If you sell photos or videos on FeetFinder, the IRS treats you as a self-employed business owner, which means every dollar of profit is subject to regular income tax plus a 15.3% self-employment tax, and nothing is withheld for you along the way. FeetFinder taxes work the same way they do for any gig worker: you report your earnings and expenses on Schedule C, pay quarterly throughout the year, and claim business deductions that can meaningfully shrink the bill. Here is what you owe, what you can deduct, and when to pay.
You Are a Sole Proprietor by Default
FeetFinder does not withhold income tax, Social Security, or Medicare from your payouts. That alone makes you an independent contractor operating as a sole proprietor, even if you never filed a single piece of business paperwork.1Internal Revenue Service. Gig Economy Tax Center All your revenue and all your business expenses go on Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business), which attaches to your personal Form 1040.2Internal Revenue Service. About Schedule C (Form 1040) – Profit or Loss from Business The net profit at the bottom of Schedule C is what everything else is calculated from.
If you formed a single-member LLC, the federal tax treatment is identical. The IRS calls a one-owner LLC a “disregarded entity,” so the income still lands on Schedule C and self-employment tax still applies.3Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies
Self-Employment Tax: The 15.3% That Catches People Off Guard
At a regular job, your employer pays half of your Social Security and Medicare contributions. When you work for yourself, you pay both halves. The combined rate is 15.3%, broken out as 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare.4Internal Revenue Service. Schedule SE (Form 1040) – Self-Employment Tax
You owe this tax once your net self-employment earnings for the year reach $400.5Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 554, Self-Employment Tax It is calculated on Schedule SE, which attaches to your 1040. The 15.3% is not applied to your full net profit; the form first multiplies your net earnings by 92.35%, which mirrors the break traditional employers get on their payroll taxes.4Internal Revenue Service. Schedule SE (Form 1040) – Self-Employment Tax
The Social Security piece only applies to earnings up to $184,500 in 2026.6Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base The Medicare piece has no cap, and an extra 0.9% Medicare tax kicks in if your self-employment income tops $200,000 ($250,000 if married filing jointly).7Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers for the Additional Medicare Tax
One built-in break: you deduct half of your self-employment tax when calculating your adjusted gross income.5Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 554, Self-Employment Tax It does not reduce the self-employment tax itself, but it lowers the income subject to regular income tax.
Income Tax and the 20% QBI Deduction
Your Schedule C profit, after the half-SE-tax adjustment, gets added to any other income you have (wages from a day job, interest, dividends) and taxed at the regular federal brackets, which step up from 10% through 12%, 22%, 24%, and higher as income rises.
Sole proprietors also get the Qualified Business Income deduction, which can wipe out up to 20% of your net business income before income tax is calculated.8Internal Revenue Service. Qualified Business Income Deduction On $30,000 of Schedule C profit, that is potentially $6,000 off the top. You can claim it whether you itemize or take the standard deduction. The full 20% is available if your total taxable income stays below annually adjusted thresholds; above those thresholds the deduction phases out based on filing status and type of business.
Deductions That Lower Both Taxes
Every business expense you claim on Schedule C reduces income tax and self-employment tax at the same time. The standard is whether the expense is “ordinary and necessary” for your line of work, meaning common in your industry and helpful to your business.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 162 – Trade or Business Expenses A few categories matter most for FeetFinder sellers.
Equipment, Software, and Platform Fees
Cameras, lighting, tripods, phones used primarily for content, and computers or tablets used for editing all qualify. You can often deduct the full cost in the year you buy, rather than depreciating it over several years. Editing software subscriptions, cloud storage for your media, website hosting, domain registration, and the fees FeetFinder charges on your sales all count. A tax preparer’s fee for your Schedule C is deductible too.
Props and Wardrobe
Items bought specifically for shoots and not suitable for everyday wear are deductible. Specialty shoes, ankle jewelry, or props that only make sense on camera generally qualify. The test is whether the item could reasonably be worn outside work; if yes, the IRS calls it personal. Save receipts and note the business purpose.
Home Office
A space used regularly and exclusively for your business qualifies for the home office deduction. A corner of your bedroom that doubles as a guest area does not.10Internal Revenue Service. Publication 587 (2025), Business Use of Your Home The simplified method pays $5 per square foot, up to 300 square feet, capping the deduction at $1,500.11Internal Revenue Service. Simplified Option for Home Office Deduction The actual expense method takes the percentage of your home used for business and applies it to rent or mortgage interest, utilities, and insurance; it can be worth more if your housing costs are high.
Health Insurance
If you are not eligible for coverage through a spouse’s employer, you can deduct 100% of premiums for medical, dental, vision, and qualifying long-term care insurance for yourself, your spouse, your dependents, and your children under 27.12Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 7206 This deduction reduces adjusted gross income directly, so you do not need to itemize. The amount cannot exceed your net business profit for the year.
Retirement Contributions
A SEP IRA lets you contribute up to 25% of your net self-employment earnings, with a 2026 maximum of $72,000.13Internal Revenue Service. SEP Contribution Limits (Including Grandfathered SARSEPs) A solo 401(k) has a similar total cap but adds an employee-deferral piece that is useful when profits are lower. Every dollar contributed reduces your taxable income.
Marketing
Promoting your profile is fully deductible: social media ads, affiliate payments, paid promotions, and any premium or boosted listing fees on the platform itself.
Records
None of these deductions survive an audit without documentation. Keep receipts, invoices, and bank or card statements, and note the business purpose on each one.14Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 305, Recordkeeping Hold on to them for at least three years after you file, which is the standard IRS audit window.15Internal Revenue Service. 1Internal Revenue Service. Gig Economy Tax Center
Form 1099-K comes from payment platforms. Federally, the threshold for issuing one is more than $20,000 in gross payments and more than 200 transactions in the calendar year.16Internal Revenue Service. IRS Issues FAQs on Form 1099-K Threshold Under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Many states set much lower thresholds, some as low as $600 or even zero, so you may receive a state 1099-K even when federal rules would not generate one.17Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your Form 1099-K
Form 1099-NEC covers direct service payments. If someone pays you directly outside the platform and the yearly total tops $2,000, they are supposed to issue a 1099-NEC. That threshold rose from $600 to $2,000 for payments made after December 31, 2025.18Internal Revenue Service. Form 1099 NEC and Independent Contractors
Quarterly Estimated Payments
Because no one is withholding anything from your payouts, the IRS expects you to send tax in four installments throughout the year. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more in federal tax, quarterly estimated payments are required.19Internal Revenue Service. Form 1040-ES – Estimated Tax for Individuals The due dates:
- April 15 for income earned January through March
- June 15 for April and May
- September 15 for June through August
- January 15 for September through December of the prior year
When a date falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day.20Internal Revenue Service. When Are Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments Due? Each payment should cover both estimated income tax and self-employment tax for that period, calculated on Form 1040-ES.
To avoid an underpayment penalty, pay in at least 90% of what you will owe this year or 100% of what you owed last year, whichever is less. The 100% safe harbor increases to 110% if your prior-year adjusted gross income exceeded $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately).21Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6654 – Failure by Individual to Pay Estimated Income Tax For a first-year seller, basing payments on last year’s total tax is the simpler path and removes the guessing. IRS Direct Pay handles the transfers electronically, or you can mail a check with the 1040-ES voucher. Most states that tax income have their own quarterly schedule on top of this.
Penalties for Missing the Deadlines
Filing late and paying late trigger separate penalties that stack.
- Failure to file: 5% of unpaid tax per month or partial month, capped at 25%. If your return is more than 60 days late, the minimum is the lesser of $525 or 100% of the tax owed.22Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 653, IRS Notices and Bills, Penalties and Interest Charges
- Failure to pay: 0.5% of unpaid tax per month, also capped at 25%. In any month where both penalties apply, the filing penalty drops by 0.5%, so the combined cost that month is 5%.23Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Pay Penalty
- Accuracy-related penalty: an extra 20% of the underpayment if the IRS finds negligence or a substantial understatement.24Internal Revenue Service. Accuracy-Related Penalty
Interest accrues on unpaid tax from the original due date and compounds daily. Filing late costs much more per month than paying late, so if you cannot cover the full bill by April 15, file anyway and set up a payment plan.