cooner
patreon
Sales Tax Update
🕑 Added 2020-05-06 20:30:00 +0000 UTCHello, friends!
You may have already heard or been notified, but it looks like Patreon is going to have to make some changes to collect sales tax on certain pledges, depending on where patrons live and what rewards are being offered, beginning on January 1st.
It appears Patreon has grouped rewards into several categories (which you can find about halfway down this page, under "Details on Sales Tax") it will scan benefits for to determine taxability. The first three categories: "Donations/Support," "Recognition" (shout-outs and names in credits), and "Exclusive Community Access" (Patron posts, Discord access, polls) are listed as being exempt from sales tax in the majority of states. Two more categories, "Streaming Content" and "Downloadable Digital Goods" (PDFs, etc.) are listed as being taxable in about half states, and "Physical Goods" will be taxable in most states. Internationally I'm sure rules will differ but likely they'll be roughly the same.
As part of my phasing in some changes over the next few months, I've removed streaming sessions from the tiers—it's been hard to schedule time for them, and I haven't heard too much fuss about it so far. I'll still stream occasionally when I have time, but hopefully if it's not listed as a benefit it won't be taxable. I don't currently offer physical goods on any tier, so the big question is whether individual comic pages and artwork is going to count as "downloadable digital goods" or as "exclusive community access."
I'll be keeping an eye on details as they come, and will do what I can to try to reduce everyone's tax liability to the fullest legal extent that I can, whether that means adjusting keywords in tier benefits to make sure they're reflected properly, or going into the advanced tax settings they've announced will be coming next month. In the meantime, if anyone finds they're being charged sales tax come July in a way they feel is unfair, please let me know and I'll see what I can do!
Thank you again, everyone! I'm working on a few pages of comic right now to post soon, and I'll be announcing some changes and new stuff for the campaign over the next few weeks. Again, I appreciate all the support, and hope to talk to y'all soon! Stay safe and healthy! ❤️
For more information: New Sales Tax Requirements on Patreon
For further questions: Patreon Customer Support Team Request
