OnlyFans Taxes for Canadians
Have you wondered how OnlyFans taxes for Canadians work? If you’ve joined OnlyFans as a performer and have started to earn an income, you’ll need to pay your fair share of income tax. To be clear, it doesn’t matter if you’ve earned $10 or $100,000 on the platform, any income earned is considered self-employment income and needs to be reported to the Canada Revenue Agency. Also, the CRA does not care what your profession is. They just want you to pay your taxes.
The good news is that OnlyFans taxes for Canadians is quite simple, and you can file on your own to keep things low-key. Another positive thing about being self-employed is that you can write off some of your expenses, which may reduce your tax bill. Here’s everything you need to know about filing your taxes as an OnlyFans performer.
Understanding your payments
Canadian content creators should be getting 80% of their revenue from OnlyFans. The 20% that’s held is their fee. When it comes time to file your taxes, you should technically be claiming the full 100%, but the 20% fee could be claimed on Line 8871 – Management and administration fees.
For example, let’s say your total earning is US$10,000 for the previous year and OnlyFans took their standard 20% cut which is US$2,000. You’d be able to claim that $2,000 as an expense.
That said, I’m guessing that if you just claimed the 80% as your gross income, the CRA isn’t going to put up a stink. For disclosure purposes, I’m not an accountant, so you should refer to one if you want a definite answer.
OnlyFans is based in the United Kingdom and they have a tax treaty with Canada. That means you don’t need to pay them any taxes as long as you’re filing in Canada.
Claim your business expenses
Generally speaking, you can claim any expenses that are related to your business when you file your taxes. As an OnlyFans creator, you’ll likely have costs such as your rent/mortgage, cell phone bill internet, computer hardware etc. Even things such as lights, cameras, outfits, lube, subscriptions and toys would be considered legitimate tax deductions.
The key thing to understand is that you can only claim the percentage related to your business. For example, let’s say 75% of your internet usage is for work and 25% is for personal use. In this case, you’d only be able to claim 75% of your internet bills as a business expense. Another example would be your office space. If your setup takes up 15% of your home, you could claim 15% of your rent/mortgage as a business expense.
Any money you spend on advertising or office expenses would also be obvious business expenses. One of the biggest mistakes freelancers make is not claiming their business expenses.
Note that any money you lose due to currency conversion fees would qualify as a business expense. You just need to do your own record keeping as OnlyFans won’t do it for you. Basically, you’d have to look at the exchange rate that the conversion currency company charges you, and then compare it to the spot rate posted on xe.com. That difference is what you could claim as a fee.
If you’re going to claim any business expenses, you need to keep your receipts. These receipts validate your costs and will be helpful if you ever get audited. Besides hanging onto your receipts, you’ll want to create a log of your expenses, so when you do your OnlyFans taxes for Canadians, things will be easier.
The key thing to understand here is that the CRA simply wants you to pay your fair of taxes. If you’re filing your taxes and paying what you owe, the CRA won’t care. Now, if you’re claiming say $5,000 in expenses and you’re only making $6,000 in income, they may take a closer look at your return so be honest.
Your location matters
Another aspect of the tax system to be aware of is where you’re located. If you’re Canadian and performing in Canada, then everything in this article applies. However, if you’re Canadian and performing anywhere else, such as the United States, the local rules will likely apply.
Let’s say you’re working remotely in another country on a work visa, their tax system would likely apply to you. Now let’s say sex work is illegal in the country you’re in. Performing on OnlyFans presents a bit of risk if you want to be honest.
You really need to pay attention to the rules of the country you’re in to ensure you’re not breaking any laws. Let’s say you’re on vacation in the U.S. and you want to do some shoots during your downtime. Well, unless you have a work permit, you’re breaking the law. If you’re caught, you could be banned from entering the U.S. in the future.
Another practical example is if you’re on a student visa that limits the number of hours you work and where you work. You could easily be breaking the terms of your visa by performing on OnlyFans. It’s up to you to make a judgement call about your work, but you should at least be aware of any potential consequences.
Fill out the T2125 form
The T2125 is a Statement of Business Activities form used by self-employed individuals. This form is where you would claim your expenses. The income you earned minus your costs is how your net income is calculated.
Don’t worry if you still have a day job. Income from OnlyFans just gets added to your overall income. It’s really no different from someone who drives Uber on the side or a content creator on different social media platforms.
The T2125 is available in every tax software out there, so it’s not like you need to print out a specific form and include it in your tax return (unless you’re doing things by hand). When you say you have self-employment income, the tax software will prompt you with the appropriate things you need to include, so it’s unlikely you’ll miss anything.
Registering for a GST/HST number
Changes to Canadian law now require OnlyFans to apply SalesTax to transactions. This new change took place as of Jul 1, 2021. OnlyFans collects GST/HST from users depending on where they live. For example, if they’re from within Canada, they’d be charged GST/HST. That money collected is only for OnlyFan’s tax requirements. TO be clear, OnlyFans does not pay taxes on your behalf.
As a Canadian freelancer, you’re required to register for a GST/HST number when you earn CA $30,000 of income in any given year. Once you’ve registered, you need to start charging taxes for your services. The problem is, OnlyFans doesn’t allow you to input your GST/HST number, so you’re not able to collect taxes.
Unfortunately, as far as the CRA is concerned, you should be charging taxes. Content creators have confirmed that you only need to remit sales tax on your net sales (what you make after OnlyFans takes their cut). You also wouldn’t include any tips or gifts you’ve made.
For example, let’s say you reside in Ontario, and you’re registered for HST. You have a total earnings of $50,000. That’s after OnlyFans cut and it doesn’t include your tips from your subscribers. In reality, you actually earned $44,247.79 in income and collected $5,752.21 in HST.
While this is clearly annoying as you’d lose 20% to OnlyFans, up to 13% in sales tax, and the regular taxes you pay on your income. If it feels like you’re being double taxed, you’re not wrong. But until the CRA sorts this out with Fenix International Limited, you’re going to need to pay it. For reference, other for hire sites allow Canadians to input their HST number to collect taxes on services. OnlyFans does not.
OnlyFans has this FAQ page that talks about taxes, but it doesn’t go into many details.
In most cases, using the quick method to calculate HST instead of the regular method will be better for content creators. Not only will it reduce the amount of work required, but it’ll also likely reduce how much HST you owe.
Canada Pension Plan contributions
If your self-employment income is more than $3,500, you’ll be required to pay both the employer and employee portion of CPP. In 2020, that rate was 10.5%, with a maximum yearly pensionable income of $58,700.
This amount is offset by any business expenses you can claim, so keeping records is important.
Using your credit card for business
If you want to keep your business expenses separate from your personal expenses (especially if you have a joint credit card with someone), you’ll likely want to get your own credit card.
As long as you have a credit history, getting a credit card won’t be difficult. However, premium credit cards typically have a higher annual income requirement for you to qualify.
Alternatively, you could get a business credit card such as the American Express Business Platinum Card. By having a dedicated credit card that you use just for your business, you can manage your expenses easier (and keep them private). Note that the annual fee for your business card may qualify as a business expense.
Another solution is to get a KOHO card. KOHO is a prepaid credit card that uses the Visa network, so you’ll be able to use it just about anywhere. What makes it appealing to content creators is the fact that it can be discreet. Once you get the actual card from KOHO, you’ll never get any paper statements. That said, you can obviously check all your transactions directly from the app. You can also set up direct deposits directly to the card. In other words, you can keep your finances completely separate from your regular bank account.
KOHO
- No annual fee
- $20 for free when signing up with a referral link
- Earn up to 5% cash-back
- 1% cash back on groceries and transportation
- 0.5% interest on your spending and savings accounts with direct deposit set up
When you should use an accountant
If you’ve logged all your income and expenses, you can likely fill out your OnlyFans taxes for Canadians on your own via software. TurboTax Self-Employed is specifically designed for self-employed individuals and comes highly recommended. **Note that I’m giving away four free TurboTax codes. Read this TurboTax Review for the details.
It’s pretty common for younger people to have their taxes filed by a family member. As I’ve stated, filing your own taxes is easy, so just telling your family member you want to learn to do things on your own really isn’t a weird thing.
Some people may prefer to use an accountant to file their taxes. This can be a good idea if you want assistance from a professional who can advise you on all things tax-related. While you may feel weird going to a professional as a sex work professional, accountants do not care. Tax laws are pretty black and white. Your chosen line of work does not change anything.
Another option is to use TurboTax Live Full Service. For $129.99, you can have an expert file your taxes on your behalf. You just need to provide any relevant documents. This can be handy since you don’t need to leave your home and it’s cheaper than an accountant.
Going to a professional is also beneficial to anyone who normally uses friends or family members to file their taxes. The last thing you want is for that friend or family member to gossip about what you do.
How much should you save for taxes?
In Canada, we have a marginal tax rate. The more money you earn, the more personal income tax you’ll pay. Generally speaking, setting aside 25% of your income for taxes is a good start. However, if you make a high income from OnlyFans or still have a day job, you’ll likely need to budget more since you may be in a higher tax bracket. For example, if you earned $120K, you’ll likely pay closer to 30-35% in taxes, so you should set aside $40K for tax purposes.
It’s a good idea to set up a bank account with a digital bank such as EQ Bank. This way, any money you set aside for taxes can earn you some interest for the time being. EQ Bank has no monthly fees and can connect directly with any of your other banks. If you left your money in a regular bricks and mortar bank, it would just be sitting there not earning you anything. Also, having a digital bank account ensures no family member sees your income if you currently only have a joint bank account.
How to reduce your exchange fees
One major issue for Canadian content creators on OnlyFans is how they get paid out. Right now, your options are as follows:
- Paxum – ewallet
- Cosmo Prepaid Mastercard
- Skrill
- Local currency bank payment
A local currency bank payment is the cheapest way to convert the U.S. Dollars you get to Canadian dollars, but it takes a few steps. First, see if your regular bank has operations in the U.S. If they do, you can open a U.S. domicile bank account with them. For example, TD Bank has branches in the U.S. You could get TD Canada to set you up an account in the U.S. For a detailed guide, read this article I wrote on TD Cross Border Banking.
Once you have that account set up, you can deposit your pay directly. Now, to minimize your exchange fees, you’d want to sign up with Wise. With wise, you get some of the lowest exchange rates. That means you can transfer funds from your U.S. bank account to a Canadian bank account almost instantly without having to pay a huge amount in fees. This is ideal for people who are making frequent smaller exchanges.
On the other hand, let’s say you’re exchanging huge amounts. As in, $10,000+ at a time. In this case, it might be worth the trouble to do Norbert’s Gambit since it’s the cheapest possible way to exchange USD for CAD dollars.
Incorporating your business
If you’re a high-income Onlyfans content creator, you may want to consider incorporating (instead of being a sole proprietor). Although it takes a few steps to get set up, the tax savings are considerable. FBC recently reached out and shared how they got some of their clients incorporated for OnlyFans.
- Hire a lawyer to do your incorporation (it is better to pay extra money now) if you make a mistake a lawyer will be needed to fix it and will charge even more.
- When incorporating make sure the share structure is correct Fenix International requires that the Performer be at least 51% shareholder. In the case of couples whoever’s name is on the original account must be the 51% shareholder and sole director (this is to protect performers from illegal trafficking)
- With a corporate return, you should also have an accountant T2 (corporate tax return is much more complicated than a T1(personal tax return)
- After getting your professionals in order you will need a bank account in the companies name (you will have to disclose the nature of your business to the bank)
- You must contact Fenix international to let them know you have incorporated and they will ask you for your certificate and articles of incorporation.
- You must have all money come from Fenix to your corporate bank and any money left inside the company is taxed at 9% federally and whatever your provincial rate is the largest in Canada in Ontario at 3.2%
- You then come up with a plan with your accountant and financial advisor on how best to take your money out of your corporation or invest within your corporation every situation is different.
Final thoughts
OnlyFans Taxes for Canadians is no different from freelance taxes for Canadians or self-employment taxes. In the eyes of the CRA, OnlyFans, you’re just another independent contractor. As long as you’re filing your income tax return and your tax obligations are being paid, the CRA will not care. There’s no shame in what you do. You should be proud of the business you’ve built.
Thank you so much for this article! Very simple and straight to the point, you made it so easy to understand for me who has no background in finances.
As a Canadian content creator, OnlyFans doesn’t withhold any of your earnings for tax purposes. You recieve 80 percent, straight up, of all revenues.
That’s what I thought, it’s how it is with other cam site platforms.
You know your percentage cut straight away and their records do not show how much their percentage split is.
You only know how much you are paid in your sales and commission page and that is all.
Thank you so much for this article. It’s cleared up a lot of confusion that I had.
I’ve been thinking about becoming a content creator. I’m currently a Canadian international student in the U.S. I’m on an F-1 visa. I’ve been a student in the U.S. for 7 years and file my taxes with the IRS as a “U.S. resident for tax purposes”. If I start an OnlyFans account, will I have to file my taxes with the IRS and CRA? Also, does this type of income affect my F-1 visa status?
Ashley,
Doesn’t look like OnlyFans would qualify as employment under your visa – https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/students-and-exchange-visitors/students-and-employment
So I did a lot of research on this, OnlyFans is considered employment. If you are on an F-1 visa, you cannot work off-campus (unless you get paid under the table and don’t claim your income), and you can only work on campus for 20 hours a week during your academic semester, and an unlimited amount of hours outside of the academic semester, such as the summer. Since OnlyFans is an online entity, as an NRA on an F-1 visa, you have to physically make a post on OnlyFans while in your home country for your F-1 status to be upheld. You cannot be in the U.S. and run a OnlyFans account while posting content in the U.S. For example, I’m a Canadian student spending most of my time in the U.S.; but if I run an OnlyFans account while I’m still here, it’s a violation of my visa, if I’m physically at home dong it, they can’t say boo. They do it this way to really limit folks on student visas on their work options, because the main reason for their F-1 visa is to get an education. All and all, the F-1 visa life is hard man.
Very interesting. It seems like the US makes it very difficult for any non-American to work in the country. I just took a quick look at employment eligibility for people in Canada on a student visa and they’re allowed to work up to 20 hours off campus, and an unlimited amount or 40 during regular breaks.
I wish I could say I’m surprised by this, but I’m not.
Wow, I didn’t know that about international students going to school in Canada. What a difference! At least, you’re giving these students a chance to make ends meet while going to school.
Yeah, it seems pretty easy for people in Canada on student visas to work – https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/work-off-campus.html#requirements
Really sorry to hear about your situation. The US is so obsessed with protecting their jobs that they go out of their way to screw people.
I was almost turned around at the border one time because I told them I was there for a work trip. I had to explain that I’m a travel journalist and that I was checking out X city so I could write about it. I had to prove I wasn’t writing for a US publication. The border agent looked me up on the spot to verify everything I was telling him.
It’s actually problematic for content creators on only fans in Canada because of the nature of the platform. Typically Canadian financial institutions dislike adult business so they make it extremely difficult even if the business is operating legally.
Isn’t OnlyFans a UK based company so one would HAVE to pay GST/HST?
GiGi,
Any company outside of Canada is 0 rated so GST/HST is not charged.
thank you so much for writing this! It helps a lot!
This is very interesting and in addition to the taxation issues, receiving payments from US customers is not the easiest thing in the world. At Truly Financial we aim to make this process easier for anyone who is selling to US customers. Do check out https://trulyfinancial.com for early access.
Would love to collaborate on this Barry.
May this article then mean that as OnlyFans takes %80, then another tax fee of %25 has to be saved and set aside of whatever Net Income received from OnlyFans to give the tax man at tax time = %45 deducted for tax? aside from calculating the expenses.
as is mentioned in this article:
“Canadian content creators should be getting 80% of their revenue from OnlyFans.”.
and:
“Generally speaking, setting aside 25% of your income for taxes is a good start.”.
Figuratively?
Nicky,
The 20% that OnlyFans taxes is a business expense that can be claimed when you file your taxes. It would lower your taxable income. Thr 25% I suggest you set aside is specifically for paying taxes. If you earn a high income via OnlyFans, you’ll want to set aside more.
In the T2125 form it asked for gross sales but I don’t know what my gross sales are. Since there’s a conversation rate I was receiving more than what is on the OF website. What does this mean for my taxes? How do I find my gross sales as a Canadian?
conversion rate***
Kat,
You calculate it using the average exchange rate for the corresponding tax year which is located on the Bank of Canada website.
https://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/exchange/annual-average-exchange-rates/
Since you get paid in USD with OnlyFans, use 2020 exchange rate which was 1.3415
Great info thank you so much!
What method of payment are you peeps using when getting paid out from onlyfans, because I wonder if that has an impact on income origin.
Thank you so much! You’re helping me big time xo !
I was thinking about starting an onlyfans, But would doing so be a problem for me & the government? As in Would it be a problem for me getting a job if they know what I’m doing ?
Your online presence could definitely affect your career. Many people who perform on OnlyFans do it annonymously to protect themselves.
Thanks for bringing some clarity to a frowned upon industry that professionals tend to avoid. One thing that came to my attention was when cashing out from onlyfans the USD is converted into CAD when it arrives in my bank, but its usually around 2% less than what the current exchange rate is. This is the international transaction fee i think and is this also considered tax deductible?
Hi Mel,
Yes, the difference in the exchange rate is a tax deductible fee.
Thanks Barry,
Is there documentation of how much was taken? I could not find the information.
Hey Mel,
You need to manually calculate it based on the exchange rate that’s posted on the day you get paid. You can go to XE.com for the daily and historical exchange rates.
For example, at the time of this writing 1 USD = 1.23466 CAD. So US $1,000 = $1,234.63. But let’s say you only got paid $1,220.
The fee you paid is $14.63.
Was there changes to the Tax law for collecting HST in July 2021? Will Canadian content creators be required to collect/pay HST on all onlyfans earnings?? This is a very confusing time!
Rico,
They did. In theory, OnlyFans should be collecting a remitting HST. However, if you have an HST number, they should be adding it to your earnings, which then you have to remit it. I updated the post to mention the changes.
That’s helpful! Thanks Barry, do they only charge Canadians the HST? Or is it charged to everyone globally if you’re a Canadian entertainer? I don’t see anything on the earnings statements that breaks down any HST charges etc so my accountant is very worried.
Part of onlyfans tax questions in the help section state that they charge and remit taxes to your local tax authority.. I’m hopeful that means they’re charged appropriate taxes and not leaving it up to the entertainer (as the entertainer has no access to the clients information that’s making the purchase.. ie, no way of providing them an invoice reflecting HST etc)
Rico,
Since I don’t use OnlyFans, nor am I a performer, I can’t really comment. I can only base my info on what they’ve shared and how I’ve seen other sites handle it.
I wouldn’t trust any site to remit the appropriate taxes on your behalf. You should contact them for clarification as in the end, you’re responsible for your own taxes.
Thanks Barry.
That is very good advice. I have been chasing the information for a while as this could be a huge shock to my partner and I, but many other Canadian performers!
On a bit of good news, as I am still waiting for OF support to respond to my inquiries, I decided to create an account as a purchaser in Canada and was charged HST on a $5 purchase (the performer would receive the $5 and not see the additonal taxes) I was charged a total of $5.65. Then check my partners profile and the earnings were $4.00 after OF cut. I am growing more confident that OF does handle the remittance on our behalf.
I am also a content creator trying to get some answers from Only Fans about HST. As of yet I have had no response. I see from your other post that you created an account and did get charged HST. Have you had any updates. This is a big deal of content creators.
This is not what is happening. I am a HST registered and OnlyFans will not take my HST number. They are paying HST on Canadian Creators, Canadian Sales but they are doing this as a non-resident that has a HST number. I have been recently HST audited and have been told that I have to remit 13% of my net earnings. This is a very complicated area that someone needs to sort. Basically CRA is getting paid on my Canadian sales from OnlyFans and then i am having to pay 13% on my total earnings both Canadian and non-Canadian because I am deemed for Canadian HST purposes as earning commission from OnlyFans. Its quite the nightmare that i’m sure most Canadian creators do not have a clue about.
I am a Canadian content creator and there is no where on a creators account to be able to upload a HST number. So that is not correct in this article. Getting any information from Only Fans about whether they do remit HST on a creators behalf or how to give Only Fans your HST number is basically zero. It’s very frustrating
I am a HST registered and OnlyFans will not take my HST number. They are paying HST on Canadian Creators, Canadian Sales but they are doing this as a non-resident that has a HST number. I have been recently HST audited and have been told that I have to remit 13% of my net earnings. This is a very complicated area that someone needs to sort. Basically CRA is getting paid on my Canadian sales from OnlyFans and then i am having to pay 13% on my total earnings both Canadian and non-Canadian because I am deemed for Canadian HST purposes as earning commission from OnlyFans. It’s quite the nightmare that i’m sure most Canadian creators do not have a clue about. Lisa make sure you are putting 13% aside and remit it.
This article is much more accurate now regarding HST for Canadian Creators. Except OnlyFans no longer converts your earnings from USD to Canada. You have to use one of the 3rd party’s. OnLyFans suggests. You will need that 3rd party’s statements to work out the exchange rate exspect a.
Update on my HST audit. CRA will
Allow your net sales to be considered net sales inclusive is HST not exclusive. So that at least is helpful. Next, only Fans didn’t become HST register until the end of July 2021 so earning from Jan 2021 to July 2021 do not have to have HST taken from them because the platform was considered ‘non- resident’ for HST so that should save creators something.
It would be great if CRA could get hold of Fenix International Limited (OnlyFans works from this company) and sort this out for Canadian creators. We need the same system that OnlyFans is providing for UK creators. We should be able to invoice OnlyFans regarding our HST. It would benefit them because it’s a ITC they can claim.
Hey Liz,
Thanks for the update. If the CRA said that you only need to pay tax on net sales, were you still allowed to claim the cut that OnlyFans charges you as a business expense?
To me, that would sound like double-dipping since claiming the fee would reduce your taxable income.
We are allowed to claim the 20% OnlyFans fees as expenses. CRA will take your Net sales as your income. There are exchange rate fees for example. Shrill charges 3.99% to exchange USD to Canadian – That can be claimed as an expense. I have spent hours on the phone with my HST auditor trying to clarify what my HST responsibilities are. Bottom line I have to look at my net sales as if I have charged HST in them. OnlyFans provides a tip component in the Statement area. I’m allowed to deduct the tips from the net total and then deduct 13% from that total as the amount I owe to CRA (If there are other ITC I can claim they can be removed as well – which is normal).
Until OnlyFans catches up with what needs to be altered or CRA HST gets hold of Fenix International Limited or CRA makes an amendment this is where it’s at for HST registered Canadian Content Creators. It’s not great. I said to the auditor that it’s like CRA is double dipping when it comes to the HST and they agreed. It’s up to OnlyFans to sort this out or CRA to get hold of them to sort it out. Under normal circumstance we should be able to invoice OnlyFans for the HST and remit that – but we can’t. This info really need to get out to Canadian Creators otherwise if creators just think they are earning zero-rated sales they in for a big shock because they very likely already owe HST going back to Aug 2021. It can mount up very quickly.
Hey Liz,
Thanks for this updated info.
In regards to exchanging your funds. Does OnlyFans force you to use specific currency conversion services like Shrill? Or can you use any one you choose? Also, can you have your money deposited directly to a bank account or PayPal?
I ask this because 3.99% is an insanely high currency exchange rate. There are much better options such as Wise (but you need a US Based bank account). There’s also Norbert’s Gambit if you’re transferring huge sums. I could add a section about minimizing exchange fees for content creators.
Hello Barry,
Thanks for updating your article. These are the payout options creators have. Paxum – ewallet; Cosmo prepaid mastercard; Skrill; local currency bank payment. I’ve tried them all they either take weeks to process or there are other issues. A US bank account could be an option. Creators would need to know how to do that and Skrill works very well.
Paypal is an option but its bypassing OnlyFans – which the community guidelines would probably have something to say about that. But that definitely would help with claiming zero based sales and by passing OnlyFans fee’s.
Another option which I will probably opt for now is registering for the HST quick method accounting with CRA- you have to stay with it for a year but may well be really good option for creators because unless a creators ITC’s are very high as it stands with OnlyFans set up what we owe in will always be way higher. The quick method gives 7.8% on the first 30k and then 8.8% there after all your ITC become zero-rated sales except purchase of assets which can be claimed as well. Cuts out a whole lot of work for creators.
Hey Liz,
So getting a US based bank account is actually not that difficult – https://www.moneywehave.com/how-td-cross-border-banking-works/
Once you have that setup, you could reduce your exchange fees since you could then use Wise instead of the options provided by OnlyFans. For example, Wise should be charging less than 1%.
I’m going to add a section about that to my post. I’ll also mention how the quick method is likely best.
Thanks again!
Just to confirm, we claim the net income rather than gross, but also claim the 20% fee as expenses?
You can not claim the 20% OF fees if you working from your net as your income.
I work from my Net amount as if that is the total of income I earn. That’s what goes into my bank.
If you are making 30k a year. As soon as you hit that amount you need to register for HST. It doesn’t matter that your sales may be aboard. Because you earn via OF you have to pay HST according to where you live on the entire amount of net income.
I work it out as if my income is inclusive of HST. I do this because I was audited and CRA agreed I can do that. So I have to set aside from my net earning the amount that that where I reside says to
That has to be submitted every 3 months. That is not your year end taxes. They are on top of that. So we have to make sure we are putting money aside. Hope
That helps
I am doing that with HST, however I deducted the 20% as an expense fee on top of putting my net income. I believe Ive done this wrong for the past 2 years and Im worried they will charge me a lot for this. Im not sure who can help me.
from what i understand is that the customer pays sales tax based on where they are from. Doesnt this mean that non canadian residents are not charged sales tax by us? Also if someone makes a purchase from alberta they would owe 5% and ontario would be 13%? How would I even know where every customer is from?
If they allowed us to put our sales tax number it would solve this but while they dont have it we are supposed to some how find out every single subscribers location?
Mel,
You’re correct, but the problem is that OnlyFans does not allow you to input your HST #. But they don’t. As other users have stated, the CRA still expects their cut of the taxes. As a result, you need to calculate GST/HST based on your earnings from where you reside.
its technically not their cut since these are mostly not canadian customers… so I read further back that It is only effective at the start of August? I will only report sales for GST from then on. Just looking for clarification..
again thank you for your help
I’m just reporting what other users have experienced. The CRA and OnlyFans needs to get things sorted. OnlyFans is collecting taxes from Canadians to meet their tax obligations, but then they’re screwing Canadian content creators by not passing those amounts collected back.
Hi again,
I am trying to input my sales data from last year, but I cannot get access to netfile because im trying to input data from the past. It says we are supposed to report on a monthly or quarterly basis? I am lost at this point, I know how much I owe but cannot submit any information.
Hello to all
I am a Tax consultant and have been dealing Onlyfans clients for the past year. The above article is very accurate and has a lot of information that is hard to find anywhere else. I am unsure if Barry is ok with this and if he is not he can delete my post but if anyone is looking for help with doing their taxes and are looking to hire someone my firm is available to help. one thing tat Barry did not mention is that incorporating your business could be a very good way to save taxes as the federal corporate rate is 9% and the provincial rate is anywhere from 0% in Manitoba to 3.2% in Ontario as long as your profit is under $500,000 in most provinces.
Hey Chris,
I’ll leave this comment as I’m sure what your firm does will benefit many people researching the site.
That said, I wasn’t sure that OnlyFans allows content creators to sign up as a corporation.
I am incorporated as an OnlyFans Content Creator. It doesn’t help the HST situation that registered creators are having to deal with. I have been informed by CRA/HST that basically I need to be invoicing OnlyFans charging them the HST I’m having to collect and remit on my earnings. There is no present system in place for this to happen for Canadian Creators – which is really, really bad. CRA need to chase them down. So for HST purposes CRA is allowing my earning to be inclusive of HST otherwise I would have to add on top.
Hi Chris, are you able to share your firms info? moving to canada soon and will face similar onlyfans tax complications!
Hi J
My Direct email is cfinch@fbc.ca. I would be happy to discuss your future move to Canada with you and possible tax hurdles you may have.
Again Barry if I am not allowed to post my email on here let me know.
I currently have 4 of my largest OF clients incorporated. it was a bit of a hassell but we got it done.
Hey Chris,
If you share the steps, I can update my post.
Sure Incorporating you Only fans is Easy
1. Hire a lawyer to do your incorporation (it is better to pay extra money now) if you make a mistake a lawyer will be needed to fix it and will charge even more.
1a. when incorporating make sure the share structure is correct Fenix International requires that the Performer be at least 51% shareholder in the case of couples whoevers name is on the original account must be the 51% shareholder and sole director (this is to protect performers from illegal trafficking)
2. with a corporate return you should also have an accountant T2 (corporate tax return is much more complicated then a T1(personal tax return)
3. after getting your professionals in order you will need a bank account in the companies name (you will have to disclose the nature of your business to the bank)
4. you must contact Fenix international to let them know you have incorporated and they will ask you for your certificate and articles of incorporation.
5. you must have all money come from Fenix to your corporate bank and any money left inside the company is taxed at 9% federally and what ever your provincial rate is largest in Canada in Ontario at 3.2%
6. You then come up with a plan with your accountant and financial advisor on how best to take your money out of your corporation or invest within your corporation every situation is different.
I’ve been trying to get USD into my USD Canadian-based bank accounts (including my USD Wise account) and they keep on getting rejected. An CSR told me I have to convert it into CAD first (which isn’t preferred due to poor currency exchange rates. My TD USD account (based in the US) can’t even be linked to my account… the bank has to be Canada-based.
I’m not sure what else to try. Are the Skrill/Cosmo and Paxum options feasible? Do they charge crazy rates?
I really appreciate you posting the only fan’s taxes for Canadians blog post. I’ve been a performer on only fans for 2 years and it can be quite confusing to understand your payouts. Plus, I appreciate that you offer a detailed breakdown of how the 80/20 split works. Thank you for posting this valuable information!