Self Assessment for OnlyFans Creators
Written and reviewed by the Adult Creator Accountants editorial team. Last reviewed 29 July 2026.
Every OnlyFans creator earning more than the £1,000 trading allowance is running a self-employed business in the eyes of HMRC, and that business has to file a Self Assessment return each year. This service is the return itself, prepared, filed and explained, so the deadline is met and the figure is right.
OnlyFans keeps 20% commission and pays you the remaining 80%, and it is that 80% that HMRC treats as your turnover. We take your platform statements, work out the taxable profit after every allowable expense, and file the self-employment pages for you.
The work is handled discreetly from start to finish. You deal with one accountant, your figures are never shared, and the return goes to HMRC as a set of numbers rather than a description of your content.
What the Return Engagement Covers
The engagement starts by getting you registered for Self Assessment if you have not done it before, which HMRC requires by 5 October after the end of the tax year you began trading. From there we prepare the self-employment pages, SA103S or the full SA103F, that report your OnlyFans income and expenses.
We calculate the taxable profit after claiming every cost that meets the wholly and exclusively test, then work out the income tax and National Insurance due. For 2026/27 that means the personal allowance of £12,570, the 20, 40 and 45% income tax bands, Class 4 National Insurance at 6% between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above, with Class 2 treated as paid once profit reaches the £7,105 small profits threshold. Rates are different in Scotland.
The completed return is filed online well before the 31 January deadline, and we explain the numbers to you in plain terms before anything is submitted.
Where a Creator Return Gets Awkward
Most of the friction sits in two places. The first is expenses, where it is easy to over-claim on items that are not genuinely for the trade. Everyday clothing, for example, is not allowable, a point settled long ago in Mallalieu v Drummond, and we keep your claim defensible rather than optimistic, on the right side of what counts as allowable expenses.
The second is payments on account. Once your bill passes £1,000, HMRC asks for two payments on account towards the next year, each 50% of the last bill, due on 31 January and 31 July. Creators are often caught out by the first January, when the balancing payment and the first instalment land together, so we plan for it rather than letting it surprise you.
How the Filing Runs
You send us your OnlyFans payout statements and a record of your costs, either through our bookkeeping service or as your own summary. We reconcile the figures, prepare the return, and send it to you with the tax due clearly set out.
Nothing is filed until you have seen it and approved it. If you would rather keep your records clean through the year so this stage is quick, our bookkeeping service runs alongside this one.
What the Self Assessment Costs
The return is charged as a fixed fee agreed before we start, based on the volume of transactions and whether you also need bookkeeping. You know the figure in advance, and it does not move once the work begins.
There is no charge for the initial conversation, and if your affairs turn out to be simpler than expected we say so.