Can I file deductible expenses with Hobby Income? I started doing Youtube videos late 2016 for fun because I collect things that I hardly find video reviews for and I figured it'd be useful to have them for other people. Google Adsense was always activated since I began since I figured 10 or so dollars from the small amount of views wouldn't be too bad, and it could feed into my collecting.
One of my videos got popular, though, and since early 2017 I've received a bit under 500 USD in adsense revenue from my videos.
I already got my W-2 from my actual employer so this revenue is purely my hobby - I've spent way more on it since I began (better camera, cheap but new mic, and all the collectibles I buy for the reviews themselves) than I've earned, but I know I'll have to report it anyway. I also received sponsorship in the form of review packages (no more than 100 dollars each) and know that has to be reported somehow as well, which in total bumps the total I've 'made' from this hobby around 800 USD in value.
What I want to know is if I can include the expenses I've put into the hobby as deductibles?
I'm just worried they'll think I owe taxes for this small amount of income and figured if I showed I actually didn't make much off of it they'll back off - if that's even how it works. This is only my third year or so that I've filed taxes so I'm a little worried that it's not as straight forward as last year where I only had my employer income to report.
Since what I collect actually has collector's value I have sold some of the items I didn't feel like keeping on eBay, as well. Never something more than what I paid - and if so it was to counteract the PP and eBay fees. I think I've made at least 1k in those sales alone and I know I have to report it, but I can I also put that as a hobby since the money goes straight back to buying collectibles? Realistically - and I've made rough calculations on this - I've spent more than I've made in total haha.
In addition I was a student for the first semester of the year - I plan to go back but took a break for my current job. Can I deduct textbook expenses? I also bought a new computer for it. How do I report that? CAN I even report it?
Currently using a site called freetaxusa for this if that helps. Thank you for any help on this. |