Even the free stuff is income, and needs a tag
Brand deals, affiliate links, and the products brands send you all count as income, and most of it also needs an FTC disclosure. Miss the tax and it lands in April; miss the disclosure and it is a legal problem. We form the LLC, put your deals under it, register your trademark, and keep your taxes and disclosures straight.
The free product is taxed, and it needs a tag
Two things surprise influencers. First, a product a brand sends you in exchange for a post is income, taxable at its fair market value, not a free gift. Second, every paid or gifted post carries an FTC obligation to clearly disclose the connection, whether or not the brand reminds you. Both the tax and the disclosure sit on you.
We form the LLC and put your brand deals under it, register a trademark on your name, and keep your income and disclosure obligations organized across every payer, so the business behind the brand is as solid as the content.
- Deals signed in your personal name
- Gifted products never counted as income
- Disclosures inconsistent or missing
- Name and handle unprotected
- No quarterly taxes set aside
- Brand deals signed by your LLC
- Gifted product tracked at its value
- Disclosure obligations kept clear
- Name and handle trademarked
- Quarterly taxes on a calendar
Pick your income, see tax and disclosure
Select how you earn and watch two things appear for each: whether it is taxable, and whether it needs an FTC disclosure. The one people miss is gifted product.
Everything an influencer business needs, in one place
Entity, deals, brand, and tax, handled and kept current together.
LLC formation
Your deals run through it
EIN
Federal tax ID for the business
Trademark
Your name and handle
Brand agreements
Signed under the company
Merch sales tax
Where nexus applies
Quarterly taxes
Across every brand and platform
S-corp election
When your profit makes it pay
Disclosure obligations
Kept front and center
From first brand deal to a real business
Five steps, in the right order. Select one to see the detail.
Form the LLC your deals run through
Once brand deals are regular, an LLC keeps a dispute with the company instead of with you, separates your finances, and reads as more professional to bigger brands. We form it in your state, with fees passed through at cost.
A company between you and every brand.Get your EIN and business banking
The EIN is your federal tax ID, and a business account is where brand payments, affiliate income, and platform payouts land, kept separate from your personal money so your taxes are clean.
One account for every payer.Sign deals under the company, and trademark your name
We set your brand agreements up to be signed in the LLC's name, so a dispute stays with the business, and we register a trademark on your name and handle to protect against impersonators and copycats.
Deals under the LLC, name protected. Trademark.Organize taxes and keep disclosures clear
Because your income comes from many payers with nothing withheld, and some of it is gifted product taxable at its value, we track it all and put your quarterly estimates on a calendar. We also keep your FTC disclosure obligations front and center.
Quarterly taxes set, disclosures clear. On the calendar.Grow the brand and keep it clean
As you launch merch, sell across states, and grow profit, we add sales tax where you gain nexus and flag an S-corp election when your numbers support it, so scaling the brand does not create a mess behind it.
Merch tax and elections in the calendar.Built for brand deals and disclosure, not a generic filing
Most setups skip the trademark, the gifted-product tax, and the disclosure. Here is the difference.
| Capability | File.Business | DIY forms | Local bookkeeper | Generic filer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LLC with deals run through it | Forms only | Not available | Formation only | |
| Trademark on name and handle | Not available | Not available | Add-on | |
| Gifted-product income tracked | Not available | Sometimes | Not available | |
| FTC disclosure kept front and center | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| Merch sales tax handled | Not available | Varies | Per filing | |
| Transparent, published pricing | Hourly | Per filing |
The honest version. A good accountant is worth it for your return and S-corp payroll, and an attorney for a large brand contract or a dispute, and nothing here is legal advice. What File.Business does is form the business, file the trademark, set up sales tax, and keep your taxes and disclosure obligations organized, so your specialists handle the big moments. Compare on the comparison hub.
An operator who knows the creator playbook
Ask in plain English. BosAI knows gifted-product tax, FTC disclosure, and trademarks.
A brand sent me a whole PR haul for free. That is not income, right?
Do I have to write ad even when it was just free product, not cash?
Should I trademark my handle?
The free stuff was the tax surprise
I had a great year of brand deals and PR packages and got blindsided by a tax bill, because nobody told me the free product counted as income. File.Business set me up as an LLC, moved my deals under it, filed a trademark on my handle, and put my quarterly taxes on a calendar that includes the value of gifted product. They keep my disclosure obligations in front of me too. Now the free stuff never catches me off guard.
Representative composite based on creator outcomes. Nothing here is legal or tax advice; consult your professionals for your situation.
The entity, the trademark, and the tax
Practical resources for setting up and running an influencer business. All free to read.
Straight answers on income, disclosure, and tax
Are gifted products taxable?
Do I have to disclose paid and gifted posts?
Should I put my brand deals under an LLC?
Should I trademark my name or handle?
How do taxes work on sponsorship and affiliate income?
When should an influencer elect S-corp status?
Do I charge sales tax on my merch?
Does this replace my accountant or attorney?
Build the business behind the brand
Form the LLC, put your deals under it, register your trademark, and let us keep your taxes and disclosures straight, gifted product included. Start now, or talk with our team about your brand.