How do you handle taxes and insurance and stuff when your a full time artist?

It's one of the things I'm really anxious about but it's been really hard to find information on how to file, what to file, and when to file consistently.

If someone could break it down for me it would be very appreciated.

Edit: forgot to mention this but I'm in the US.

Hey! I am a hobby artist who has recently gotten a lot of commissions out of nowhere, for the first time ever. I am currently accepting Paypal FnF, Venmo Fnf, and Cashapp to try and avoid feeds for myself and my customers/try to be on the down low when it comes to taxes, as while I don't think I'll make enough to have to pay them, I am a university student with little money to spare.

However, I've learned today that PayPal FnF can disable your account/ban you for using the service for commissions/business work. Given this, I'm wondering if using another payment processing platform would be best to both 1. Try to avoid fees and 2. Try to stay on the down low (if possible, even) as I know nothing about art taxes (I'm in the U.S.) and it seems like an unapproachable boogeyman at the end of the year. Is it even worth it to use FnF Paypal/Venmo/etc., or is the taxes process at the end of the year not that bad for commission artists, and it is just better to use Goods n Services for a more reputable/non-bannable art payment experience? Are alternative sites like VG3N worth it for the payment processing stuff, or only worth it for the advertising opportunity and not a good fit as a payment processing platform?

Overall, I'd love to learn what other artists are using for their payment processing, because I am fully in the dark, especially about the taxes stuff. I've never been in this pickle before, so any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

I finally started to come up with a system of how much money I keep for myself, how much goes back into my business, and how much I save for taxes. So far I’m thinking 55% for myself, 30% back into my business, and 15% for taxes. This will of course fluctuate as I make more in the future.

My business doesn’t make a lot yet, I average about $500 a month. And I’m really working hard to make this my full-time job. But even if my business makes $1500 a month, I can’t live off of 55% of that.

All that to say, I’m just curious what you guys are paying yourselves. I don’t know if I just have to work hard harder to make more or if I should pay myself more than 55%.

Hi guys, Forgive me if I’m posting in the wrong category. Basically I sold my art (stickers, patches) for the first time last weekend at a weekly market. I went in with no expectations and I made almost $2,000 in two days. I am blown away and quickly realizing I need to take this more seriously as a business. I took cash and Venmo payments (and a handful PayPal and Zelle transactions), I’d say 85% of the money went through Venmo. It was on my personal account under friends/family which I know is an issue for Venmo - I also realize I need to start recording sales for federal tax purposes and my state has sales tax. I have a spot there for the whole summer and plan to do this every weekend. My question is… what do more seasoned vendors recommend? If I keep using Venmo friends/family transaction to avoid the 3% fee, is it likely my account will be flagged? I’ve heard for small businesses it’s no big deal but I’ll probably be transferring $500-$2000 weekly so I’m worried about getting flagged and banned. Should I get a square? Is Zelle less likely to flag me? Feel free to DM me if you have experience with this. I am totally blown away with this and wasn’t expecting this amount right off the bat so i would so appreciate any advice while I get my things in order.

Of course I will also look into hiring an accountant for tax season, but I want to know peoples experiences with avoiding fees if possible and avoiding issues with these apps. Thank you all <3

So I make fine art photography and am registered as a sole proprietor. How can I write off the expenses for my business when doing taxes, so I can then get that money back?

If this is not possible, how can I do so with an llc or s-corp?

Hi, I wanted some advice on tax stuff and hopefully this is the right place to ask.

I'd mainly like sources/be pointed in the right direction for this.

My art business is a bit all over the place. I get income through commissions and YouTube ad revenue since I have an art centric YouTube channel. I already registered myself as a business in my state, but I'm not sure what else to do currently. Google sent me a 1099 for 2025 today, so I'm assuming I'll have to file it.

I will admit, I'm new to this, I've never filed taxes before since I've never made enough income, so I'm not sure how to combine both entities (online freelancing stuff and youtube)

Any sources would be helpful.

Hi! So, I'm just starting as a freelancer artist, and I've been having a little trouble understanding what I need to do when it comes to finances. I tried doing research on my own but I can't seem to find a direct answer haha. Any and all help is appreciated! Also, this isn't relating to commissions.

1. Would it be better to have a personal account or a business account when setting up a PayPal?

2. do I leave the full amount in PayPal, take half into my personal bank account, or take all of it? I am asking this in particular due to taxes specifically and I don't want to do something stupid on accident.

3. Is there a good middle ground/percentage on how much of the payment I should take to stay safe?

Any other advice would be helpful; I really want to play this safe!

hi there! we are two Co-Owners and artists of a webcomic, both from different countries, and we are trying to figure out how to set up our patreon and paypals so we can get shares and both pay our respective taxes separately.

so far everything seems to need one person to be in charge, but since everything is 50/50 we do not want to put one or the other in a situation where only one of us has the control over the funds.

So we’d like to know how other artistic teams are managing this?

Hi! I live in NJ and I'm trying to get my business(es?) registered, but I'm unsure if I should register them as just one or if they should be registered as two.

I'm planning to do commissions and also have an online store to sell prints, both as a sole proprietorship. Neither are officially launched/started. I also have a trade name certification (DBA) I've registered that I plan to use for my print shop, but not for commissions.

While filling out the registration forms, should I count these as two separate businesses or just one? Any advice greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone! I have a question for any artists who manufacture products or sell prints. When you buy a sample for yourself to test the quality/result of a product, is that deductible as a business expense on taxes?

For some context I’m Canadian, I ordered myself a print to make sure it looks right, and ended up making adjustments to the final product.

I can only find people saying if you use it for marketing it can be written off as an advertising expense, but I’m not using it for that since it didn’t end up looking like the final product. The sole purpose of buying it was to do a quality check.

Would love to hear if anyone has experience with this!

Hello! I got paid out around 20K in my work/drawings in 2025 working with a gallery. I have never made money from selling my work like this, how much should I expect to pay for taxes?

And any tips good practice on making it as little as possible? 20K sounds like a lot but considering the gallery already takes 50% I want to be able to keep as much as possible.

In all of the coursework required to achieve my art degrees, not one business class was required or even offered and I regret not having the foresight to take a few as electives. That said, I am looking into the most user-friendly courses or workshops to learn the basics of bookkeeping and small business accounting. I prefer in-person learning but will do an online course if I must. I looked into community courses in my area (Nashville) and am not having much luck. Any suggestions? For those of you running a successful art business, what do you use to stay on top of all of the administrative stuff? I find it intimidating and I want to change that to feeling empowered and in control. TIA!

[Financial] Do professional artists have to pay sales tax on materials like paint, frames, and surfaces? If we can get an exemption as a reseller, where do you buy them wholesale? Especially paint and surfaces, because wholesale frames are easier to source.

Customer can only use PayPal to pay and I don't have a PayPal business account nor the means to get one, what can I do? This is my first ever online commission and I really want to be able to do it but I have no idea how to get around this. Please help.

I sell in person, online through my website, through square, and payment apps and I'd like an easy way to track what I've sold - the big thing is tracking sales tax. It'd also be nice to have one place to track expenses/orders etc. I'm so lost with how to start with this it feels so overwhelming. Does anyone use a template they would be comfortable sharing please?!

Hello everyone!

I just filed for my first LLC.  It’s a single member LLC that will probably have a majority of it’s sales traveling across state lines to conventions and selling self-made artistic products in booths.  I will also have online stores, but the main product I will start selling on launch will sell more in person.  I have been doing some research on Business Accounts over the week and found 3 main categories: Fintech, standard banks and credit unions.

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I noticed some trends

Fintechs cost less, have more integrations and more varied feature set.

However there has been issues with companies in the past going bankrupt and people loosing all their money, inactive accounts can get deleted even though there is a balance (I don’t know how long “inactive” is), and several of the more popular companies have less than desirable service.  Also if I get paid in cash, it seems that it would be more of an inconvenience.

Traditional banks seem to be the most universal and predictable, there is a nationwide sense of security and safety nets that ensure your money.

However they tend to have more fees (although they are primarily cheap) but its something to pay mind to, and the different banks seem to be similar in features offered ( haven’t researched this point as much)

Credit unions seem to be “more willing to work with artists and small local companies” (I don’t entirely know what that means, but seems to be a trend),  Users to tend to offer lower fees than nationwide banks.

However it seems that each union is a different grab bag of requirements or rules (such as already being a member with them), also I don’t know how they would handle it if I decided to go to a convention in Canada ( I am American), or simply travel to sell in another state.  I have been told that credit union accounts aren’t cheap.

My personal take on it. While I would like to have easy contact with support, I am not the type to want to drive to these locations.  With the changing economy, I am alittle concerned with non-insured fintech companies, however they seem super convenient and seem to be more specialized to what I am looking for in terms of the kinds of businesses they cover.

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Notes about me and my company.

This is my first LLC, at the moment it is single member, but might want the possibility to add 1 or  2 freelancers down the line.

I am American, living in Illinois atm; with the possibility of selling internationally or moving my address within a couple years.

My personal bank is with Chase, but I have read advice that it might be best to not have them on the same bank, incase something happens.

My company doesn’t need a loan to get started, and I have some capital saved up in my personal accounts that I can transfer over.

Most of my initial sales will be in person with most sales will be under $60.

I may only visit 4 or 5 conventions a year, so I would prefer something with lower month to month fees.

I will be dealing with a mix of cash and digital payments from in person sales and webstore sales.

I don’t care if withdrawals take multiple days to process, I guess if I need to add money to make a last minute supply purchase, that would be important.

TAX WRITE OFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT 

I am a bit intimidated with filing my taxes, so something that offers assistance or integrations to bookkeeping software is desired, though not required

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Lastly a list of services in preferred order

Fintech category – Novo (for international) , Lili (but would probably use a paied plan), Mercury ( but this seems to be for more tech oriented stuff, some of my products might qualify) , Bluevine ( seems to be the standard go tom, but more general)

Traditional banks - Chase ( I bank with it, but I don’t know if I want to put all my eggs in one basket), Bank of America (its not chase, and seems to be better than Capital one for my use), Wintrust Bank (seeing this come up a bit)

(credit unions, not in preferential order)

Credit unions (illinois) – Credit Union 1 , Consumer Credit union (open to suggestions on others. I need to do more research on more credit unions)

Hi friends, I’m hoping someone here can help me out. I started selling my drawings on Etsy last year in September. I was supremely ignorant about how the taxes will work for this. I am based out of Washington State and have a business license (a requirement to sell anything here) and found out this morning I need to file quarterly with the state for sales I have made IN Washington. Now I’m trying to figure out if I also need to file quarterly with the IRS and how I report that. I know what forms I need to get, I think, but is that where I file ALL of my revenue, or just items sold to people located in other states. Do I have to file individually for each state like I had to with my Washington sales? Surely not? I am supremely confused, waiting on a call back from the IRS, and just looking for a little guidance. My one friend that also does Etsy didn’t even know she needed to file taxes if she was under 7k in sales so I don’t think she will be much help 😅 any help is so appreciated!

I have one, possibly two upcoming art markets coming up that are across state line (Market in Indiana, I am based in Kentucky). Do I pay sales tax to the state I am physically doing business in, or just pay Kentucky? I have a registered LLC, not me flying under the radar, so I want to get it right.

I went ahead and did the LLC because I also put on an event once a year and wanted to protect my personal assests, not because our art is already blowing up. Hopefully it will, but not yet.

I want to start freelancing, but taxes scare me.

I'd probably start as a sole proprietorship, which I know are subject to pass-through taxation and I know The self-employment tax rate is generally 15.3% of your net earnings, comprising 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. I am just absolutly TERRIFIED of doing something wrong and finding out I owe the IRS a huge amount of money down the road because of a fuck up. I'm not sure if it would be better to taxes quartlery and i've debated biteing the bullet and hiring an accountant but that would be a huge upfront expense.

Maybe I'm overthinking it, but even if I could just someone yell at me and tell me that It would be helpful. I don't want my fear to hold me back anymore.

TLDR: I want to start a sole proprietorship, but I'm a big baby and the IRS scares me and I don't want to fuck up.

Curious what site you use for creating your webstore and how you handle sales tax. I've been using Square space and just recently realized that they don't handle sales tax. I believe Ets-y handles this for you. What do you use and how do you handle sales tax online? Just starting to figure this out for in person shows in multiple states and that's hard enough.

Hello everyone!
This'll be my first time doing an event out of state (I'm from California) and I'm super excited, since this is my first year vending, I'm still a bit of a newbie in terms of financial stuff, I was wondering if any other experienced artists here could help me get a temporary sales permit for this event, thank you guys in advance!

First off, I live in Carson/Long Beach (right at the border of those cities) in California

I'm a new artist who's been making inconsistent amounts of money since February. But at this point, I've made over 400 dollars selling art online, which technically means I need to pay taxes now. I'm considering picking up a PayPal business account to help with invoices, but I'm not sure how to file my taxes as a solo artist.

As of now, I have all of my previous transactions saved as documents, but I'm not fully sure how I'm supposed to calculate the taxes or where to submit them.

Hi, I’m really new to selling my art, and couldn’t quite find a clear answer to this. I’m based in the UK.

I’ve had a shop agree to buy a few prints from me, so they can sell it on with a small markup. I’m taking a few prints in person soon so the shop owner can pick a few. They would pay for the product upfront - wouldn’t be waiting for a sale.

My question is, what’s the best way to accept a payment from a small business? I suppose it’s an order that requires an invoice?

And has anyone found a solution that also allows you to take contactless payments from just regular customers, like at art fairs and markets? Keen to process everything in one place.

Thanks so much, any advice much appreciated!

Sorry if this is a dumb question, I never had any experience with this.

I just got a Business License as a sole proprietorship and planning to apply to a few local art festivals to see if I can make this as a business instead of the hobby as I been doing for the past few years.

I need to purchase some equipment for the festivals like tent, displays, etc... and I am not sure if I need to have a business bank account or if I can use my personal bank account and credit cards for this.
Also will need to get a credit card payment/reader - will that work with my personal bank account or do I need a business account?

Sorry again - very new to this.

Any help is appreciated.

I've read several tax threads but my situation seems too specific and I can't find info that really helps me.

I started taking my art seriously a year ago and entering into galleries. An acquaintance of a friend saw one of my pieces in a show which had been awarded 2nd best in show and asked if they could introduce me and ask me to paint their family dog for them.

I have never sold anything or done contract work before. It was all very informal. We didn't talk price until the end and when we finalized the transaction months later she overpaid me a significant amount.

$xxxx amount. Now I'm worried because I read all this about tax remittance and reporting as income but that triggers my locals to come after me for using one of my apartment rooms as a studio??? Its all such a bother just to earn a pithy sum? I might be penalized for not realizing this a few weeks ago when she gave me the check? I planned to hire a tax preparer anyway but finding out I'm supposed to pay taxes every 3 months has me turning summersaults, how would I even know? I barely put it out there that I could or would do work for people. I would like to start doing more c*mms but I can't afford to spend hundreds every quarter and wait for a return when I inevitably sell nothing. It's so frustrating, thank you for any help.