Do you have to pay taxes on selling feet pics?

The short version

Tax authorities are usually interested in the fact that you earned money, not in what you sold. Selling foot photos is generally treated in the same way as other self-employment or side income. A few principles apply in most places:

• A stage name doesn’t change your tax position. Being anonymous to buyers doesn’t make you anonymous to a platform, a bank or, in some cases, a tax authority.
• A missing form doesn’t mean there’s no tax. A form is a report of income, not the thing that makes it taxable.
• Income is usually measured before you withdraw it. Check how your country treats money sitting in a platform balance, but don’t assume it isn’t income until it reaches your bank.
• Crypto counts. Being paid in a stablecoin doesn’t avoid tax, and it can add record-keeping work.
• Your tax residence usually matters more than the platform’s location. A foreign platform doesn’t automatically make the income foreign in a way that removes your obligation.

Your first step: a simple record-keeping system

Whichever country you’re in, good records make everything cheaper and less stressful. You don’t need accounting software at the start. A spreadsheet with these columns is enough for most new sellers:

If your platform gives you downloadable statements, you may not need to log individual sales. Instead, save each month’s statement and enter the monthly total. Do this as you go, because an account can be suspended or a platform can close, and your access to history may go with it.

Your monthly routine

1. Download the platform statement and save it in a dated folder.
2. Enter gross sales, fees and withdrawals into your spreadsheet.
3. Save receipts for anything you bought for the business.
4. Move your tax percentage to a separate savings account.
5. Note any crypto payout value and the date you received it.

How much to set aside

There’s no universal figure, because it depends on your income, country and allowances. As a starting habit, many people pick a percentage and adjust it once they get an estimate. If you don’t know what to use, ask an adviser or use your tax authority’s calculator. The point isn’t to find the perfect percentage on day one. It’s to avoid spending money that’s going to be owed later.

How long to keep records

Keep them for as long as your tax authority can ask for them. In the UK, self-employed people must keep records for at least five years after the 31 January submission deadline for the relevant tax year. Other countries have their own rules, and a longer period can apply in some situations. Store copies securely, and be careful about where you keep them, as statements may reveal your selling identity.

What counts as a business expense?

Rules vary, but a useful test is whether the cost is genuinely for the business. A cost that’s partly personal may be only partly deductible, or not deductible at all, depending on the country.

The commission point catches many people out. If you report your net payouts as income and also claim the commission as an expense, you’d be deducting it twice. Choose a consistent method, ideally recording gross sales and showing the fee separately, as your statement does.

United States

Most people selling their own content online are treated as independent contractors rather than employees. The following applies to US tax rules as we understand them for 2026.

How the income is reported

If this is a business, you generally report income and expenses on Schedule C. You’ll generally owe self-employment tax if your net earnings from self-employment are $400 or more. The IRS applies a 15.3% rate, made up of 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare, generally to 92.35% of your net earnings. For 2026, the Social Security part applies up to a $184,500 wage base, combining your wages, tips and net self-employment earnings. You generally can deduct half of your self-employment tax when you calculate your adjusted gross income, and you’ll usually owe income tax on top of this, depending on your overall situation.

Worked example

This is an illustrative calculation for self-employment tax only:

You’d still have to work out federal income tax and any state tax. Someone with a W-2 job and wages close to the Social Security wage base would see a different result, so don’t treat this as your actual bill.

1099 forms

This is where a lot of old information is wrong. Here’s the current position:

• Form 1099-K: following the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, the IRS says the federal threshold is back to more than $20,000 in gross payments and more than 200 transactions. The $600 threshold cited in some older articles doesn’t apply.
• Form 1099-NEC: for payments made in 2026, the reporting threshold rises to $2,000, with inflation adjustments from 2027. For payments before 2026, it was $600.

States and individual payment companies can have their own practices, so you may still get a form below these amounts. More importantly, the reporting thresholds don’t decide whether the income is taxable. You generally still need to report your income even if no form arrives, and the IRS page on 1099-K forms explains what to do if you receive one.

Estimated taxes

No one’s withholding tax from your platform income, so you may need to pay during the year. The IRS generally expects estimated payments if you’ll owe $1,000 or more. For the 2026 tax year, the Form 1040-ES dates are 15 April, 15 June and 15 September 2026, and 15 January 2027, with dates moved to the next business day if they land on a weekend or holiday. Paying 90% of the current year’s tax, or 100% of the previous year’s tax in many cases, can generally help you avoid an underpayment penalty, though higher-income taxpayers can face a higher prior-year test.

If you also have a job, you may be able to increase your W-4 withholding instead of making separate payments. It’s worth asking about, especially if you’d like one less thing to manage.

Hobby or business?

The IRS looks at several factors, including whether you run the activity in a businesslike way, keep complete records, put in time and effort with the intention of making a profit, and have made a profit in past years. It presumes a profit motive if you’ve made a profit in at least three of the last five tax years, including the current year. An occasional small income with no profit motive may be a hobby.

Calling it a hobby doesn’t make the income tax-free. Hobby income is still reported on your return, and the rules on deducting costs are less favourable. Don’t choose a label simply because it looks cheaper. Consider how you actually operate, and get advice if your numbers are significant or you plan to claim a loss.

Crypto payments

If you’re paid in crypto for services, the IRS treats its fair market value in US dollars at the time you receive it as ordinary income. For an independent contractor, it’s self-employment income. You’ll also need to answer the digital asset question on Form 1040 correctly, and later selling or swapping it can create a separate gain or loss. Stablecoins can make this simpler, but they don’t remove the need to keep records. For each payment, record the date, amount, dollar value and transaction reference.

United Kingdom

HMRC treats online selling as trading when you’re doing it to make a profit, and selling content you’ve created is likely to be viewed that way. Check HMRC’s guidance on selling through digital platforms if you’re unsure.

The £1,000 trading allowance

You can get up to £1,000 of tax-free trading income each tax year. The figure applies to your gross income, before expenses, and it covers all your trades together. If you claim the allowance against your income, you can’t deduct your actual expenses as well.

Here’s how the choice could look. These are illustrative figures:

In this example, the allowance is better. If your actual expenses were £1,100, claiming them would give a lower profit. Calculate both, then choose whichever works in your favour for that year.

Registration and deadlines

If your gross trading income is more than £1,000 in a tax year, you must generally register for Self Assessment by 5 October after the end of that tax year. For the 2025 to 2026 tax year, HMRC gives a registration date of 5 October 2026 and a deadline of 31 January 2027 for online filing and payment. The following tax year works the same way, one year later.

Payments on account

Once you owe more than a small amount, you may also need to make advance payments. HMRC’s payments on account are usually two payments, each about half of last year’s bill, due by 31 January and 31 July. They don’t usually apply if your last bill was under £1,000 or more than 80% of your tax was collected elsewhere, such as through your tax code. This means your first bill can be a surprise, as it could include the current bill plus an advance payment for the next year.

Making Tax Digital

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax requires digital records and quarterly updates for some sole traders and landlords. It began in April 2026 for those with qualifying income above £50,000. It extends to income above £30,000 from April 2027 and above £20,000 from April 2028. Qualifying income is gross income from self-employment and property, not your other income. Most small sellers won’t be affected for now, but it’s another reason to keep digital records from the start.

HMRC can receive platform data

UK digital platforms must report sellers’ details and income to HMRC each year, and they must give each reported seller a copy. A limited exclusion exists for goods sellers under 30 sales and about £1,700, but HMRC says it doesn’t cover services. Being reported doesn’t mean you owe tax, and not being reported doesn’t mean you don’t. Your own obligations apply either way.

European Union

Income tax, social contributions and business registration are set by each country, so there’s no single EU rule. If you live in an EU country, start with your national tax authority’s guidance for self-employed people or for occasional income.

DAC7 platform reporting

Under the EU’s DAC7 rules, digital platform operators may have to collect and report information about sellers. It covers four activity types: property rental, personal services, sales of goods and rental of transport. Reports are generally due by 31 January of the following year. For individuals, the data can include:

• Name and primary address
• Tax identification number or, where there isn’t one, place of birth
• VAT number, where available
• Date of birth
• Financial information, including the total paid or credited to the seller

The rules exclude goods sellers with fewer than 30 sales totalling no more than €2,000 in a year. DAC7 defines personal services as time- or task-based work carried out at a user’s request, and it’s not always clear how a given content sale fits within these categories. Custom work may look different from a pre-made digital item, for example. How your platform treats you may also depend on where it’s based. Changes to the thresholds are being discussed at EU level, so check the current position rather than relying on an older summary.

If a platform asks for your tax number, this is usually why. Check that the request is genuine by using the official site rather than clicking a link from a buyer or an unexpected email.

VAT

VAT on digital sales can be complicated. EU rules generally presume that a platform involved in supplying electronic services is acting as the supplier to the customer when it controls key things such as charging the customer, delivery or the general terms. An EU court upheld that presumption in a 2023 ruling. In practice, your platform may therefore handle VAT on sales it processes, but you shouldn’t assume so. Check its terms or ask support.

Since 2025, the EU’s small business VAT scheme lets countries set a national exemption threshold of up to €85,000. A cross-border version applies if your total EU turnover is no more than €100,000, and the national threshold must also be met. Businesses using the exemption generally can’t reclaim VAT on purchases. These may be irrelevant if you’re making small sales through a platform, but direct sales through your own website would be a very different situation and worth taking advice on.

Other countries

We haven’t covered every jurisdiction here, and it would be misleading to generalise. To find your local position, search your tax authority’s official website for terms such as “self-employment”, “side income”, “sole proprietor” or “online platforms”. Check these points:

• Is there a tax-free threshold, and is it based on gross income or profit?
• Do you need to register before you start, or only after you reach a threshold?
• Are social insurance or health contributions due?
• Are there rules on income received from overseas?
• How must foreign currency be converted, and which rate is accepted?

If you’re a citizen of one country and live in another, or you moved during the year, get professional advice. Residence rules can be complicated.

Common mistakes

• Reporting only what you withdrew. Your income may include amounts earned but left on the platform. Check the rule that applies to you.
• Assuming the threshold removes the income. A threshold for a reporting form isn’t the same as a threshold for tax.
• Deducting personal costs. Everyday shoes or general beauty spending may not qualify, and an aggressive claim creates risk.
• Losing access to statements. Download them monthly instead of relying on the platform to keep them available.
• Spending all your payouts. Tax is due later, when the money may already have gone.
• Asking a buyer to pay you off-platform to avoid reporting. It doesn’t remove the tax obligation, and it increases your risk of scams.

If you’re behind on your taxes

Don’t ignore it, because penalties and interest can grow. Gather your platform statements and bank records, then work out your income and expenses for each period. Next, contact your tax authority or an adviser about correcting your position. Many tax systems have ways to report earlier income or arrange payment over time, and coming forward before you’re contacted may help. You generally don’t need to describe your content in graphic detail. A plain description such as “online sales of digital photographs” often gives the right context, but it should always be accurate.

Choosing an adviser

Look for someone who works with online creators or self-employed people. Ask what they charge, whether they’ve dealt with platform and foreign-currency income, and how they protect client data. Tell them what you actually sell. Non-judgemental advisers are easy enough to find, and a full picture leads to better advice.

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