Tax Basics for Feet Pic Sellers in the United States

If you live in the US and sell feet pics, the IRS treats the money as income. That is not a reason to worry, but it is a reason to keep simple records from day one. This page explains the basics in plain English and links to the IRS pages that matter.

Is feet pic income taxable?

Yes. Income from selling content online is taxable in the US whether or not a platform sends you a tax form. The IRS Gig Economy Tax Center explains that income from digital platforms is generally taxable and must be reported, including income that is not reported on an information return.

When you register as a seller on FeetFinder, its Seller Agreement asks US sellers to complete Form W‑9. This form gives the platform your taxpayer identification number so it can report payments to the IRS where required. You can read about it on the IRS About Form W‑9 page. The Seller Agreement also says FeetFinder may file reports concerning income with tax authorities, including the IRS.

You are usually treated as self employed

Most sellers are not employees of the platform. They are independent sellers running a small business, often called a sole proprietorship. That means two things: you report your profit on Schedule C, and you may owe self employment tax on top of regular income tax.

Schedule C, profit or loss from business

Schedule C is where you list your business income and your business expenses. The difference is your net profit, and that is what most of your tax is based on. Keeping track of expenses matters because they reduce your profit.

Business expenses generally need to be both ordinary and necessary for your business. For a feet pic seller, examples that may qualify include platform seller plan fees, props and shoes bought only for content, lighting equipment, a tripod and editing apps. Items you also use personally, such as your phone or internet, may only be partly deductible. Ask a tax professional where you are unsure.

Self employment tax and the $400 threshold

Self employment tax is how self employed people pay Social Security and Medicare. According to the IRS self employment tax page, you must pay it and file Schedule SE if your net earnings from self employment were $400 or more. The IRS lists the rate as 15.3%, made up of 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. You can deduct the employer equivalent portion of this tax when working out your adjusted gross income.

Note the word net. The $400 threshold applies to your profit after business expenses, not your total sales.

Estimated tax payments

Employers withhold tax from wages, but nobody withholds tax from your seller earnings. If you expect to owe a meaningful amount, the IRS expects you to pay during the year through quarterly estimated payments. The IRS estimated taxes page explains who needs to pay, the due dates and Form 1040‑ES. A simple habit is to move a fixed share of every payout into a separate savings account set aside for tax, so the money is there when payments are due.

Tax forms you may or may not receive

Platforms and payment processors may send you an information return, such as a Form 1099, depending on how much you were paid and current reporting thresholds. Thresholds have changed in recent years, so do not assume you will get a form. Either way, you must report all your business income. Reconcile any form you receive against your own records, and ask the issuer to correct it if it is wrong.

Keep simple records from the start

The IRS recordkeeping guidance explains what records small businesses should keep and for how long. For most sellers a basic system is enough:

• A spreadsheet with one row per payout: date, platform, gross amount, fees and the amount received.
• Monthly statements or screenshots from your seller dashboard.
• Receipts for every business purchase, saved as photos or PDFs in one folder.
• A note of the business use percentage for anything you also use personally.
• Copies of any tax forms you submit or receive.

Using a separate bank account for selling income and expenses makes all of this far easier, and it keeps your records clean if the IRS ever has questions. Our payouts guide explains how FeetFinder statements and withdrawals work.

State and local taxes

Most states have their own income tax, and some cities and counties do too. A few states also have rules on sales tax for digital goods. Check your state revenue department’s website or ask a local tax professional, because rules vary widely.

A simple yearly routine

1. Every payout: log it and move your tax share to savings.
2. Every month: save your platform statement and receipts.
3. Every quarter: check whether an estimated payment is due.
4. At year end: total your income and expenses, gather any forms, and file Schedule C and, if required, Schedule SE with your return, or hand the records to your preparer.

Selling from outside the US? See our guides for the UK and India. Platforms ask non US sellers for Form W‑8BEN instead; the IRS explains it on its About Form W‑8BEN page.