Tax Season Guide - 2021 Tax Year

It's tax season once again! Here's a helpful guide that puts the most important information all in one place. We hope this will help you as you start to file your taxes.

Digital Tax Statements

We're excited to announce that we now offer digital delivery of your tax statements. Please note that in order to receive your tax statements digitally via PDF download, you must opt-in to receive digital tax statements. If you did not opt-in by January 14, 2022, you will receive a tax statement for the 2021 tax year in the mail in addition to having access to download it digitally if you opted in after this date.

1. US Shop Owners: 1099 tax statements will be available for download here no later than February 1, 2022.
2. International Shop Owners: 1042-S tax statements will be available for download here no later than April 15, 2022.

Non-Digital Tax Statements

1. US Shop Owners: 1099 tax statements will be mailed out no later than January 31, so you can expect to receive them in late January or early February.
2. International Shop Owners: 1042-S tax statements will be mailed out no later than April 15, so you should receive your form 1042 in the mail by the last week in April.

All forms will be mailed to the address on file as of January 1 of this year (e.g. tax forms for the Tax Year 2021 are mailed to the address that was on file on January 1, 2021). If you've updated your mailing address since this time, please let us know so that we can make sure our tax team issued your statement to your current address.

FAQ

What is a 1099-NEC? Why did I receive one?

Previously, affiliate income was stated on a 1099-MISC. Recent updates made by the IRS mandate that income earned by Affiliates will be stated on a 1099-NEC. If you earned $600 or more in affiliate income, you will receive a 1099-NEC.  If you are both a Shop Owner and an Affiliate, you will receive a 1099-MISC stating the income earned from product sales in your shop, and a 1099-NEC stating affiliate income earned.

Why is the amount on my 1099/1042-S so different than my sales dashboard?

Your sales page may not match what is shown on your 1099-MISC or 1042-S, but the numbers on those forms are correct. On your Sales Dashboard where it lists Total Revenue or Your Earnings, the amount may be different due to things such as discounts, etc. The Sales Dashboard is not a tax information page. In addition, the 1042-S only shows the gross sales to US persons while the Sales page shows all sales to US and non-US buyers.

Why do you report the gross amount on my 1099/1042-S?

US federal income tax law requires that Creative Market report the royalties earned by Shop Owners as the gross amount (i.e., prior to reduction for the fees charged by Creative Market). Our legal counsel instructed that this is the proper method of reporting. We are unable to comment on the operations of other businesses that may or may not do this differently.

Please note that for foreign shop owners the gross is for sales to US buyers only. Therefore the amount you see on the Form 1042-S may be less than the amount shown in your account listed as “Total Revenue.”

Please refer to your form 1099-MISC or 1042-S for the correct gross amount.

I have more than one shop - why did I only receive one 1099/1042-S form?

If you have more than one shop, you will only receive one 1099-MISC or 1042-S if you indicated the same tax information on your W9 or W-8BEN for both shops. The Royalties listed would be the gross income earned for product sales for all shops you own. 

For additional questions about taxes, please see our Tax & Payout Guide.

NOTE: If these dates are past and you still don't have your tax form, or if you have any other questions about taxes, please contact the Support Team and we'd be happy to help!