Can You Deduct Hobbies as Business Expenses on Taxes if Monetized?
“Some youtubers are still actually just hobbyists. They don't need the channel to "survive" per se bc they're just recording their hobby around their day job.** And like all nerds with a niche interest--myself included--they repeat themselves and annoy the hell out of friends, family, and strangers😅 **cool note, though...if you can get to the point of being monetized, it means your hobby you were doing anyway can be partially deducted as business expenses on your taxes. It's why stupid tiktok influencers record everything they do. They can deduct their morning latte if they post a video of them getting it🤯”
Summary
Many creators continue to run YouTube channels as a hobby and do not rely on the income for their livelihood. Once a channel earns revenue, creators may deduct ordinary business expenses tied to the content creation, such as equipment or supplies, on their tax returns. However, ordinary personal items like a morning latte are not automatically deductible merely because they appear in a video; deductions require a clear business purpose and are subject to tax rules.
Sources 60 searched
- YouTuber - Wikipedia
The rapid influx of wealth within the YouTube community has led some to criticize YouTubers for focusing on earnings more than the creativity and connection with their fanbase that some claim was at the heart of the platform before expanded monetization. In August 2021, it was reported Kevin Paffrath made $5 million in just the first 3 months of 2021 and his YouTube analytics showed he made "several million" in ad revenue within the prior 12 months.
- Is YouTube a Real Job? Debunking The Myths! | by Daniel Imbellino | strategic-social-news-wire | Medium
This is the reaction I often see in the comment sections of videos across the YouTube platform; where viewers tell creators quote, “This isn’t a real job, you don’t work that hard, and you’re just being lazy!” To the average viewer on YouTube, they just assume that creators are just people who sit in front of a camera running their mouths aimlessly, or some gamer who sits in front of a computer recording their latest game plays in hopes of making a fast buck. Sorry to tell the world, but it ain’t that simple! The fact is, those mega channels with hundreds of thousands and often millions of subscribers actually worked for years to build the audiences they have today, and those hard earned audiences are often the result of thousands upon thousands of hours of hard work, and years of endless slavery.
- r/NewTubers on Reddit: does anyone here do youtube ONLY because they enjoy it? as a hobby?
I already have a job, I don't need an unpaid second one. Loads of people start channels thinking they will easily make it and then get frustrated when no one watches ... Agreed! I've been streaming for 2 years and im at 700 follows and I've been doing YouTube for a long time and barely just hit 1k.
- r/NewTubers on Reddit: YouTube is a hobby, not a vocation.
168 votes, 93 comments. I’ve been posting videos for about 3 months, and come to the realisation that, if you look at content creation as a hobby…
- r/PartneredYoutube on Reddit: Whatever happened to YouTubers being "YouTubers" instead of churning out formatted content?
My brain just automatically knows what to say next after I'm done with each segment. Speaking on the "cinematic" part, the bar that's being set today is much, much higher. You can't get away with raw unedited content from a phone camera anymore because that's too low effort. On Tiktok yes, but not youtube. Basically you need quality in a full package - content, audio, video. Of course i haven't mastered all three. I'm okay with that because before i started youtube, im have been a hobbyist photographer for over a decade.
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