How To Save Money on Your Fiverr 1099 Taxes

What taxes do you owe as a Fiverr seller?

Luckily, the list of taxes 1099 workers pay isn’t a long one. You’ll pay:

• Self-employment tax
• Federal and state income tax

It’s important to remember that Fiverr doesn’t withhold taxes from any of the income you make through the platform. You’re considered an independent contractor, so it’s up to you to report your income to the IRS and pay your taxes.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the taxes you’ll pay.

Self-employment tax

Also known as FICA tax (which stands for the “Federal Insurance Contributions Act”) self-employment taxes fund Medicare and Social Security programs. Despite its name, it isn’t just paid by self-employed people.

W-2 employers deduct 7.65% of their employees’ paychecks for FICA taxes, then match that same amount. Because 1099 workers are technically their own bosses, they’re responsible for paying both the employee and employer portions — a total of 15.3%. 

If you’re wondering how much you might owe in FICA taxes, you can give Keeper’s free 1099 calculator a whirl.

Keep in mind: You can use the employer portion as an “adjustment to income.” This lowers the amount of income tax you owe. Let’s talk about that next.

Federal and state income taxes

Federal income taxes are “progressive,” which means you pay more as your income meets certain thresholds. Depending on how much you make (and your marital status), your federal tax rate for 2023 will fall between 10% and 37%. 

State taxes depend on where you live. Some states mirror the federal tax system, where your rate depends on your income level. Others charge one flat tax rate that everyone pays.

Finally, these states don’t charge any individual income tax:

• Alaska
• Florida
• Nevada
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Washington
• Wyoming

You can use Keeper's free income tax calculator to check how much tax you'll owe. It'll even tell you whether your state collects income tax.

Before you file your taxes, we’ve got a few more steps to cover to help you prep for tax season — and save money!

Everything you need to know about your Fiverr tax forms

Before tax time, Fiverr sends qualifying sellers a 1099 form detailing how much they earned the previous year. The IRS also gets a copy.

You need to know your earnings from the last year to file your taxes, and this form can help you with that. Let’s cover who qualifies for a 1099.

Who receives a 1099 Fiverr form?

Fiverr sends a 1099 form to all US-based sellers who meet both of the following criteria:

• They earned at least $20,000
• They received at least 200 transactions (including tips)

The specific type of 1099 you’ll get is called a 1099-K, which is typically used for credit card and app payments. 

“Fiverr only sends 1099-K forms to freelancers,” public relations specialist Molly Rose Nolan confirmed over email. “These forms include all payments and transactions, including those that were processed via PayPal,”

To get the form, you’ll have to fill out a Form W-9, which asks for your Social Security number (or tax ID number) and some contact information.

When does Fiverr sent out 1099 forms?

1099 forms are typically sent by January 31st.

What should you do if you don’t receive a Fiverr 1099 form?

Don’t panic! A 1099 form isn’t the only way to determine your annual Fiverr earnings.

If you earn $400 or more as a Fiverr seller, you need to report your income to the IRS. If you didn’t earn enough to receive a 1099 — or if there’s a snafu and it just doesn’t arrive in time — you can figure out your earnings another way.

Scanning your own bank statements and records can help you put together an accurate picture of your income for the year. But there’s another, even easier, option.

Getting income info from Fiverr

You can download your income summary straight from Fiverr. Here’s how:

1. Log into Fiverr and click on “Earnings”
2. Go to “Get statement of earnings”
3. Select the time period (for tax purposes, that’s the previous calendar year)
4. Click “Download Statement”

Now that you know how much you earned in the last year, let’s talk about how to keep as much of that money as possible.

How to lower your Fiverr income with write-offs

As a seller, your business expenses are the everyday costs you incur to run your business. These are important to track, because they can decrease the amount of tax you owe.

Here’s how it works: All the money you earn in a year is called your “annual gross income.” But that isn’t necessarily the amount you’re taxed on. First, you need to write off business expenses from your gross income. The result is your taxable income.

Can you write off all business expenses?

According to the IRS, a business expense can be written off on your taxes only if it’s “ordinary and necessary” — common for your job and helpful for getting it done.

For example, a clear write-off for a Fiverr translator like Manuel would be foreign language dictionaries and apps. But “ordinary and necessary” can also include less obvious things, like:

• 🧑‍🏫 Video consults with a professor of Spanish literature
• 🇧🇷 Portuguese classes, since he’s working to expand his language offerings
• ⛽ The cost of gas, for driving between libraries and bookstores for reference material

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Common write-offs for Fiverr sellers

Several write-offs tend to be applicable across various freelance jobs. Common examples are:

• 🏠 Home office expenses
• 📱 Cell phone bill
• ⚡ ​​Wi-Fi bill
• 🚗 Car expenses
• 🧰 Equipment and tools
• 🖊️ Office supplies
• 🏦 Bank fees
• ​​🎵 Subscriptions
• 🍔 Business meals
• ✈️ Business trips
• 📰 Personal marketing materials 

Let’s take a look at some other common business expenses for popular Fiverr jobs.

Find even more common tax deductions for various freelance jobs here.

How to track your Fiverr business expenses

If you haven’t been keeping a folder of receipts or a detailed list documenting your business expenses, don’t worry! You can get started today by downloading Keeper.

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Keeper connects to your personal or business bank account, helping you track the money you spend on eligible business expenses. It can also go through your previous transactions and note eligible purchases you made before downloading the app. On average, Keeper helps freelancers save at least $1,249 a year!

When tax time arrives, you can either file right in the app, or you can download a list of your expenses and use it to fill out your Schedule C. 

On that note, let’s dive into how to file your taxes as a Fiverr seller.

How to file your Fiverr 1099 taxes

The prep work is done, and you’re ready to start filing your 1099 taxes.

Keeper has a step-by-step tax filing guide you can turn to for a thorough explanation of the process. In the meantime, here’s a brief overview. Don’t worry: The process isn’t as complicated as you might think!

Step #1: Fill out your Schedule C 

This form is used to determine your taxable income:

1. Start by entering your gross Fiverr income
2. List your business expenses
3. Deduct them from your total income to calculate your taxable income

Filling out different Schedule Cs for different jobs

You fill out one Schedule C for each type of job you do, no matter how many platforms you use to find clients.

That means that, if you do different types of Fiverr gigs in the same year, you'll need multiple Schedule Cs just for your Fiverr income. And if you do other types of 1099 work outside of Fiverr, you’ll fill out a separate Schedule C for each.

On the other hand, if you do the same type of work on multiple platforms, you’ll use a single Schedule C for all of them. 

For example, if Manuel the translator also drives for Uber and starts offering web design services on Fiverr as well, he’ll have:

• One Schedule C for translation
• A second Schedule C for rideshare driving
• A third Schedule C for web design

But if Manuel finds translation clients through both Fiverr and Upwork, he’ll put his earnings from both platforms on the same Schedule C.

File through the Keeper app, and we’ll organize your Schedule Cs for you.

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Step #2: Fill out your Schedule SE

This is where you’ll input your taxable income to determine how much self-employment tax you owe.

Step #3: Fill out your 1040 form

This form is used to determine how much income tax you owe. 

When you’re done filling out these three forms, you’re ready to send them off to the IRS. But before you put your feet up and celebrate the end of tax season as Fiverr seller, we’ve got one more point to cover: the due dates for your taxes.

Do you need to pay quarterly taxes as a Fiverr seller?

Not if you expect to owe less than $1,000 when you file your taxes. In that case, you’ll only have one spring tax deadline to remember: April 15. (Unless that falls on a weekend or public holiday, in which case the deadline is moved to the following business day).

However, if you’re going to owe the IRS more than $1,000, you’ll have to pay your taxes in four installments, also known as “estimated quarterly taxes.”

Estimated quarterly taxes are due on:

• April 15
• June 15
• September 15
• January 15

Because these are “estimated taxes,” the IRS doesn’t expect you to know exactly how much you’ll owe down to the cent. 

That said, you should try to get as close as possible, because paying too little in quarterly taxes can result in underpayment penalties. You can use Keeper’s free quarterly tax calculator to get a solid idea of what you’ll owe.

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How to save for quarterly taxes throughout the year

When it comes to ensuring you don’t fall behind on your quarterly taxes, tax preparer and finance writer Kari Brummond offers the following advice: “Set aside 25% of your freelancing income throughout the year, minus expenses. That should cover your self-employment taxes plus about 10% in income tax.”

Let’s go back to our example of Manuel, the Fiverr translator who lives in Vermont.

Manuel earned $50,000 in 2022 and spent $5,000 in business expenses, putting his taxable income at $45,000. Following this 25% rule, Manuel should put aside $11,250 for taxes. If he sets aside tax money on a monthly basis, it would work out to $937.50 per month.

“After claiming deductions and credits, your tax bill may be lower than this,” Brummond says.
“But if you've been saving throughout the year, you don't have to worry about struggling to make quarterly payments. Note, however, that as your income increases, your tax bill will likely also increase. Eventually, you may need to set aside more than 25%.”

By now, you should have a clearer picture of how your Fiverr taxes work. With this guide and our free tax calculators in hand, we hope you feel ready to approach tax season with confidence!

And remember, if you need a little extra help, you can always turn to Keeper, the tax app that makes managing your freelancer finances a little simpler.