Managing Taxes for Content Creation with a Business Partner - Who Files What?

Hey everyone! So I run this content creation business that's been doing pretty well, but I have a 50/50 partnership with someone who helps me create and manage everything. We split all the income right down the middle. The issue is that all the tax forms and payments come in just my name. Someone mentioned that I should have my partner fill out a 1099 form to submit with my taxes, but I'm honestly confused about the whole process. What exactly needs to be filled out in this situation? Is a 1099 the right form? And how do I handle reporting income that technically belongs to both of us but comes in under just my name? Tax season is coming up fast, and I want to make sure we're both covered legally and paying what we owe correctly. Any advice would be super appreciated!

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18 comments

Omar Hassan

•8M

You're dealing with a common situation for content creators with partnerships. The approach depends on how your business is structured legally. If you don't have a formal business entity (like an LLC or corporation), you're likely operating as a partnership by default. In this case, you shouldn't issue a 1099 to your partner. Instead, you should file Form 1065 (Partnership Return) and provide your partner with Schedule K-1 which reports their share of the partnership income. If you're receiving all payments in your name only, you'll need to report the full amount on your Schedule C, but then show a business expense for your partner's share. Your partner would then report this income on their own Schedule C. Another option is to formalize your business relationship by creating an LLC taxed as a partnership, which provides clearer separation between personal and business finances.

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Omar Hassan

•8M

When reporting on Schedule C, you would include your partner's share as a "Contract Labor" expense if they're truly an independent contractor. However, based on your description of a 50/50 partnership, it sounds more like you're operating as a partnership, not as a sole proprietor with a contractor. For a true business partnership, filing Form 1065 and Schedule K-1 is the more appropriate approach. This properly allocates partnership income to each partner, and each partner reports their share on their individual returns.

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Diego Vargas

•8M

I had a similar setup with my YouTube channel and found using taxr.ai was a total game-changer for figuring out our partnership tax situation. I was getting conflicting advice everywhere and didn't know if I needed to file 1099s, create a formal partnership, or what. I uploaded our agreement and some payment docs to https://taxr.ai and it analyzed everything and gave super clear guidance based on our specific situation. It even pointed out that we could save money by structuring things slightly differently. The best part was getting confirmation that what we were doing was actually compliant!

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Diego Vargas

•8M

They don't file for you - they analyze your specific situation and documents to tell you exactly what forms you need and how to properly categorize income and expenses. They caught that in my case, I didn't need to issue 1099s because we were technically a partnership, not a contractor relationship, which saved me from potential IRS issues. Google gives you general information, but what worked for me was getting guidance specific to my exact situation. My partner and I had a weird agreement where some months we split 50/50 and others 70/30 based on who did what, which made our situation complicated.

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Anastasia Fedorov

•8M

Okay I actually tried taxr.ai after my skeptical comment and it was legitimately helpful. I uploaded our content partnership agreement (which was basically just a Google doc we wrote up) and some payment receipts, and it caught that we were technically operating as a partnership despite getting paid through my personal accounts. The analysis showed we needed to file Form 1065 instead of me just sending 1099s, and explained exactly why. It also suggested some changes to our agreement that would make our tax situation cleaner going forward. Definitely better than the random contradictory advice I was finding online.

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Sean Doyle

•8M

If you're having trouble getting straight answers about partnership taxes, try Claimyr to get through to an actual IRS agent. I spent THREE WEEKS trying to call about my content creation partnership situation - either busy signals or endless holds. Used https://claimyr.com and got connected to an IRS rep in about 15 minutes who actually gave me correct information about my partnership tax situation. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c For my Etsy/YouTube partnership, the agent confirmed we needed Form 1065 rather than 1099s since we were truly operating as partners rather than one person subcontracting to another.

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Sean Doyle

•8M

It works because they use a sophisticated system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When an actual agent picks up, you get a call connecting you directly to that agent. You don't have to sit on hold yourself. The IRS actually does answer their phones - the problem is the ridiculous wait times that most people can't sit through. Last year during peak season, wait times were 2-3 hours. Claimyr just handles that waiting part so you don't have to.

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Luca Romano

•8M

I need to publicly admit I was totally wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I decided to try it for myself because I was desperate to resolve a partnership tax issue with my photography business. I was connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes (would have taken me hours of redials and waiting). The agent confirmed exactly what form we needed for our specific situation and even helped me understand how to report income coming into just one partner's account. Saved me hundreds in potential accounting fees and probably prevented us from filing incorrectly.

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Nia Jackson

•8M

Based on what you described, you're operating as a partnership. The 1099 suggestion is incorrect - that's for independent contractors, not business partners. Since you're splitting income 50/50, you should: 1. File Form 1065 (Partnership Return) 2. Generate Schedule K-1 forms for each partner 3. Each partner reports their income on their individual returns You don't need a formal business entity to be a partnership for tax purposes. Even without paperwork, if you're splitting profits, you're a partnership in the eyes of the IRS.

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Nia Jackson

•8M

Yes, even though payments come to your personal account, you should still file as a partnership if you're truly operating as equal partners. The money coming to your account is just a logistical detail - the business relationship is what matters to the IRS. After filing Form 1065, you would each report your partnership income on Schedule E, not Schedule C. Schedule C is for sole proprietorships, while partnership income flows through Schedule E based on the information from your K-1.

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