For YouTubers, streamers, influencers and anyone paid by platforms and brands. Your books done the day you upload your statements, checked against your bank, for $79 a month.
Free to join. The first 1,000 in get their catch-up free.
Sales tax
California's sales tax is 7.25%, and cities and counties add their own, about 8.99% in all on average. If what you sell is taxable, you collect it and file returns with the state.
State income tax
California taxes income at 1% to 13.3% in 2026, including the profit from your business.
Federal tax
Working for yourself, you pay 15.3% self-employment tax on most of your profit, plus federal income tax, usually in four estimated payments: April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15.
Contractors
Paid a contractor $2,000 or more in 2026? Send them a 1099-NEC by January 31.
What every business in Chico (about 100,000 people) keeps track of in 2026. Rates change, so check with your accountant before you file.
Creators in Chico, by the numbers
Butte County, home to Chico, has 3 independent artists, writers and performers with employees (Census Bureau, 2023).
Another 460 are run by one person with no employees, mostly self-employed owners.
Across California there are 18,417 with employees, so about 1% are in Butte County.
Every one of them has books to keep: sales to match to the bank, costs to sort and tax to work out.
Why creators need different books
Money from platforms in other currencies, brand deals paid on their own terms, gear and props, software, travel for content and income that changes every month. Most creators find out what they owe at tax time, which is the problem.
What a bookkeeper for creators in Chico keeps track of
Platform payouts, often in US dollars
Brand deals and sponsorships
Gear, props and software
Travel for content
Tax to set aside
Taxes for creators in California
Brand deals and ad revenue aren't usually subject to sales tax; merch you sell is taxed where you sell it.
Platforms send a 1099-K once you pass $20,000 and 200 payments in a year; brands paying $2,000 or more in 2026 send a 1099-NEC. You report all your income either way.
You pay self-employment tax and estimated tax four times a year.
Free products from brands can be income too.
What SumSwift does for creators and influencers, for $79 a month
Platform and brand payments sorted, in US dollars and your own currency
What to set aside for tax, with the payments and their due dates
Big purchases get one question, "Is this equipment?", so they're written off over the right years
Subscriptions watched for price rises
Invoices made, emailed and chased in SumSwift, with a pay link your customers can use
Every statement checked against the balances your bank printed, to the cent, with personal spending kept off your profit
Up to 3 accounts included. Prices in USD. Your accountant still files your tax return, with clean books and free access.
Questions.
How much does a bookkeeper for creators cost in Chico?
Published price guides put most small businesses at $300 to $1,500 a month for a bookkeeper, more when the books are busy, as they often are for creators. SumSwift does the monthly work for $79 a month, the day you upload your statements.
How much should creators set aside for tax?
Often 25% to 35% of profit. SumSwift works it out from your real income and costs.
Can I write off my camera and computer?
The business share of them, yes. SumSwift asks once whether a big purchase is equipment.
Does SumSwift know California's tax rules?
Brand deals and ad revenue aren't usually subject to sales tax; merch you sell is taxed where you sell it. Platforms send a 1099-K once you pass $20,000 and 200 payments in a year; brands paying $2,000 or more in 2026 send a 1099-NEC. You report all your income either way.
Behind on my books. Can you catch me up?
Yes. A catch-up of up to 12 months is $599, once, checked against your bank to the cent.