Records and taxes for teacher-sellers: what to keep
Good records turn tax time from a scramble into an afternoon. Here is what teacher-sellers should keep, how to organize it, and where the questions for a tax advisor start.
Short answer: If you sell teaching resources, you are responsible for taxes on that income. Tax rules differ by country, so ask a tax advisor where you live. Whatever the rules, keep your monthly sales statements, PayPal payment records, any withholding tax confirmations and receipts for expenses such as clip art and font licenses, organized by year and month.
Do I have to pay taxes on selling teaching resources?
Income from selling resources is usually something tax authorities want to know about, but whether you owe tax, how much and how you report it depends on the country you live in, your other income and your personal situation. We can't tell you what applies to you, and this page doesn't try to.
What we can say clearly: as a TeachLessons seller, you are responsible for taxes on your own income. The best thing you can do from your first sale is keep tidy records, so a tax advisor in your country can answer your questions quickly.
What records should teacher-sellers keep?
| Record | Why keep it |
|---|---|
| Monthly sales statements | Each payout comes with a statement listing every sale. It shows what you earned and from which sales. |
| PayPal payment records | Show the amount that actually arrived and when. Download them, don't rely on the app. |
| Withholding tax confirmations | If tax was withheld from a payout, you get a confirmation. Your advisor may ask for it. |
| Expense receipts | Clip art and font licenses, software, printer ink for testing, design tools. |
| License files | Copies of the license terms for clip art, fonts and images you used. |
| Your agreements | The countersigned Seller Agreement and any agreements with other shops. |
If you also sell in your own shop or on other marketplaces, keep the same records for each channel. Our article on record-keeping across multiple platforms shows how to combine them.
What is a simple record-keeping system for teacher-sellers?
You don't need accounting software to start. A folder structure and one spreadsheet go a long way:
- One folder per year, with subfolders for statements, PayPal, expenses and licenses.
- File names with dates: 2026-09-statement-teachlessons.pdf, 2026-09-paypal.pdf.
- One spreadsheet with a row per month: sales channel, statement total, amount received, any tax withheld, expenses.
- A backup in cloud storage or on a second drive.
- A fixed date each month, for example the day after payouts arrive, to file everything.
From experience, the sellers who struggle at tax time are the ones who saved nothing for months and then try to rebuild it from emails. Ten minutes a month avoids that.
One more habit worth starting early: note the exchange rate or the amount in your own currency when a US dollar payout arrives, if your PayPal account converts it. Your advisor will tell you which rate to use for reporting, but having the actual amounts that reached you saves digging through old PayPal screens a year later.
Which costs should I keep receipts for?
Keep receipts for anything you buy to make or sell your resources. Whether a cost can be deducted or claimed, and how, depends on your country's rules, so let your tax advisor decide. Common examples teacher-sellers keep:
- Clip art, font and image licenses for commercial use
- Design software or subscriptions
- A share of computer, printer or internet costs, if your advisor says this applies
- Courses or books on resource design
- Fees for your own website or other shops
TeachLessons charges no membership, sign-up, annual, listing or per-resource fees, so there are no fee invoices from us to collect. The license log described in our guide on clip art and fonts for commercial use doubles as your expense list for graphics and fonts.
Will tax be withheld from my payouts?
Possibly. If the law requires TeachLessons to withhold tax from a payout, for example German withholding tax on payments to sellers outside Germany, it is deducted from the payout and you get a confirmation. Keep the confirmation with that month's statement.
Whether you can use such a confirmation in your own country, for example to avoid being taxed twice, depends on the rules there and any agreements between countries. That is a question for a tax advisor in your country. Payout details are covered in how seller payouts work.
What should I ask a tax advisor?
Taking good questions to your first appointment saves time and money. Useful ones for teacher-sellers:
- Do I need to register or report this income, and from what amount?
- Does selling resources count as a business or side activity where I live?
- Which of my expenses can I claim, and what proof do I need?
- How do I report income received in US dollars via PayPal?
- What should I do with a foreign withholding tax confirmation?
- Do sales taxes or VAT affect me as a seller, or only the shop?
- Do I need to tell my employer about side income?
Bring a year of statements and your spreadsheet. The advisor's answers then become your routine for the following years.
How do refunds and statement corrections affect my records?
If a sale is refunded, there is no payout for it, and if it was already paid, the amount is deducted from your next payout. That deduction shows on your statement, so keep both months' statements together. If a statement looks wrong, report it within 6 weeks to support@stifo.de and file the corrected version when you get it.
Ready to start selling? Apply with the short form. You keep 70% of net revenue, and every payout comes with a statement listing each sale.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay taxes on selling teaching resources?
It depends on your country and situation. You are responsible for taxes on your income, so ask a tax advisor in your country.
What records should I keep as a teacher-seller?
Monthly sales statements, PayPal records, any withholding tax confirmations, expense receipts and copies of licenses and agreements.
Does TeachLessons send me a statement?
Yes. Every monthly payout comes with a statement listing every sale.
Will TeachLessons withhold tax from my payouts?
Only if the law requires it, for example German withholding tax on payments to sellers outside Germany. You then get a confirmation.
Can I deduct clip art and font licenses?
That depends on your country's rules. Keep the receipts and ask a tax advisor.
Can TeachLessons give me tax advice?
No. Our pages are general information. Please check with a tax advisor in your country.
Ready to sell your teaching resources?
Apply with the short form. We email you the seller documents, you send your final files with previews and thumbnails, and we set up your product pages, your author page and landing pages. You keep 70% of net revenue, with no fees and no exclusivity.
Keep reading
General information about the TeachLessons Seller Program, not legal, tax or financial advice. The signed Seller Agreement sets out the binding terms. Questions: support@stifo.de.