If you live in the UK and earn money on OnlyFans, Fansly or any other platform, that money does not stay between you and the platform. It is income, HMRC (the UK tax authority) can ask about it, and the main deadlines work differently from what you know from a payslip.

This is general information, not tax advice. We are a marketing agency, not accountants, and this is our own reading of the official guidance on 28 October 2026. Rates and thresholds change, and your situation is specific. For your first return, have a qualified accountant or an HMRC adviser look at it.

If you have not started yet, one honest note before the tax part: content you publish can never be fully taken back, your name can be linked to your account, and income can swing a lot from month to month. Our guide to starting OnlyFans covers those risks. Taxes are the part you can plan for, so plan for them from the first payout.

Do you have to tell HMRC?

For most creators this is self-employed trading income, the same category as other freelance work (an accountant or HMRC can confirm how it applies to you). HMRC's guidance says the following about the £1,000 trading allowance:

  • You can get up to £1,000 a year in tax-free allowances for trading income.
  • If your annual gross trading income is £1,000 or less, you may not have to tell HMRC. "Gross" means the total before any expenses are taken off. You still have to keep records.
  • If it is more than £1,000, you can deduct £1,000 as a flat allowance instead of your real expenses. If your actual expenses are higher than the income you would cover with it, claiming expenses may be better.
  • There are circumstances where you must register and declare even below £1,000, and you can choose to file a return anyway.

Gross income across all your platforms counts, not each platform on its own. Tips, custom content, pay-per-view messages and any off-platform income all belong in the same total. If you are close to £1,000, assume you need to register.

The deadlines that catch people

The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. The current year is 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. These are the dates for the year that ended on 5 April 2026:

What Deadline
Tell HMRC that you need to file (register for Self Assessment), if you have not filed before 5 October 2026
Paper tax return 31 October 2026
Online tax return and payment of the tax you owe 31 January 2027
Second payment, if you pay on account 31 July

HMRC says that if you tell it after 5 October you could get a penalty. If you start OnlyFans in the middle of a tax year, the clock for your first registration runs to 5 October after the tax year ends, but your records start on day one.

What you pay tax on

You pay tax on your profit, not on everything the platform pays you. You work it out by taking your self-employed income and subtracting the allowable business expenses (or the £1,000 allowance, whichever suits you better, not both).

HMRC's list of allowable expenses includes advertising and marketing, subscriptions, financial costs such as bank charges, office costs such as phone bills and clothing costs that fit its rules. Costs you use for both private and business purposes can only be claimed for the business part. If you are not sure whether something counts, ask HMRC or an accountant before you claim it, and keep every receipt. Keep records of platform fees and of any share you pay to an agency, and ask your accountant how they should appear in your figures.

Income Tax and National Insurance, 2026/27

Your creator profit is added to your other income, for example a salary. Income Tax then applies by band:

Band Taxable income Rate
Personal Allowance up to £12,570 0%
Basic rate £12,571 to £50,270 20%
Higher rate £50,271 to £125,140 40%
Additional rate over £125,140 45%

If you earn more than £100,000, the Personal Allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 above that line. Many creators have a job as well; the extra profit then sits on top of your salary, which can push part of it into a higher band. Our day job guide covers the privacy side of working next to a job.

Self-employed people also pay National Insurance. For 2026/27, HMRC lists:

  • Profits of £7,105 or more: Class 2 contributions are treated as paid, so you do not pay them.
  • Profits over £12,570: Class 4 contributions of 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% on profits above £50,270.
  • Profits under £7,105: nothing to pay, but you can choose to pay voluntary Class 2 contributions (£3.65 a week).

Most people pay Class 2 and Class 4 through Self Assessment.

VAT: the £90,000 line

You must register for VAT if your taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or if you expect it to go over that in the next 30 days. Below it, registration is voluntary. If you get near this level, speak to an accountant, because the rules on what counts as taxable turnover and where your fans are based can be complicated.

HMRC can see more than you think

UK rules require certain digital platforms to report information about their sellers' income to HMRC, and HMRC exchanges that information with tax authorities in other countries. Whether a particular platform reports on you depends on where it is based and where you live, so do not build a plan on the idea that nobody will know. The safe route is to declare what you earn.

Set money aside from the first payout

Nobody takes tax off your payouts, so you have to. Move a share of every payout into a separate savings account on the day it arrives. The right share depends on your total income that year, so use HMRC's Self Assessment tax calculator to estimate it, then adjust. A reserve that is too big is a nice problem; the bill on 31 January that you cannot pay is not.

Questions we get a lot

Do I need to register as a sole trader?

For most creators, being self-employed means registering for Self Assessment as a sole trader. If your gross trading income stays at £1,000 or below, you may not have to tell HMRC at all. Check your situation on GOV.UK or with an accountant.

Does my stage name have to appear anywhere?

HMRC needs your legal details. Your stage name is not something you have to hand to fans, and you should not give fans your legal name. Keep your creator identity and your legal identity separate in public, and honest with HMRC.

What if I have earned for months and not told HMRC?

Talk to an accountant now, not later. HMRC has procedures for correcting the position, and the amount owed only grows with time.

Does the 60/40 split change how I am taxed?

If you work with a management agency, what counts for your tax depends on how the money reaches you and on your contract. Ask an accountant to look at the agreement. Never rely on a general article for that.

Where Pony fits

Pony Agency manages OnlyFans, Fansly and MYM for adult creators, with a personal manager, fan messaging, content and pricing strategy, posting-time analysis, promotion and privacy support including DMCA takedowns. That gives you time for the business side, including your tax records.

For full management, the split is 60% to Pony Agency and 40% to the creator, calculated on net revenue after platform fees and any chargebacks or reversals. The agreement is non-exclusive and either side can end it with 30 days' notice. Your content stays yours, and accounts you already have stay yours.

If you want help building a creator business you can run properly, apply for a fit review. An application starts a conversation, and you decide whether it goes further.

Sources

Accessed 2026-10-28.

Cover photo: Unsplash photographer (author not named on Commons), via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (public domain). Cropped.