With the April 18 tax deadline creeping up, many creators are firing up QuickBooks for the first time and wading through online forums to identify the tax write-offs they can claim. 

It’s not as intuitive as it seems, particularly for those new to reporting income from their online careers that have to string together multiple sources of income such as deals with different brands. Instead of W-2 forms, they’re keeping track of 1099s, which report payments made to independent contractors. There isn’t one right way for creators to keep track of their finances, but the growing number of people who make a living from creating content online is spurring more ways to handle what has long been considered a pain point for creators.