Finally! $100 in Adsense!

November 9, 2009 6:44 AM

I broke the $100 mark on Adsense, now what?

I've been blogging with Adsense for more than a year and finally broke $100 mark. Do I have to do anything now or are they just going to send me a check at the end of the month?

I've been planning to stop blogging once I broke that magical number, will this cause problems with not getting paid? (My blog will still be there for a couple months, but there will be no new content.)

Does this affect my taxes? (Is it a very small, one time, "gift.")

Finally, what am I actually going to get out of that $100?

Thanks!

posted by 47triple2 to work & money (6 comments total)

It's been a long time since I had an adsense payout, so I don't recall if they issue checks quarterly or monthly, but yes, you should get a check whenever the next payout is.

Assuming they still do things the same way they did a few years ago, If you're in the US, you'll get a 1099-MISC form from Google for your taxes... so, you'll get a check for the full $100, and it's up to you to deal with the taxes you'll owe on that $100. (Which I don't think will be a lot if that's your only 1099 income for the year - but IANAA.)

As far as I know, Google doesn't care if you ever update a site with their ads on it... all they care about is how many people click on the ads.
posted by usonian at 6:53 AM on November 9

First, it depends on whether you have already submitted a W-9 to them and if you have selected your method of payment. You can be payed either by check, or by direct deposit. If you not done all of that, you need to do it so you can get paid. If you have already done it, then it is simply a matter of waiting until the 25th of the month following the calendar month in which you exceeded $100 in revenue. The payment will happen automatically then to wherever your choice is.

The income is definitely taxable. Although it isn't W-2 income, it is basically the same as monies earned at your job. Google will send a 1099 form to the IRS. You will receive the entire $100. It is then up to you to file that on your 2009 tax return.
posted by netbros at 7:01 AM on November 9

It's taxable income of course, yes. As for the schedule:

AdSense payments are made on a monthly schedule. If your account balance reaches $100.00 in any month, we'll send your payment before the end of the following month, provided there are no holds on your account. For example, if your account balance reaches the payment threshold during November, we'll send you a payment at the end of December.

So if you just went over $100 in November (the past week or so) you will not see money until the very end of December or the first week of January.

No, Google won't care if you stop blogging. They won't even notice. Leave your old content sitting there and you might get a surprise $100 again next year.
posted by rokusan at 7:01 AM on November 9

Thanks for the quick responses! :) Three best answers for answering my three different questions.
posted by 47triple2 at 7:48 AM on November 9

The income goes on Schedule C, as if you were running your own business (which you are). You will need to pay income tax, your share of social security, and the business's share of social security (which is paid by your employer in a W-2 scenario). The social security goes on Schedule SE. The good news is, you get to deduct the business's share of social security, because it is a deductible expense.

Note that Google probably might not actually send you a 1099 for $100. They are only required to do so if you earn at least $600 from them. There are probably enough people making lesser amounts from them that they will realize significant savings just in postage by excluding those people. If Google doesn't send you a 1099, they don't send one to the IRS either. You're supposed to report it on your taxes anyway.

Keep in mind of course that you may be able to deduct any expenses involved in running the site against the income from it, if you are running the blog "in a businesslike manner." If you have ever driven anywhere to do something for the blog, for example, you could claim mileage at 55 cents a mile. If you bought a digital voice recorder to do interviews for the blog you could deduct that. All the typical small business tax deductions would apply. However, if it's just a hobby, you can't deduct any of that.
posted by kindall at 8:12 AM on November 9

Small, one time "gifts" are absolutely taxable. And this was no gift as it was a product of your labor.
posted by chairface at 12:34 PM on November 9