that's, you know, I pay attention to those segments, especially as they're growing. But I think that's

really exciting for people to be able I mean especially what's happening in the job market there are so many layoffs happening bolt layoffs every day in the

headlines and people are they're saying you know I've had this whole career doing this I've had this dependency on

this skill job employer fill in the blank what are you seeing as far as this we call them creatorreneurs here job stream but like what is the trend that

you're seeing with clients with this you know employment narrative in general?

Yeah, definitely. I think you know most of our creators are are young. You know,

they're they're 25 to 29 and they're experiencing probably what a lot of your creators are also experiencing of job market just kind of sucks, right? It's

either really stagnated despite uh you know the overall stock stock market going up like the job economy just stagnant or declining. Um and so a lot of them are sort of just taking matters

into their own hands very entrepreneurally. I I love that uh

entrepreneurally. I I love that uh phrase that you you have of uh hey let's start making content like let's see if I can't make a run at this a lot who are

taking leaps much sooner than we've seen in the past where uh three years ago our creators were much more cautious to sort of take the leap of I'm quitting my full-time job and I'm going to do this

full-time. Uh we're we're seeing a trend

full-time. Uh we're we're seeing a trend more and more of making that leap sooner. Uh it's not a massive change,

sooner. Uh it's not a massive change, but it's still more than what I would expect. Uh so yeah, we're definitely

expect. Uh so yeah, we're definitely seeing that as well.

Well, that's exciting. And you know, getting started, like some of our creators have been like, well, just tell me how to be successful at posting content. Which channel should I use?

content. Which channel should I use?

which you know and what we've noticed even in the past six months is creators who've diversified their I guess creator

portfolio are creating I don't it feels it feels riskier for the creators who go all in on one channel like for the example that

LinkedIn had changed the ability to like see who your audience is and so what we've been supporting our community with is having creators essentially start

thinking about how to build that own list. And it it's traditionally come

list. And it it's traditionally come from like you have a newsletter and then you have a direct way to talk to and own for lack of a better words own your

audience. But like where do people go

audience. But like where do people go for creating that back office?

Yeah. Uh just to comment on that as well, we have obviously incredible insights because we see financial information on lots and lots of creators

across platforms and so on. Um uh

Sydney, if you are able to pull up a link to our stats for 2025. Um we we'll share a link in the chat. uh we we did a

bunch of analytics around that particular thing and the the most successful creators are the ones who are diversifying. I think the biggest wakeup

diversifying. I think the biggest wakeup call for all of us on this call was you know when Tik Tok uh went dark for you know what was like 24 hours or what have

you. Uh we were actually at a conference

you. Uh we were actually at a conference and I was like don't worry you guys like they're not going to let Tik Tok shut down like in the middle of the conference like Tik Tok is shut down like well I was wrong but then like 12

hours later was back but still uh it was a good wakeup call uh for for all of us of diversifying that revenue. Um so we are seeing a huge trend among our

creators. Uh the number one question top

creators. Uh the number one question top of mind is diversifying their revenue streams. Uh, and that it makes it even more important to really get those

financial hygiene pieces in place to get that LLC to get that separate bank account to start tracking your financials. You don't need to hire,

financials. You don't need to hire, especially if you're not making more than 60 $75,000 a year from your content. You don't need to hire an

content. You don't need to hire an accountant. Um, you can do a lot of that

accountant. Um, you can do a lot of that in Excel. Just, you know, we'll we'll

in Excel. Just, you know, we'll we'll put a link. Uh in fact uh let me actually share my screen again. Um we

will put a link to a tracker that you guys can grab. Uh S will also put a link to this as well in the chat of just simple way that you can download Excel

tracker track it on your own. Uh but

especially as you start to get these more income stream and your business becomes a little more and more complicated having this grasp of what's going on is so much more important. you

will start to see what's working and what's not working. Uh my favorite example, it's a very very dramatic one, but it's still a good example. Uh was

one of our creators who primarily is monetized with Amazon affiliate links.

Uh she does fashion. Uh she did about a million dollars in 2024, which was amazing. Uh we got all of her financials

amazing. Uh we got all of her financials organized, put together, and so on. and

she called me up and she's like, "Help me understand these numbers." Uh, like what does it mean in terms of my ad spend? You know, I turn on ad spend.

spend? You know, I turn on ad spend.

What are you seeing here? So, I just kind of helped her walk through a couple of those things. When it came about it, because she saw her numbers, she was like, "Oh my gosh, for every dollar I'm

spend on ads, I'm getting five extra dollars in revenue. So, I think I'm just going to go all in on ads for a few months and just see what happens." and

we we just wrapped up her tax return.

She had $4.2 million this past year. Um,

now she spent a lot in ads, but her net was way way way way higher than the year before. Uh, because once again, she saw

before. Uh, because once again, she saw the numbers. She was able to like make

the numbers. She was able to like make adjustments. So, anyway, I I'll stop

adjustments. So, anyway, I I'll stop talking about these hygiene things, but it's just so important uh that as you diversify that you have a firm grasp of everything that's going on.

It it's remarkable that there are people out there where they receive a phone call from you and it's like, well, you've actually earned seven figures, not six figures. Like, it's a phone call

I think all of us here would welcome and it's great to see that it's possible, especially with, you know, what you said about the next generation being very resilient and resourceful is like

they're making it happen. Um, and I think about the people who've built their networks for decades, like they can make it happen, too. I did a

podcast. I was invited to speak um at

podcast. I was invited to speak um at her name's Katana and and her community is all about supporting women in their

second act and their third act. And you

know, honestly, at first I was like, what what am I doing here? But then as we've been growing, like I said, like some of our most lucrative creators are the ones who have built a career and

built that network and now they have a way to, you know, continue to support their network even into their later life. And it's it's for many of them who

life. And it's it's for many of them who are retired at least, it's passive, but it's pretty it's awesome as a supplemental source. And it's just

supplemental source. And it's just amazing like if you start diversifying, if you start committing, if you start building this habit around content creation, like the opportunities to five

times your revenue through a paid ad is an amazing like doing the same amount of effort for 5x the reward is is like crazy. Like how is this even all

crazy. Like how is this even all possible?

Yeah. I mean, one thing I will say just to piggyback on that, how is all possible? I uh it's so unique. But one

possible? I uh it's so unique. But one

thing just add to it and then we can uh talk about taxes and so on. Um it is we see it every single day. Cindy and I

literally like see so many creators all day every day that are making this work that are making uh real money. Uh, not

everyone, right, is making a million bucks a year, but we have a lot a lot of examples of creators making 100 150

175,000 a year, which is fantastic. Um,

and and is is phenomenal money and lots who are making more than that. And some

who are even just doing it as a more of a side thing, making 40, 50, 60,000 on top of their W2, which is also phenomenal. Um, so it it's definitely

phenomenal. Um, so it it's definitely possible uh and and we're we see it every day that this it's not just like a you know only a select few like there

are tens and tens of thousands of creators who are doing this. So

um yeah I I I know we only have a little bit mind if we get a little bit into the taxes. Yeah.

Um uh and and welcome Ramon. I I glad you're in New York City, but this is going to be most painful for you than anyone else on the mountain of taxes

because you get hit with state taxes and city taxes as you know. I don't need to remind you, but um uh uh welcome. Okay,

so let's just talk taxes real quick. Um

I'm going to do a little bit of a speedrun because I do want to leave some time for open Q&A at the end. Uh but

just a a couple of things to be aware of. Uh if you haven't, you should be

of. Uh if you haven't, you should be getting 1099s or should have gotten 1099s from different platforms that you are working with. Uh where you are monetized. If you earn more than $600

monetized. If you earn more than $600 from these platforms, you would have been getting 1099s. Uh a lot of times we get questions of just like what do I do with these 1099s? Uh for the most part,

the biggest thing is just look at the 1099. Make sure the number that's

1099. Make sure the number that's reported is the same that you have your records of. Brands aren't infallible.

records of. Brands aren't infallible.

Uh, but why that's really important is we've seen so many examples of a company or platform reporting one income, but your records show something much

different. Uh, and you need those to

different. Uh, and you need those to line up. Why that's important is because

line up. Why that's important is because the 1099s are sent to the IRS. when you

file your tax return, the IRS will compare what uh that the 1099 says versus what you reported and making sure those things line up so you don't under

uh you know uh represent your income is like the biggest thing that they're looking for. Uh now not all companies

looking for. Uh now not all companies send 1099s. It is really strongly

send 1099s. It is really strongly encouraged, but a lot of companies don't send 1099. So if you don't get a 1099 or

send 1099. So if you don't get a 1099 or you didn't get one, um that's okay.

Uh, I know last year Tik Tok was really late to send 1099s and then a ton of our Tik Tok creators just never even got one. Um, so it's okay if you didn't get

one. Um, so it's okay if you didn't get one. You still need to report that

one. You still need to report that income. Just because you didn't get a

income. Just because you didn't get a 1099 doesn't mean you shouldn't report the income. Uh, but if you didn't get

the income. Uh, but if you didn't get it, it's okay. Uh, you can tryounding the the brand or the company or the platform, whatever. They may or may not

platform, whatever. They may or may not send it. Uh, but in the end, it's not a

send it. Uh, but in the end, it's not a big deal if you don't get it, but still report it. And if you do get it, check

report it. And if you do get it, check your records. It's part of why you want

your records. It's part of why you want to track your income. Uh, and make sure those things line up. That that that's the big thing with that.

Um, okay. So, if you have filed your taxes, um, or if you haven't yet, uh, the the big things I want to walk through is just what to expect and break

down what you may have already put on your tax return to understand how all these taxes work. So, the big thing is um, if you are and and is you can just

put raise your hand is are either one of you a an S corp. Is any or I guess one of you three an S corp or just Nope.

Okay, perfect. Um, so as just a single member LLC or sole proprietor, all of your income and expenses from your business go on your personal tax return.

Okay? So even if you're an LLC, it all goes on your personal tax return in a place called the schedule C. So if you did your tax return, you can look at your tax return. That's where you'll see

your business income and expenses.

And what you're paying taxes on is the net amount from your business. So we

take all of your income, subtract out all of your expenses, and that net amount is what you're paying taxes on.

So if you earned 100,000, you take out all the $40,000 of business expenses, which we'll go through in just a minute, and that net amount is what you're paying taxes on.

So, as you can see, a really good way to save money in taxes is find every single deduction possible.

Um, even $1,000 in deductions can save you $300, $350 in taxes. That's a lot of money. So, every deduction matters at

money. So, every deduction matters at this point because unfortunately um you know our lovely tax code um as

business owners, small business owners, you pay proportionally way higher taxes than anyone else. It it sucks. Okay. Um

and here's why you pay higher taxes. Uh

so let's talk about the tax things. So

federal income taxes, we all pay that.

Uh you're all used to that. uh depending

on your tax bracket anywhere from 10 to 35 37% uh depending on how much money you're earning. Your tax bracket is

you're earning. Your tax bracket is taking all of your W2 plus all your business net income. Combine that all together to figure out your tax bracket.

Uh state income taxes. Uh I who was in Texas? L'Oreal was in Texas.

Texas? L'Oreal was in Texas.

Congratulations. No state income taxes.

Uh and then you have the opposite end New York with the one of the highest in the entire country. So, don't forget about income taxes. Okay, that's kind of a sneaky one that some people forget

when they're set aside money. Now, the

one that is the biggest gut punch when you are first time making money on your own are the self-employment taxes.

Self-employment taxes are the Social Security, Medicare. It's

15.3% in addition to your federal and state

taxes. It's huge. If your total income

taxes. It's huge. If your total income is less than 200 250,000 across all the different pieces, a lot of times that

self-employment tax will be higher than your actual taxes do. It's it's it's crazy. And what it is, just so you

crazy. And what it is, just so you understand what this is, is when you are at a W2 job, uh, you pay FICA, Social

Security, Medicare comes up to 7.65%.

Taken out of every single paycheck, uh, along with your federal, state taxes, social security, Medicare, taken out of every paycheck. A lot of times we don't

every paycheck. A lot of times we don't even think about it. We're like, "All right, well, I'm just going to live off this net." So be it. What most people

this net." So be it. What most people don't realize is your employer is also paying 7.65%

on your wages. So you pay 7.65% and the employer also pays 7.65%.

It's why few years ago uh Uber and these other platforms were adamant that all of their contractors remain contractors

because if all those contractors became employees guess what suddenly they have to pay 7.65% tax on all of those wages.

So that is the biggest reason uh you know they they have a bunch of you know reasons but that's really the big reason why they didn't want it is that tax right. So, when you are self-employed,

right. So, when you are self-employed, um even if it's just a side thing earning a thousand bucks a month, uh you're still self-employed. You are both the employee and the employer, you pay

both halves. That's where we get that

both halves. That's where we get that 15.3%.

Do not forget about that one. It's huge.

It's ugly. We hate it. Um, so kind of what we tell our creators is, uh, basically everything you earn, the the gross number, so this topline number

of 100,000, if you take 25% of everything you earn, put it in a separate savings account.

Don't touch it. That is not your money.

It It is the IRS, the state's money. Do

not touch it. Put in a separate account.

That should be more than enough to cover kind of all of these taxes. When you

take into consideration deductions and the graduated system of the tax, everything else, a good rule of thumb, 25% of everything you make, put into a separate account, don't touch it. Save

that for taxes.

Um, I have just way too many horror stories of people who don't do that.

They say, "Oh, I'll I'll I'll put that money aside later in the year. Oh, the

next deal I get, I'll put it aside. Oh,

on this next time, I'll put it aside."

then all a sudden we get to their tax filing and they're like, "Oh crap, I don't have money. What do I do?" Um, now you can go on a payment plan with the IRS, just to be clear. Uh, but obviously that is suboptimal because then you're

behind and then you're always trying to play catch up with your taxes. So those

are the big things with taxes that you can expect this tax season or if you've already filed and you're trying to understand where all these things got broken down. Uh, those are kind of the

broken down. Uh, those are kind of the the big ones uh for for you.

I I'll pause there. Uh any questions? Uh

oh. Uh K asked if you're already paying Social Security and Medicare through your W2 job. Um yes. So it it will be a combined

uh so if you maxed out call it $175,000 from your W2 and you fully paid social security Medicare uh or sorry social security

you won't owe any more social security but Medicare has no cap. Um Medicare

goes all the way up to the very top and then once you get past 200,000 there's an even additional tax on top of it you have to pay. Uh so that does not go away.

Um, okay. Quarterly taxes. That's

another big question we get from folks.

Um, like as a cruel cruel joke, uh, your first Q1 payment is due April 15th. Uh,

I know it sucks. That's also the tax deadline. Um, but what are quarterly

deadline. Um, but what are quarterly taxes? So, as a W2, uh, every paycheck,

taxes? So, as a W2, uh, every paycheck, uh, federal, state, uh, social security, Medicare taken out of every single paycheck, submitted on your behalf. The

end of the year, you do your tax return, true chew it up, all good. Being

self-employed, no one's taking those taxes out for you. So, you need to submit those taxes to the IRS into the state. Um, and if you don't, they charge

state. Um, and if you don't, they charge you big old fat interest of seven to eight% on uh that amount that you should

have paid uh for those taxes. So, get

into a habit making those quarterly estimated payments. Uh, it's April 15th.

estimated payments. Uh, it's April 15th.

It it it follows no logic, by the way.

The first one's due April 15th. The next

one is two months later on June 15th.

Uh, and then the next one is three months later on September 15th and then four months later on January 15th just just to make it nice and easy for you.

Like they set up that really beautiful schedule of actually not following the quarters. Um, but make those estimated

quarters. Um, but make those estimated payments. Get into that habit. Every

payments. Get into that habit. Every

time you earn money, put 25% into a separate savings account. Come the

quarter. Make sure you are then paying out those taxes to federal and state to make sure you're covering your estimated taxes.

Nate, just in other words, so if you miss the quarterly tax payment marks, does that interest acrue to when you pay it at the end of the year or you know

like is there a cost?

Yeah, it it um it's a little nuance. So,

uh, basically what they do is, uh, well, I don't get too technical, but basically what they do is at the end of the year, they say, "Here's what you should have paid in taxes at the very end.

We're going to distribute that evenly throughout the year, and here's how much you should have paid each quarter.

Compare that to how much you actually made and charge you um, uh, interest on it." So, if you get caught up that

it." So, if you get caught up that following quarter, then kind of interest stops basically.

That may have been way too confusing, but uh if you fell behind, just make up for the next quarter and then that penalty is basically a quarter of what it would have been.

It still sounds like uh I don't know.

I'm feeling like for our community, we should have quarterly accountability sessions where we're just like holding each other accountable to do it.

I know. Uh body doubling. Everyone get

on call like, "All right, everyone log into your IRS account. Let's make these payments together. Um, and and everyone

payments together. Um, and and everyone just like does payments together. Uh,

Cindy, maybe we should do that at our company as well. Just like a big old community day where we all do uh tax estimates together. Um, okay. Well, I

estimates together. Um, okay. Well, I

want to spend just 10 minutes real quick because I want to spend time for open Q&A of just about deductions. This is the biggest way to reduce your taxes as a

creator is finding more and more deductions. kind of the two biggest ways

deductions. kind of the two biggest ways uh to reduce taxes deductions like I just said. The other one is once you are

just said. The other one is once you are making more than $120,000 a year from your content, become an escorp. Flip to an escorp. It

will save you a lot of money in taxes once you get to that point. Uh if we have time in the Q&A, I can talk a little bit more about that. Okay,

deductions. Uh we have a cheat sheet for you. Uh Sydney will also put it in the

you. Uh Sydney will also put it in the chat of um just a a it's a two two three-page PDF we put together goes a little bit more in detail of all the

different things that you can potentially be deducting as a creator.

Now, I say potentially because uh just as a quick uh education on the tax code, a lot of

people think that the tax code is very black and white. And that's kind of what we're made to think. It it is A, B, or C. Uh it is not. It could be A, could be

C. Uh it is not. It could be A, could be B. Uh the reality is the tax code is

B. Uh the reality is the tax code is incredibly vague. Yes, it is really

incredibly vague. Yes, it is really thick, but it is really, really vague.

And it's that way for a very good reason. So, the tax code was last

reason. So, the tax code was last updated, overhauled in 1986.

Go me. That's the year I was born.

Coincidence or, you know, causation?

Well, who knows? But 1986 is when the tax code was completely overhauled.

And why they don't just overhaul the tax code every year? Imagine today being like, "Hey, Congress and Senate and President, let's all get together, hold hands, and overhaul the entire tax

code." Like, it would never work, right?

code." Like, it would never work, right?

Um, it's just like we don't want to redo the Constitution every year because that would be a lot. So, the tax code was overhauled in 1986.

Now, they make small adjustments throughout the time, and there are bills that kind of increase things, decreasings, but it's not overhauled, okay, when they do these things. now

because it was last updated uh 40 years ago. Uh it needs to survive for a really

ago. Uh it needs to survive for a really really long time. It needs to apply to everyone in the United States. It needs

to apply to every business in every state, every industry. Uh technologies

that don't even exist, right? And none

of us would be on this call today even seven, eight years ago, right? Um and so it needs to survive all these things. So

intentionally they make the tax code vague when it comes to deductions.

There are some things that are black and white. Most other things are vague. And

white. Most other things are vague. And

they kind of give you two things. They

say, "Okay, is this expense a ordinary business expense, right? And is it necessary?" And I'll kind of walk

necessary?" And I'll kind of walk through what those two things are. But

that those are the two big tests they give. Is it just a ordinary part of your

give. Is it just a ordinary part of your business? like anyone who's doing this

business? like anyone who's doing this type of business would incur that type of expense and it's necessary for your business, right? Um I I'm sure uh Katie

business, right? Um I I'm sure uh Katie absolutely needs a private jet uh but you know isn't necessary uh for a you

know I don't know uh private jets are like hot thing right now. So I'm just using that as an example. Okay. So let's

talk about the rule of thumb when we talk about uh ordinary and necessary because it really depends on what type of creator you are even if all of you

all of you are leveraging jobstream.

Uh but it it your type of content really determines your deductions. So here's a northstar we like to give our creators, right? If you think about uh phone

right? If you think about uh phone manufacturer, so I use Google. I'm one

of those weirdos with a Google phone. Uh

Google spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing this phone. Research,

development, materials, uh marketing, sales, shipping, packaging, all of these hundreds of millions of dollars developing this phone and then then mark

up and sell to me for a profit. So any

of those expenses that went into building that phone to eventually sell is a deduction. In accounting speak,

it's the cost of goods sold. If you want to be really cool, COGS. So if uh any of you are going out to a party this weekend, talk about your COGS uh with like one of your finance or accounting

friends. They will like be your best

friends. They will like be your best seat for the rest of the night. So your

cost of goods sold are all the expenses that go into building the product you are selling.

So this is where creators get tripped up. Um because you have a product you

up. Um because you have a product you are selling.

The product you are selling is your brand. It's your audience. It's the

brand. It's your audience. It's the

trust you've built with your audience.

Right? You would not be making money off of Jobstream unless you built those things up. Building those things up

things up. Building those things up doesn't just happen on accident. If they

did, please let me know. That'd be

fantastic. But it takes a lot of effort and time and money and so on to actually build up these things. So, anything that

goes into building your brand, your audience, your engagement, that trust, those are going to be things that are going to be deductible. Okay. So, let

that be your north star. Um, so just real quick, just we'll kind of uh speedrun through some of these deductions that you should be thinking about. Obviously, like any of your

about. Obviously, like any of your subscriptions you should be deducting that are somewhat related to your business. Um, any Adobe, Epidemic Sound,

business. Um, any Adobe, Epidemic Sound, Spotify, um, you know, if you're using any AI platform, any of those things, make sure you are deducting those. even

if some of them are used for personal.

Uh we are totally okay with deducting TV services like Netflix, HBO, things like that. Um as creators, uh we need to be

that. Um as creators, uh we need to be more in tune with trends than anyone else. So that is part of your R&D. Um

else. So that is part of your R&D. Um

your monthly cell phone and internet, make sure you're deducting those.

Without those, you don't have a business. So make sure you are deducting

business. So make sure you are deducting those things. Even if you're on your uh

those things. Even if you're on your uh you know your your sister's phone plan and like you Venmo her 75 bucks every

month it's still deductible. Uh any uh camera, video, sound, any equipment you've purchased uh for your business, for your content is going to be

deductible. Uh if you bought a new cell

deductible. Uh if you bought a new cell phone, once again even if some of these things are used for personal use, you can deduct it for your business. um if

you're using it for your business. Same

with like if you have a home office or a studio and you know all the decorations, your desk, your chair, all of those things are going to be deductible as well. Make sure you're taking every

well. Make sure you're taking every single one of those. um health

insurance. Um if you pay for health insurance on your own, so you do not get it from an employer or a spouse's employer, uh then you can deduct the

cost of health insurance, which is huge because health insurance is crazy. Um if

you are running any ads or working with any agency, uh all of those costs are going to be deductible. If you're part of any communities, the cost of those communities is deductible. uh the costs

of your LLC, you can deduct uh the costs of uh you know, if you do work with an accountant for your tax return or monthly bookkeeping, all of that will be deductible if you work with contractors,

video editors, all of that. Um you can deduct a portion of your home. So, if

you have a home office and uh you know it's dedicated to your work, uh you can deduct a portion of your rent and utilities or mortgage as part of your business as well, which can be a big

one.

uh personal items. Um you can especially if you are camera facing uh hair, makeup, nails, uh those can be deductible.

Clothing is is a little bit tricky. Uh

if fashion and clothing is your main content, right? Like our creators who

content, right? Like our creators who are Amazon affiliates who make all their money from buying Amazon clothing then selling it or whatever. Uh yeah,

absolute clothing is 100% deductible. Uh

if you are buying clothing for a very very specific shoot that can be deductible but um you know if Ramon's like, "Oh, I just love my black t-shirt.

Um this is great. I'm going to deduct this." Not deductible. Okay. Uh once

this." Not deductible. Okay. Uh once

again, ordinary necessary part of your business. One question we get every

business. One question we get every single webinar, so we just insert it now at the up front. Uh Botox uh filler not deductible. Uh plastic surgery. This is

deductible. Uh plastic surgery. This is

one of those things that's black and white. I I know, I know. I'm I'm sorry.

white. I I know, I know. I'm I'm sorry.

Um so uh the tax code is actually black and white on this. This has actually been taken to

on this. This has actually been taken to the courts and brought all the way up.

Um, I I won't get into the specific case.

Let's just say it involved plastic surgery in a dancer who wanted to write off certain plastic surgery. Um and so uh they determined that no plastic

surgery, no medical things can be deducted for your business. Botox,

pierces, skin considered surgery. So

that is not deductible. Okay. Travel

expenses. Um if you are traveling for collab or brand content, conferences, all of the travel costs will be deductible. Uh but also if you are

deductible. Uh but also if you are traveling for personal reasons, you can deduct that travel so long as you make

that trip filled with content. Uh you

produce a uh a significant amount of content around that trip and you should really plan for it, right? If if Kate goes to Italy and she just takes like

one picture of herself and she's like, "Great, uh selfie uh me in Italy. I'm

going to write the whole thing off. No.

Uh but instead, if you are planning a ton of content before uh during after you have affiliate links tied to the different things as you're preparing for the trip and like building a lot of

content around it, that is when the trip can feel deductible. Okay? So, just kind of think about that. I know it kind of takes the romanticism out of taking a trip. Uh but if you want to deduct it,

trip. Uh but if you want to deduct it, kind of need to treat it like a business. It kind of goes back to that

business. It kind of goes back to that mindset, right? Uh if you truly do want

mindset, right? Uh if you truly do want a personal trip, just don't deduct it and that's fine. Uh meals, make sure you're deducting your meals. Uh we see a lot of people really not taking

advantage of this. Um especially if you are an entrepreneur like all of you are.

Um and if you have kids, I have kids. Um

and you work late. Uh it's long hours.

Um, and if you're ordering Door Dash or Uber Eats or going out in order so you can work later, do your thing, make sure you're deducting those meals. Um, or if you're just out with uh friends or whoever and you're talking content

strategy, make sure you're deducting those. Uh, car, you can run off your

those. Uh, car, you can run off your mileage uh that you're using your car for your content purposes. Um, even if it's as simple as going to Home Depot to

get some stuff for your home office, right? Business mileage. Um, a question

right? Business mileage. Um, a question we get a lot is for some reason, no, like not I understand why no one knows anything about the tax code, but everyone knows about section 179. Like

magically, everyone knows that one piece of the tax code. Um, you can deduct a portion of your vehicle that you purchase that year so long as it's used

more than 50% for business. It doesn't

need to be more than 6,000. Uh, that's a huge misconception. you get more of a

huge misconception. you get more of a deduction if it's more than £6,000, but it doesn't have to be more than £6,000.

Uh just be very careful with auto deduction. It definitely raises an

deduction. It definitely raises an orange flag, and if you're not careful, can definitely raise a red flag when you're doing your taxes. Uh but talk with your CPA. Uh definitely a way to

lower your taxes.

Okay, I will stop speedrunning because I know we only have a few more minutes, so I'm gonna be quiet. uh Katie or any uh

one else on the call. Um what what questions can we answer for you? Uh what

would be helpful while you have us on the phone?

We did get a bunch of questions in from those who said that they couldn't make it.

Um, one of them was, you know, for the creator who's really just starting out and just starting to build their income

stream, they might have another LLC. And

the question was, I already have this other LLC for maybe another business or consulting or something that they were

already doing. um do they start up

already doing. um do they start up another LLC or do they keep the one that they have and fold everything in? Great

question. Thank you so much for asking that one because that that's a really good one. Um

good one. Um here's our recommendation.

If your existing LLC is somewhat even tangental, right? You were doing

tangental, right? You were doing consulting before, now you're doing this. Um keep that same LLC, right?

this. Um keep that same LLC, right?

especially if you already have the LLC, you already have the EIN, maybe you even have a bank account, just just continue using that. Um, the only time you really

using that. Um, the only time you really want to set up a whole separate LLC is when you don't have one already set up or it's with a business with a very

different risk profile. Like, oh, uh, I had a contracting business or or wedding event planning business and now I'm going to start this new business of

content creation. Those are two very

content creation. Those are two very very different uh, businesses, prof risk profiles, so on. Get a new LLC. But if

you were already doing something kind of similar like in the same way, totally fine just to kind of put it all under that one LLC. Uh the example I use is if

you think about Apple, you know, Apple has computers, phones, um they have music, they have uh TV, but it all rolls

under Apple. Uh don't worry when it

under Apple. Uh don't worry when it comes to the LLC name. Please, for the love of everything, don't don't change the LLC name. Uh just whatever it was,

keep it. Don't do a DBA. Uh that's all

keep it. Don't do a DBA. Uh that's all useless, right? Uh no one sees the LLC

useless, right? Uh no one sees the LLC name except for when you fill out a W9, right? You don't put that LLC name

right? You don't put that LLC name pretty much anywhere else. Don't worry

about the name. If it doesn't match your your social handle or whatever it might be, great. Uh, in fact, when you are

be, great. Uh, in fact, when you are setting up an LLC, do not make your LLC name the same as your public-f facing

brand name.

Make it very vague. Um, so for Katie, it might be KF uh uh jobs LLC, right? um something that

is very different uh kind of generic because uh some states and some piece of information of your LLC becomes public record and you don't want people to kind

of tie it back to you. So those are my thoughts on the LLC name.

Sounds like a good safety security risk uh to to be aware of.

Yes, absolutely.

So you mentioned to se have your own bank account with your own checking and the amount of deductions you listed really are the essentials of everyday

life. Do you recommend

life. Do you recommend different credit cards or like what's the right, you know, how do you get how do you remember 365 days of spending when it's time to do your or I'm sorry,

it should really be the quarterly days of spending, but how like how do you keep track of it all?

Yeah, the the best advice uh do is once again if you're earning less than 75,000 a year, just do it on your own. Uh, I

would just encourage not to hire an accountant. You can do it on your own. I

accountant. You can do it on your own. I

think it's good just practice, learn these things. Uh, use something like

these things. Uh, use something like that Excel sheet we gave, that income expense tracker to keep track of these things. Um, to help you understand the

things. Um, to help you understand the income, expenses, kind of where you are for the quarter. Do not sign up for something like QuickBooks.

It is I I hate QuickBooks. Uh, we don't even use like QuickBooks is the worst.

uh you will get way confused uh and a lot of times people just give up or they messed it up even worse than it was before and even platforms like zero and

so on. Um I honestly just Excel would be

so on. Um I honestly just Excel would be probably the best uh to keep track of these things.

It always comes back to Excel.

I know. But once you do get past like 75 80 100,000 at that point, then you should really be thinking about as a business owner, is

your time better spent doing your bookkeeping and taxes and all of that, or really should you just be building your brand? That that's where you should

your brand? That that's where you should start thinking about that.

Well, we have one last question here and then we'll wrap, but it's from Kate and she says, "If we're convinced to start the LLC and have already had income or expenses this year, do we transfer that

amount over to start so this year has it all in one place?"

Good question. Uh, you could, but you you don't need to. Um, the best thing to do is on your Excel tracker, uh, put all

those income and expenses that you put through your personal, keep track of all of those. Uh, and then, you know, it

of those. Uh, and then, you know, it takes some time to move things over to your business, right? Like start moving those things over to your business. Uh,

and then it'll be nice and clean 30, 45 days later. But, uh, even if you start,

days later. But, uh, even if you start, and this might be part of your question, uh, even if you start your LLC today, all those expenses that you had

throughout the year still count. It's

still part of your business. Okay? So,

um, just because you start it late uh, or now, it doesn't mean you don't get those deductions. You still do. Don't

those deductions. You still do. Don't

worry about like transferring money in and out. Just like for the record, just

and out. Just like for the record, just put it in Excel and that's good enough.

Uh, the IRS does not care where money is coming or going. Uh, they just care what you report and that's actually true.

That's all they really care about.

Well, that was amazing. Um, I want to be respectful of everybody's time and certainly yours, Nate. And I learned so much on this call and I'm, you know,

personally motivated to, uh, start boosting up my own content creation. and

I pretty much only do job stream stuff, but um it all goes back to the business.

But anyways, there's so much here and I'm really excited about the future for creators. I mean, there's it's an

creators. I mean, there's it's an amazing future ahead, I think, for entrepreneurship. So, um we're excited

entrepreneurship. So, um we're excited to hopefully get to work with you or have our creators work with you in the future as they're growing. Um, we had a

special offer that your team sent around. Do you guys want to share what

around. Do you guys want to share what that is just so we can have it in the video clip and then we'll send it around on email?

Yeah, Sydney, do you want to talk about that?

Yes. As a thank you for joining the webinar, we can offer you guys um $300 off our services and I'll add a link in the chat as well to book a call.

Once again, it's very generous of you guys. Thank

you.

Only sign up if you're making, you know, 75,000 or more. Uh we save your money otherwise.

I know that's probably not what we should be saying, but All right. Well, thank you so much.

All right. Well, thank you so much.

Yeah. Thanks, Cookie Finance team.

All right. Bye, everyone.

Bye.

Hi. Before you hang up, I'm just going to copy and paste all this stuff, the questions. Yeah, I'm doing the same.

the questions. Yeah, I'm doing the same.

How do you think that went?

It was great. I love the presentations.

It was amazing. Like super informative.

So I believe that we can have great content from here like to LinkedIn and it's great.

I know I think some really good content.

Um yep and I posted a story in Instagram about this um co-working session. So I

have this question. If they ask for the video for example, we can share that.

An Instagram for example, they reply the story and say, "Hey, I want a video."

We can ask for an email and send them like the video.

That'd be great. Yeah, I think anytime we can be collecting email addresses, we should

um Is that Many Chat that manages that?

No no.

Also, maybe an idea that I Oh, it's an idea. Okay, wait. Let's hang

up and then let's chat after this. Okay.

Okay.

All right. Thanks. Right.