Do I declare gross or net Substack income?

Gross income, with the Substack and Stripe fees claimed as a cost of sale. That is the correct treatment and usually leaves you better off than declaring the net, while remaining defensible.

Substack pays from the US. What about tax?

We make sure your W-8BEN claims the UK treaty rate, claim relief for any US tax withheld so you are not taxed twice, and convert your payouts to sterling at HMRC rates.

How are annual and founding-member plans taxed?

Income received up front for a year of writing brings timing questions that are easy to get wrong on your own. We account for them correctly as part of the return rather than dropping the whole amount into one period by default.

A fixed fee agreed up front, scaled to your mix of income and whether VAT is involved. Tell us what you earn from and we will price it with a deadline.

Substack Accountant

Written and reviewed by the Influencer Accountants editorial team. Last reviewed 28 July 2026.

A paid Substack is a subscription business, and it is taxed like one. The income is recurring, the platform and Stripe take a cut before you see it, and because Substack pays from the US there is a treaty angle. We handle Substack writers so the return is right and the deductions are not left on the table.

Fixed fee, agreed before we begin, with nothing charged until you approve it.

What We Handle

Your return and bookkeeping around paid subscription income, founding-member and annual plans, and any one-off income. We take the Substack and Stripe fees as a cost of sale, so you are taxed on what you kept rather than on the gross a subscriber paid.

Substack pays from the US, so we handle the W-8BEN and treaty position, claim relief for any US tax withheld, convert payouts to sterling at HMRC rates, and keep an eye on the point where you cross the VAT threshold.

Where Substack Tax Gets Awkward

As with any subscription platform, the gross a reader pays and the net you receive differ, and the fees in between are deductible. Annual and founding-member plans also bring timing questions, income received up front for a year of writing, that are easy to get wrong alone.

The US-source element and the VAT threshold at £90,000 are the other two to watch, and we handle both rather than leaving them to a best guess.

How It Runs

Send us your Substack and Stripe income and fee reports and the records we ask for, in one go. We do the work, show you the numbers, and file once you are happy. Identity checks first, as at any UK firm. Take just the return, or the year-round bookkeeping too.

Because subscription income is steady, the year-round option keeps it current and makes Making Tax Digital a non-event when it reaches you.

What It Costs

A fixed fee agreed before work starts, sized to your situation. A single-platform return is at the lower end; add other income, US tax, VAT and a company and it costs more, and we tell you which first.

To get a price, tell us what you earn from, and we will come back with a fixed quote and a deadline.