If you’ve been making money streaming, you’ve likely had to buy items and equipment specifically for your streams. If this is the case, you can be claiming these as expenses. This means at the end of the year you may not have to pay any tax if you’ve spent as much as you’ve earned.

We get a lot of questions asking us what counts as an expense if you’re a streamer (or content creator), so we’ve decided to make a master list of the most common expenses. If you’re wondering about something that isn’t listed, ask us over to our Twitter and we’ll get back to you!

General Streaming (Applicable to All)

  • Camera, Lighting and Computer Equipment
  • Set Costs (shelving, posters, decoration specifically for stream background)
  • Graphic Design Purchases (such as overlays, alerts etc.)
  • Artist Commissions (for emotes, logos, etc.)
  • Subscriptions (Ko-fi Gold, Discord Nitro, royalty free music services)
  • Editing Software (Photoshop, Premier Pro, After Effects etc.)
  • Internet Bills
  • Electricity Bills (Please read for more info: https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home)

Gaming Streamers Expenses

Gamer cheering
  • Videogames (specifically for streaming)
  • Subscriptions (Microsoft Game Pass, EA Play, etc.)
  • Capture Cards
  • Controllers/Cables

Makeup and Cosplay Streamers Expenses

Woman in wig with cat ears taking a selfie
  • Makeup Purchases
  • Wig/Prop Purchases
  • Costume Purchases
  • Equipment (brushes, sewing machine, glue gun etc.)

Musicians Expenses

  • Instruments
  • Equipment (microphones, loop pedals etc.)
  • Music Software (Logic Pro X, Garage Band etc.)

Art Streamers Expenses

  • Equipment (brushes, sketch pads, easel, paints)
  • Computer Equipment (drawing tablet, drawing pen)
  • Software (Procreate, Adobe Stock)

Fitness Streamers Expenses

  • Equipment (yoga mat, weights, etc.)
  • Clothing (MUST be branded with your logo to count as an expense)

Food & Drink Streamers Expenses

Woman cooking whilst filming

This is a tricky area. Everything listed below MUST be specifically for the recipes you are making on your streams or in your videos. It is a good idea to keep detailed logs to support purchases that you are going to claim as an expense.

  • Ingredients
  • Equipment (cocktail shakers, utensils)
  • Set Costs (plates, props)

We hope this helps you! We’ve tried to compile the most common expenses we can, but we will update the list as more are asked about.

Be sure to check out our Tips on Where to Start for New Business Owners to learn how to stay organised with your expenses and what to do when you have to pay tax.