Income from OnlyFans, Patreon, Substack, Twitch or any other subscription platform is self-employment income, and it is taxed exactly like any other self-employment income. There is no special regime, no special rate and no special scrutiny. The rules are the ones that apply to a plumber or a graphic designer.
Two things make creators anxious about this: not knowing where to start, and not knowing who will see it. Both have straightforward answers.
Register as self-employed
If your gross income from creating exceeds £1,000 in a tax year, you must register for Self Assessment.
Gross means before the platform’s cut, before payment processing fees, before anything you spent. If a platform credits you £14,000 and keeps £6,000, your gross income is £20,000. This is where a lot of first returns go wrong.
Register by 5 October following the end of the tax year in which the income arose — so 2026/27 income means 5 October 2027. Use form CWF1, which covers Self Assessment and Class 2 National Insurance in one step. If you are already registered for another reason, you still need a CWF1 when you start trading, or you are not enrolled for Class 2 and your National Insurance record has a gap.
Registering late does not move the payment deadline. HMRC gives you a filing deadline three months from the date of their letter, but the tax is still due on 31 January, and a failure-to-notify penalty can apply based on tax unpaid at that date.
You do not have to describe your work in detail. The return asks for a brief business description, and “online content creation” is an accurate answer.
What you will pay
| 2026/27 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | £12,570 |
| Basic rate (20%) | £12,571 – £50,270 |
| Higher rate (40%) | £50,271 – £125,140 |
| Additional rate (45%) | Above £125,140 |
| Class 4 NIC | 6% on £12,570 – £50,270, then 2% |
| Class 2 NIC | Treated as paid at profits of £7,105 or more; voluntary at £3.65 a week below that |
The Personal Allowance tapers away above £100,000 of adjusted net income at £1 for every £2 and disappears at £125,140, producing an effective marginal rate around 60% in that band.
Payments on account are the shock. If your bill exceeds £1,000 and less than 80% of your tax was collected at source, you pay the full amount plus half again on 31 January, then the other half on 31 July. The first January can be 150% of what you expected. Set money aside from the start — a third of profit is a reasonable assumption at the basic rate, more above.
Expenses you can claim
You can deduct costs incurred wholly and exclusively for the business. That test does real work, and it is where most incorrect claims sit.
Usually allowable:
- Platform commission and payment processing fees
- Camera, lighting, audio and computer equipment
- Software and subscriptions used for the business
- Props, sets and specific performance costumes
- Marketing, accountancy and professional fees
- A proportion of phone and internet, based on business use
- Home working — either HMRC’s flat rate of £6 a week (£26 a month) or a properly apportioned share of actual costs
Usually not allowable:
- Ordinary clothing, even if you only wear it for work. Long-standing case law treats everyday clothing as having a dual purpose — warmth and decency — which defeats the “wholly and exclusively” test. Genuine costumes are different from a nice outfit.
- Cosmetic procedures and most personal grooming, for the same reason
- Gym memberships, and anything with meaningful private use unless you apportion it honestly
A word on the home. The flat rate is safe. Using a room exclusively for business can restrict Private Residence Relief when you sell, so weigh the annual saving against the potential capital gains cost.
If your expenses are under £1,000, the trading allowance is simpler — deduct a flat £1,000 and claim nothing else. You choose one or the other each year, not both.
VAT: the part that needs specific advice
Creator income can cross the £90,000 VAT registration threshold quickly, and it is tested on a rolling 12-month basis — not your accounting year. You check every month, looking back twelve. You must also register if you expect to exceed £90,000 in the next 30 days alone.
Whether platform income counts towards that threshold is genuinely technical, and it turns on who your customer is.
Where a platform sets the terms of supply, authorises payment and controls delivery, it is commonly treated as the supplier to the end user — which means your supply is to the platform, not to the subscriber. That is a business-to-business supply, and under the general rule the place of supply is where your customer belongs. If the platform belongs in the UK, the supply counts towards your threshold. If it belongs outside the UK, it is outside the scope of UK VAT and does not.
There is a trap on the other side. If you are not VAT registered and you receive business-to-business services from suppliers outside the UK — platform commission being the obvious example — the value of those services must be added to your own taxable supplies when testing whether you must register. HMRC’s VAT Notice 741A is explicit. It is possible to become liable to register on services you have received.
This depends on the platform’s establishment and contractual terms, and it changes. Do not assume, and do not rely on a forum answer.
Who sees your tax affairs
HMRC officials are under a statutory duty of confidentiality. Section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 prohibits disclosure of information held in connection with HMRC’s functions, subject to defined exceptions such as court orders and criminal proceedings. Wrongful disclosure by an officer is a criminal offence. Your return is not a public document and is not shared with employers, landlords or family members on request. Your accountant is bound by a professional confidentiality duty too.
Two practical points:
Trading as a sole trader keeps you off a public register. If you incorporate, your name, month and year of birth, a service address and your shareholding go on the Companies House register, and directors and people with significant control must verify their identity. You can give a service address rather than your home address, but the name is public. For most creators, staying a sole trader is simpler on privacy as well as tax.
Platforms report data to HMRC regardless. Digital platform operators report creator information by 31 January following each calendar year. Filing a return does not put you on HMRC’s radar. Not filing one, while a platform reports payments to you, is what draws attention.
If you have not declared previous years
Bring it up rather than waiting. HMRC’s disclosure routes exist for this and penalties are reduced for unprompted disclosure. Discovery time limits run to four years for an innocent error, six for carelessness and twenty for a deliberate failure, so the cost of waiting is real.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to tell HMRC about OnlyFans income?
Yes, if your gross income from it exceeds £1,000 in a tax year. Gross means before the platform’s commission and before expenses. You register for Self Assessment using form CWF1 by 5 October following the end of that tax year, and the tax is due by the following 31 January.
Will anyone find out what my income is from?
Your tax return is not a public document. HMRC officials are bound by a statutory duty of confidentiality under section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, and wrongful disclosure by an officer is a criminal offence. Your accountant is bound by a professional confidentiality duty as well. The return asks for a short business description, and “online content creation” is accurate.
What can I claim as an expense?
Costs incurred wholly and exclusively for the business — platform fees, equipment, software, props and performance costumes, marketing, professional fees, and an apportioned share of phone and internet. Ordinary clothing and personal grooming generally fail the test because they have a dual purpose. If your total expenses are under £1,000, claiming the £1,000 trading allowance instead is usually simpler.
Do I need to register for VAT?
You must register once your taxable turnover exceeds £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, or if you expect to exceed it in the next 30 days alone. Whether platform income counts towards that depends on where your customer for VAT purposes belongs, which is technical and platform-specific. Separately, business-to-business services you receive from overseas suppliers can count towards the threshold even if you are not registered. Take advice on your actual position.
Why is my first tax bill so much bigger than I calculated?
Payments on account. If your bill exceeds £1,000 and less than 80% of your tax was collected at source, you pay the year’s tax plus half of it again on 31 January, with the second half on 31 July. The first January bill can be 150% of the tax for the year.
Getting it filed
None of this is complicated once someone has done it with you. The usual outcome is that the bill is smaller than feared and the process duller than expected.
SmartFiling handles Self Assessment and MTD for Income Tax on a fixed fee, entirely online, with no phone calls required. Every submission is reviewed by an ICAEW Chartered Accountant.
