How Tax Works on Ko-fi

Income earned on Ko-fi is almost always subject to income tax and should be reported in the normal way you report other income.

Ko-fi provides the tools to add GST (sales tax) or VAT to purchases. It is your responsibility to calculate and remit the appropriate sales tax or VAT due on sales.

Ko-fi does not provide tax advice. Tax rules differ among countries and states. We recommend you seek professional advice about your specific tax obligations before using Ko-fi.

Income tax

All income received on Ko-fi is likely to be subject to income tax. We suggest you check the tax rules on receiving donations in your country to determine how to declare your donation income.

1099-K and other tax reports

You can download tax reports from PayPal by following these instructions or for Stripe using these instructions.

Downloading Ko-fi payment history

You can download a CSV of all your Ko-fi payments with a tax breakdown from your Payment History.

How to charge sales tax or VAT

Ko-fi is a direct payment platform where supporters pay creators directly into their own PayPal or Stripe accounts. Ko-fi does not collect and remit sales tax or VAT on your behalf. Instead, you are responsible for determining where they need to register, charge, and pay sales tax or VAT.

Ko-fi provides tools to allow you to add sales tax or VAT to the sale price of Shop items, Memberships, and Commissions.

Visit More > Account & Billing > Sales Tax to add the locations where sales tax or VAT is due. Enter the percentage of tax that should be added to the sale price. Ko-fi will add the sales tax to relevant payments on the checkout summary screen.

When someone makes a payment, you will receive the full amount including any sales tax in your PayPal or Stripe account. It is then up to you to report and pay any sales tax due.

An export of all of your sales including any sales tax collected can be downloaded from your Payment History.

Do I have to add all the locations of my buyers when setting up sales tax?

It depends on your location and where you are selling from. You will usually at least need to add tax for the country or location where you are selling. There are different thresholds that determine when you should register, collect, and remit sales tax or VAT in additional territories.

Here is a helpful guide to VAT and sales rules worldwide, but please do consult with a tax advisor for specific advice based on your own circumstances.

Will I have to pay taxes on donations received on Ko-fi?

Donation income is typically subject to income tax. You are responsible for reporting the donation income and paying any applicable income tax. See the ‘Income tax’ section above for more information.

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