The COVID-19 affected all and is still affecting some of the areas of the economy including sex work.
Much like the movie Hustlers, most have had to get creative with their streams of income. Now this is not to promote drugging men and stealing their credit card information, but platforms like OnlyFans and MyFreeCams have been flooded with new content creators over the past 3 months. With all areas of face-to-face sex work being closed, this has also resulted in more buyers.
During the Pandemic we spoke to many clients that just wanted to make some extra money to get by while their workplace was closed. Many of these people put in hard work and ended up making money to stay afloat and some. Whilst there is often confusion around tax, we want to make it clear that whether you are cashing out through a platform or using PayPal or Beem It, this money all needs to be claimed and therefore you will need to pay tax on this. We recommend putting away 30% of your income for tax, but please see the below tax table for a more accurate breakdown:
The reason we remind you to be conscious of this income stream is due to the fact that anything deposited to your bank accounts or PayPal can be tracked or investigated by the ATO should you be audited. Any false declarations of income can result in a hefty fine which we know nobody wants to pay.
While there are some people who adapted and adjusted over this time, I want to acknowledge that not everyone was able to find a new side hustle, take up yoga or stop eating 3-day old pizza. Are you feeling burnt out? Staying inside, losing your income, missing the chats you have in the girls room, many of us mourned the loss of our old habits. Instead of feeling burnt out from a few 5am finishes with cash in our hands, we are now burnt out waking up at 5am on the couch, stressing that our Job Keeper or Job Seeker payment is not going to hit our accounts on time.
This is where we as responsible accountants will come in and say, “Remember to have a safety stash!” Living pay check to pay check, or burning through cash because, “I will just make this again next week”, can be a brutal cycle.
Whether you wore sweatpants for 3 months, or smashed a new side hustle of any kind, we are proud of all of you for getting through this. We hope that all of the clubs, parlours and everything in between can open again soon.
Until then, stay safe. If you’d like talk any of this through, contact us today.
