Every payout reconciled
Platform payouts plus the donation and tip services, matched against what reached the bank.
Streamers
If it landed because of the stream, it counts
If it landed because of the stream it is almost certainly taxable, and if you bought it for the stream it is almost certainly claimable. We handle both so you can stay live.
What you get
- Payouts, tips and donations added up in one place
- The US tax off your payouts, claimed back
- Your PC, mic and internet claimed, split honestly
- A set-aside percentage on every payout
- Your tax return prepared and filed
- One fixed monthly fee, FreeAgent included
The numbers that decide it
Four figures worth knowing by heart
Four numbers govern a streaming year, and two of them are money going the wrong way.
Trading incomeWhat donations and tips actually are
Up to 30%The US takes this off your payouts
SplitHow kit you also use for fun is claimed
26%Basic-rate tax and Class 4 on every pound of profit
2026/27 figures. See key tax dates and the calculators for the full picture.
Your year
Two deadlines and three habits
Only the last two lines are dates. The middle three are the ones that decide what those dates cost you.
6 AprilNew tax year. Everything earned from here belongs to the next return.
Now, onceComplete the platform tax interview and claim the UK–US treaty rate.
When you buy itSet and write down the business percentage for any mixed-use kit.
Every payoutMove the set-aside percentage out on the day it lands.
31 JanuaryReturn, balancing payment and first payment on account.
31 JulySecond payment on account.
Source: gov.uk Self Assessment, trading allowance and VAT guidance, checked July 2026. Rates are 2026/27 from this site's own calculators.
What the year actually looks like
Tips are not gifts, and the kit is not a hobby
Streaming income confuses accountants, never mind streamers. Are donations gifts? Usually not — money sent because of your stream is trading income. Is the platform withholding US tax? Yes, unless your tax forms claim the UK treaty rate. Do gifted subs, bits and the sponsored segment count? The money and the freebies both do.
The other half of the problem is the kit. A streaming setup is a genuine business asset that happens to sit in a bedroom and also get used for fun. That does not make it unclaimable; it makes it apportionable, and an honest split written down at the time is a defensible position rather than an argument.
The detail that decides it
What actually moves the numbers on a stream
Four things, and two of them are money you are probably not claiming.
- Donations and tips are trading income
- Money viewers send because of your streaming — donations, tips, Super Chats, bits — is trading income once you stream with any regularity, not a personal gift. It belongs on the return alongside subscriptions and sponsorship, and treating it as gifts is the single most common mistake on a streamer return.
- US withholding on platform payouts
- Royalty-type earnings from US sources attract US withholding. Completing the platform tax interview and claiming the UK–US treaty usually reduces it substantially. On Twitch this sits inside the Amazon tax interview, which is why so many streamers have never found it.
- Apportioned kit, honestly split
- A PC build used mostly for the stream is claimable in that proportion. Capture cards, cameras, microphones, lighting and streaming software used wholly for the channel are claimable in full. So is a fair share of broadband and, on a defensible basis, power. Write the percentage down when you set it.
- Lumpy months against monthly bills
- A big month and a quiet month produce the same January bill. A fixed percentage moved out of every payout on the day it lands turns the tax bill from an event into a transfer, and it is worth more than any planning advice we could give you.
The money already spent
What a streaming setup is actually worth against the tax
One year of kit, apportioned honestly
Everything here is real spending that has already happened. The only question is how much of it was for the stream, and whether anyone claimed it.
- PC build, £2,400, used 80% for the stream
- £1,920
- Capture card, wholly for the stream
- £180
- Microphone and lighting, wholly for the stream
- £420
- Broadband at £540 a year, half attributable
- £270
- Total claimed against profit
- £2,790
- Tax and National Insurance saved, at 20% plus 6%
- £725
The percentages have to be honest and they have to be written down when you set them. An apportionment you can explain is a defensible position; one invented at the year end is the thing an enquiry is looking for.
Source: gov.uk Self Assessment, trading allowance and VAT guidance, checked July 2026. Rates are 2026/27 from this site's own calculators.
What we do about it
Stream income, sorted
US withholding minimised
The treaty paperwork completed properly inside the platform tax interview.
Kit apportioned and claimed
PC builds, capture cards, cameras, microphones and a fair share of broadband.
A set-aside percentage
Applied to every payout as it lands, so a lumpy year still funds its January.
Self Assessment included
Prepared and filed around your schedule rather than office hours.
Sponsorship terms read
We will sanity-check the money terms before you sign anything.
Questions
What creators ask us
Are stream donations taxable in the UK?
Almost always. Money viewers send because of your streaming — donations, tips, Super Chats, bits — is trading income rather than a personal gift once you stream with any regularity. It belongs on your Self Assessment alongside subscriptions and sponsorship.
Can I claim my gaming PC as an expense?
If it is used for the stream, yes. Kit used wholly for the channel is fully claimable and mixed-use kit is apportioned honestly. The same applies to capture cards, cameras, lighting and a business share of your broadband.
The platform is taking tax off my payouts — why?
US withholding applies to royalty-type earnings from US sources. Completing the tax interview correctly and claiming the UK–US treaty usually reduces the withholding substantially. On Twitch it sits inside the Amazon tax interview.
My income is wildly different month to month. Does that change anything?
It changes the cash planning rather than the tax. The bill is worked out on the year as a whole, which is why moving a fixed percentage of every payout into a separate account as it lands matters more for a streamer than for almost anyone else.
Accreditations & Partnerships
