How Voice Actors File Their Taxes: Key Tips & Changes You Need to Know
Every January, voice actors receive W-2 and 1099 forms from clients to file their taxes. Whether using Schedule A or Schedule C, properly filing your voice actor taxes is crucial to staying compliant with IRS regulations. The forms you receive depend on the income you’ve earned and the payment methods used by your clients.
For voice actors, tax season can become overwhelming as we try to track down all the necessary documents to file our taxes correctly. This year, I found myself dealing with a bit of a tax twist—and I want to share what I learned to help you avoid the same confusion.
The 1099-K: A New Challenge for Voice Actors
As a voice actor, I was expecting many 1099-NEC forms this year from clients who paid me over $600. However, I received fewer of those and many more 1099-K forms instead. A 1099-K is issued by payment processors like PayPal, Venmo, and even platforms such as Wix, Voice123, and Wave Apps.
The problem with 1099-K forms is that they don’t itemize which clients made payments. For example, my 1099-K from Voice123 only accounts for payments made through their secure payment system. Other clients on the platform paid via PayPal, credit card, or direct deposit, so I had to figure out which payments weren't included on the form. Tracking down missing information from these forms has been a nightmare.
For detailed information about 1099-K forms and IRS regulations, visit the official IRS website.
To further complicate things, I also needed to determine which clients should issue a 1099-NEC for income over $600 and what income I needed to report that wasn’t included in any of the tax forms.
The BIG Change in IRS Tax Filing Rules for 2024
This year, the IRS made a significant change to the threshold for issuing 1099-K forms. Let’s take a look at how the reporting thresholds have changed:
2023: Over $20,000 in gross payments and over 200 transactions.
2024: Over $5,000 in payments and one or more transactions.
2025: Over $2,500 in payments and one or more transactions.
2026 and after: Over $600 in payments and one or more transactions.
As you can see, the reporting threshold for 2024 dropped significantly from $20,000 to $5,000, and by 2026, it will be as low as $600. This change has made it a bit tricky for voice actors like myself to keep track of all the necessary information. But don't worry—here’s how you can stay ahead of the game.
According to H&R Block's article, these are the new reporting thresholds for 1099-K forms in 2024.
How to Prepare to File Your Voice Over Taxes This Year
If you haven’t already, I recommend taking a few steps to ensure you’re prepared for tax season. First, create a list of all your 2024 clients, how much they paid you, which payment portal they used (PayPal, Venmo, etc.), and all forms of payment received (check, direct deposit, credit card, bank payment, etc.).
Having this information will make it much easier when you start receiving those 1099-K forms, as you’ll be able to cross-check and quickly identify which payments are accounted for.
How to Prepare to File Your Voice Over Taxes Next Year
I strongly recommend creating a spreadsheet to manage your voiceover revenue and populate it every time you book a voice over client. That way you won't be scrambling this time next year.
If you don't want to create something from scratch or need some spreadsheet inspiration, download my free Cash Flow Spreadsheet Template. Click on this link to download it.
Be sure to click on the How To Use tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet to learn how to use it effectively.
Stay cool, stay safe, and happy tax filing!
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Through VO Strategist, Tom's provided voiceover business & marketing coaching since 2011. He's also a voice actor with over 25 years of experience who has narrated just about every type of voice over you can think of. When not voicing or talking about voicing, Tom produces the sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22.
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