In this informal instructional video, MisterMe6000 (aka Mr. Beasto) explains the U.S. tax obligations that apply to self‑employed YouTubers. He starts by noting that any YouTube earnings over $600 in a year trigger a filing requirement. He then outlines the federal income‑tax brackets (10% up to $9,275, 15% up to $37,650, rising to 39.6% above $415,000) and stresses that these are only one component of the tax burden. Because YouTubers are self‑employed, they can deduct business‑related expenses such as cameras, lighting, computers, software, phones, and even advertising on their vehicles, which can lower taxable income and potentially move them into a lower bracket. He warns viewers to keep receipts as proof of deductions. The video then details the additional payroll‑type taxes: Medicare (2.9% of all net earnings), Social Security (12.4% on the first $113,000 of earnings), and the 0.9% additional Medicare surtax (often called the healthcare surcharge). State income tax is also mentioned, using California as an example (approximately $110,000 on $1 million of taxable income). A worked example is provided: a YouTuber earning $1,100,000 gross with $100,000 in deductions ends up with $1,000,000 taxable income. Federal tax at the top bracket is $283,000; Medicare $29,000; Social Security $14,000 (capped); additional Medicare $7,200; and California state tax $110,000, for a total tax liability of about $443,000 (roughly 44% of taxable income). The speaker concludes by encouraging viewers to retain documentation and be aware of their tax responsibilities.
Chapters
MisterMe6000, yeah, you know his name. He changed it once or twice, but I think it's still the same. MisterMe6000! You like YouTube money, I like YouTube money, but guess what? The government also likes YouTube money, and they want some of our YouTube money. So for starters, you only have to pay taxes if you make over $600 a year off of YouTube. So throughout the span of 2015, if you made less than $600, you did not make enough that the government cares. But if you made over $600, you have to pay taxes. Okay? You have to pay taxes if you make more than $600 off of YouTube in one year, or it's tax evasion or whatever, something. I don't know the term. Now obviously this guide is going to be based on the United States of America because that's where I live, in America. And here we have a tax bracket system. So the more money you make, the more they charge you. The more you make, They shouldn't— like, I don't think you should be punished to make more money. Like, that doesn't really make sense to me. You know, that doesn't— that kind of weakens your incentive to do more and work harder. But whatever, America for you. So I said that like, I like America, okay? But anyways, if you make less than $9,275 in a year, then you have to pay 10% taxes. If you make between $9,275 to $37,650, you have to pay 15%. And the more you make, it gradually increases till when you make $415,000, if you make more than that one year, you have to pay 39.6% taxes to the federal government. Now I should say that that's not the only tax you have to pay. You also have to pay a Social Security tax, a Medicare tax, uh, there's this healthcare surge tax, whatever. And then there's also a state tax. So there's 5 different taxes you have to pay and I'll cover them all more in depth later on in the video. One of the next things I wanted to mention is because you're a YouTuber, that means you're self-employed. So you can take deductions or deductible, whatever you want to call it. You can deduct certain things you buy for your business from your tax money. So pretty much if you make $10,000, okay, but you're able to deduct $800 from it, and $10,000 will put you in the 15% tax bracket, but if you were able to deduct $800, that puts you at $9,200 for your taxable income, which would actually lower your taxes to 10% from 15% because you are able to knock yourself down a bracket by deducting stuff. And some of the things you can deduct are like this camera, I can deduct. I can deduct the lighting, my green screen, my computer. If you're a gaming YouTuber, you can deduct your consoles. Anything you buy for your YouTube channel, you can deduct, and the government cannot tax you from it. Some other things people deduct is their microphones, like this thing, my Blue Snowball. Software, if you buy Sony Vegas— if you're an idiot and buy Sony Vegas, you can deduct that. Stuff like that, you know. Some people take it as far as they actually deduct their cell phone bill because they use their cell phone purely for social media like their Twitter, YouTube, which is all their business. Some people do that. Some people even go as far as putting a picture of their channel on their car, and then like on the outside of their car, and labeling their car as an advertisement and stuff. Some people take it a little out of proportion. I don't think they'd actually get away with it if the government came by and checked them, but for the most part, Like simple stuff like equipment, make sure you deduct that, save yourself some money. Don't be an idiot, but you have to save the receipts because, you know, you deduct all this stuff and they come asking for proof and you don't have the receipts, then you're going to be screwed and end up paying more money than you would have. Yeah, so you get that. So anyways, I'm going to cut straight to the point. Let's say you make $1,100,000 in the year 2015. Do you know how much money you'd have to pay the government if you made $1,100,000? So let's say somehow you managed to deduct $100,000. So the only part of your income that's taxable is $1 million because you're able to deduct $100,000. Then out of that million dollars, the federal government, because you're in the highest tax bracket, is going to take $283,000. So just over a quarter of a million dollars goes to the federal government. That's one of the 5 taxes you have to pay as a self-employed YouTuber. The next tax is your Medicare. Which, okay, so Medicare is 2.9% of all the money you make, 2.9%. So 2.9% of $1 million is $29,000. So $29,000 goes to Medicare, $283,000 of the $1 million goes to the federal government. The next tax you have to pay is your Social Security tax. Now, the Social Security tax is 12.4%, but that's only for the first $113,000 you make. So if you make over $113,000, it's no longer taxable. Tax— sorry about that voice crack, I'm kinda sick— is no longer taxable by the government. So if 12.4% of $113,000 comes out to $14,000, so, so far between just the first 3 taxes, the federal tax, the Medicare tax, and the Social Security tax, which Social Security only applies to the first $113,000 you make, that's a total of $326,000 you already owe the government. That's over a third— or no, that's just under a third of $1 million. And then the next tax is the healthcare surge or surplus, something like that, the healthcare tax, which is 0.9%. So just under 1% of everything you make. So 0.9% of $1 million, according to the guide I got this information off of, is $7,200, which brings your total up to $333,200. And the final tax is your state tax. So if you live in California, which is where most YouTubers live, and you make $1 million, you have $1 million taxable dollars, then California is going to take $110,000. So, uh, you're gonna— oh, if you make $1 million or you have $1 million that's taxable by the government, the government's gonna— the federal government's gonna take $283,000. The FICA, which is your Medicare and your Social Security, is going to take $43,000. Healthcare is going to take $7,200, and state is going to take $110,000. So out of your $1 million, what $100,000, the government's going to take $443,000. I'm now making enough money where I have to pay taxes, so I did all this research and I thought I'd share with you guys. So let me know if you learned something, and that's that. That's that. Oh my goodness, I hate being sick. Mr. Beasto.
