By: Yielder89 (Accountant By Trade)

So you’ve been steaming big.  You’ve got that shiny sub button, a strong following and maybe you even got yourself a few big donations. Life is good. But as we enter 2016 the IRS wants their cut.  As a new streamer or even a veteran streamer there may be some things about your tax return that you did not know.

So what are these forms and what do they mean?

So chances are that if you have earned money streaming on Twitch you have received 1099-MISC or even a 1099-K.  Not only are these forms sent to you but they are also furnished to the IRS so that they know how much you made during the year.  Ultimately, this means that the IRS has a rough idea of how much tax you will owe.  These 1099’s that you received, for the most part, represent your gross streaming receipts with a few exceptions.  If you receive your money from subs and twitch ads through your PayPal, you may have your income double reported.  It is important to keep track of all of the money that goes into your PayPal and bank accounts as you don’t want to be taxed on deposits that were not earned through streaming.
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Donations – Common misconceptions

​So you have received a 1099-MISC, but you may be wondering what the 1099-K is because you did not receive one.  Payment processors, such as PayPal, must report the gross payments you received only if it was over $20,000 and over 200 separate transactions in a year.  This does not mean you should not report how much you got from people donating to your stream.  Even though you did not receive this form you still need to report this on your tax return.  

By: After5
 
One very common issue streamers tend to bring up when looking to grow their stream is their follower count and how it doesn’t accurately show their growth. The follower count is going up, but the viewers are not sticking around. Why is that?  Today I will be introducing a way to think about your viewers by defining them as members of a crowd versus an audience.  This comparison will help you analyze what it takes convert those followers into active members of your community!

Crowd vs Audience
What is a crowd?  Think of a busy day at a mall.  People are out and about and you can easily meet hundreds of people for the first time.  Most of them are there for their own personal objectives, and generally you rarely overlap with them.  The people you meet amongst a crowd generally exit your life forever after they take care of their business.

So then what is an audience?  Think of the audience that attended AGDQ 2016.  All of them are there for individual, but similar reasons.  The likelihood of having similar objectives is much higher, and that group of people has a genuine interest in what they’re showing up for.  A good portion of the audience probably contains returning attendees, and anyone interested in the event but unable to attend find their own way to participate.