Something changed for 2026 that will catch a lot of creators, and almost nobody is talking about it.
The reporting threshold for the 1099-NEC — the form OnlyFans sends you and the IRS — rose from $600 to $2,000 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. If you earned $1,800 last year, you will get no form at all.
You still owe the tax. The form is a courtesy copy of information the IRS receives; it is not what creates the obligation. No form has never meant no tax, and this year a lot more people are going to learn that the expensive way.
This is general information, not tax advice. We're a marketing agency, not accountants or tax preparers, and this is our own reading at the time of writing. Figures and thresholds change every year and your situation is specific to you — have it reviewed by a qualified professional before you act on anything here.
What you're actually filing
The IRS treats you as a business, not an employee. Nobody withheld anything, so nothing has been paid on your behalf.
Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business. You list your gross income — the 1099-NEC figure plus every other dollar the platforms paid you, plus tips, plus affiliate income, whether or not any of it was reported on a form — then subtract your business expenses. What's left is your net profit.
That net profit gets taxed twice over, in a sense, by two different systems:
| What it is | Rate | |
|---|---|---|
| Self-employment tax | Social Security and Medicare, the part an employer would normally split with you | 15.3% — 12.4% Social Security, 2.9% Medicare |
| Federal income tax | The ordinary progressive brackets | Depends on your total household income |
| State income tax | Varies enormously | 0% in some states, high single digits in others |
Two details worth knowing about the self-employment tax, because they soften it:
- It's calculated on 92.35% of your net profit, not on your gross 1099 figure and not on 100% of your profit.
- It kicks in once net earnings from self-employment reach $400. Below that, you may still owe income tax but not SE tax.
Quarterly payments: the part that surprises people
Employees have tax taken out of every paycheque. You don't, which is why the US system asks you to pay as you go.
If you expect to owe at least $1,000 for the year, you're expected to make quarterly estimated payments using Form 1040-ES. The due dates fall roughly in mid-April, mid-June, mid-September and mid-January of the following year.
Skipping them doesn't just defer the bill — it can add an underpayment penalty on top of it. This is the single most common expensive mistake among first-year creators, and it's entirely avoidable: the money was always going to be owed, the only question was whether you'd set it aside.
Practical rule: move 25–35% of every payout into a separate account the day it arrives, before it feels like yours. The right number depends on your state, your other income and your deductions — but any reserve beats none, and the people who get hurt are the ones who spent a year's gross.
What you can deduct on Schedule C
Unlike a simplified regime, the US system lets you deduct actual business expenses — which makes record-keeping genuinely worth money.
- Platform commission and your agency's share
- Lingerie, outfits and props used only for content
- Camera, phone, lighting, tripod (sometimes depreciated rather than deducted at once)
- Editing software, scheduling tools, subscriptions
- A share of internet and phone bills
- Home office, if you have a space used regularly and exclusively for the work — the rules here are strict and worth asking about specifically
- Travel for shoots, photographer, hair and makeup
- Your accountant's fee
There's also the qualified business income deduction (Section 199A), which can allow a deduction of up to 20% of qualified business income for pass-through businesses, subject to income limits and conditions. Whether it applies to you is exactly the kind of question worth paying a professional an hour for.
Keep receipts. "I think it was about $200" is not a deduction; an invoice is.
Privacy: the question everyone asks second
Two things worth knowing, both of which are ordinary business practice rather than anything exotic.
You can apply for an EIN. An Employer Identification Number is free from the IRS and many sole proprietors use one on tax forms in place of their Social Security number. It doesn't hide you from the IRS — nothing does, and nothing should — but it means your SSN isn't the number sitting on paperwork.
Describe the business in neutral terms. "Online content creation" or "digital media" is accurate and sufficient. You don't owe anyone a niche description, and IRS staff are bound by confidentiality rules.
If either of these matters to you, raise them with a preparer before your first filing rather than after. The same goes for the wider question of staying anonymous as a creator, which is a separate problem from tax.
Five mistakes that cost real money
- Assuming no 1099 means no obligation. With the threshold at $2,000, this is going to be the mistake of 2026.
- Spending gross. Set the reserve aside on payout day, automatically.
- Skipping quarterlies, then meeting both the bill and an underpayment penalty at once.
- Mixing personal and business money in one account, which makes every deduction harder to prove.
- Filing the first year alone to save the preparer's fee. The errors usually cost more than the fee did.
What we do and don't do
We're an agency, not tax advisers, and we won't pretend otherwise. What we give our creators is clean monthly numbers — gross revenue, platform fees, agency share, net paid out — so your accountant has everything in one place instead of a year of screenshots, and income steady enough to plan around.
If you currently have to guess what you earned last month, that's the real problem, and it's a bigger one than which form you file. See going full-time and what beginners actually earn.
Apply to Pony Agency if you want the earning side handled properly — and hire a professional for the tax side.
FAQ
Does OnlyFans send a 1099?
Yes, a 1099-NEC — but only above the reporting threshold, which rose to $2,000 for 2026. Below that you get no form, and you still have to report the income.
How much tax will I pay on OnlyFans income?
Self-employment tax is 15.3% on 92.35% of your net profit, plus federal income tax at your bracket, plus state income tax where your state has one. Most creators are told to reserve 25–35% of each payout.
Do I have to pay quarterly taxes?
If you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year, yes — using Form 1040-ES, roughly in April, June, September and the following January. Missing them can add an underpayment penalty.
What form do I file OnlyFans income on?
Schedule C attached to your Form 1040, reporting gross income and business expenses. Self-employment tax is then calculated on Schedule SE.
Can I use an EIN instead of my SSN?
Many sole proprietors do. An EIN is free from the IRS and keeps your Social Security number off paperwork. It doesn't change what you owe or report — ask a preparer how it applies to your setup.
What if I've earned for months and never declared it?
Talk to a tax professional now rather than later. Voluntary correction is a normal process and almost always cheaper than being assessed, and the amount owed only grows with interest.
No form has never meant no tax — and in 2026 far fewer forms are going out. Reserve a share of every payout, pay quarterly if you'll owe, keep your receipts, and hire someone for the first filing. Then apply to Pony Agency and get back to the part that actually earns.