Get Paid for Tax Questions Without Giving Tax Advice

Tax educators can charge for a general tax question by pricing a text-only explainer: how a form works, what a deduction category covers, how an entity type is taxed. The moment an answer supplies an entry for one person's actual return, federal preparer rules and state licensing laws apply instead. Paid Questions let a follower pay upfront to ask one private question, and you send one written reply on your own time — no live call or scheduling.

Anyone who prepares or assists in preparing federal tax returns for compensation must hold a valid 2026 Preparer Tax Identification Number, and the 2026 PTIN application or renewal fee is $18.75 and non-refundable (IRS, PTIN requirements for tax return preparers).

A tax educator's DMs repeat every filing season: "can I write this off," "should I file as an LLC or sole prop," "what's the difference between a deduction and a credit." Answering those for free costs real time, and a priced, text-based format gives one specific question somewhere to go besides an unanswered inbox. The scale of the audience is documented: the IRS reported 144,992,000 total individual income tax returns received as of May 8, 2026, in its cumulative filing season statistics table comparing May 9, 2025 with May 8, 2026 (IRS, filing season statistics for week ending May 8, 2026). The whole business model of a paid tax question rests on one distinction the IRS itself draws in regulation, so that line is where this page starts.

Where does general tax education end and return preparation begin?

Return preparation means preparing, for compensation, all or a substantial portion of a return or claim for refund under 26 CFR 301.7701-15(a). A general explanation that does not use one person's documents, numbers, or filing decisions may stay on the education side, but confirm that boundary against the cited federal and state rules before charging. Advice becomes preparation when it drives a specific entry on a specific filer's return.

Good candidates for a priced answer: "What's the general difference between a tax deduction and a tax credit?" "How does the standard mileage rate usually work?" "What's a 1099-K, and when does a platform typically send one?" Each has an answer that applies identically to anyone who asks it.

Weak candidates ask for a decision on someone's actual filing: "Should I claim my home office this year?" or "Can you check my Schedule C before I file?" Those require reviewing one person's numbers or documents.

The IRS is unambiguous about who must register before preparing returns for pay: "Anyone who prepares or assists in preparing federal tax returns for compensation must have a valid 2026 PTIN before preparing returns". The IRS reported 879,698 individuals holding a current 2026 PTIN in its federal tax return preparer statistics table labeled "Data current as of 08/01/2026" (IRS, Tax Professional Management Office federal tax return preparer statistics).

The IRS is equally direct about where responsibility for a filed return sits, no matter who helped write it:

"Taxpayers are responsible for all the information on their tax return, no matter who prepares it for them or when it's filed."

General education is not personalized tax, legal, or accounting advice, and it is not a substitute for a licensed professional reviewing an actual return.

What does a clean general answer look like in practice?

A clean general answer states a published rule that applies to every taxpayer the same way, with the source and the effective date attached. The Form 1099-K reporting threshold is the model: it is a fixed number, it applies to every payee identically, and answering it well requires no look at the asking follower's own payment records.

In news release IR-2025-107, dated October 23, 2025, the IRS announced Fact Sheet 2025-08 FAQs confirming that the One, Big, Beautiful Bill retroactively reinstated the pre-2021 Form 1099-K reporting threshold:

"The OBBB retroactively reinstated the reporting threshold in effect prior to the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) so that third party settlement organizations are not required to file Forms 1099-K unless the gross amount of reportable payment transactions to a payee exceeds $20,000 and the number of transactions exceeds 200." (IRS)

So the current federal Form 1099-K filing threshold for a third-party settlement organization is more than $20,000 in gross reportable payment transactions and more than 200 transactions — not the $600 figure the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 had scheduled and that the One, Big, Beautiful Bill removed retroactively (IRS, Form 1099-K FAQs: general information). A paid answer can state that threshold, name the release that set it, and stop there. What it must not do is compute whether the follower crossed it using the follower's own totals.

Which rules govern paid tax advice versus return preparation?

Three federal rule sets apply. 26 CFR 301.7701-15 defines who counts as a tax return preparer, IRS PTIN rules require an identifying number for preparing returns for compensation, and Treasury Circular 230, codified at 31 CFR Part 10, governs practice before the IRS. State licensing laws add a fourth layer for anyone preparing returns for a fee — a licensing-adjacent boundary that also shapes how real estate agents price paid buyer questions without stepping into work reserved for a licensed agent.

The regulation that matters most to a paid-question offer is the one that treats advice itself as preparation in defined circumstances:

"A person who renders tax advice on a position that is directly relevant to the determination of the existence, characterization, or amount of an entry on a return or claim for refund will be regarded as having prepared that entry." (26 CFR 301.7701-15(b)(3)(i))

The nonsigning tax return preparer rules have explicit limits rather than catching every explanation. Under 26 CFR 301.7701-15(b)(2)(i), nonsigning preparer status generally attaches to advice given "with respect to events that have occurred at the time the advice is rendered" (the same paragraph sets out a narrow anti-avoidance exception for pre-event advice), and time spent on after-the-fact advice representing less than 5 percent of that individual's aggregate time on the position is disregarded (eCFR). A separate de minimis rule in 26 CFR 301.7701-15(b)(3)(ii)(A) treats an item as not a substantial portion for a nonsigning preparer when the amounts involved are less than $10,000, or less than $400,000 and also less than 20 percent of gross income shown on the return (eCFR).

Circular 230 covers a different question — who may represent taxpayers and render written advice before the IRS. Circular 230 defines practice before the IRS at 31 CFR 10.2(a)(4) to comprehend "all matters connected with a presentation to the Internal Revenue Service," including "rendering written advice with respect to any entity, transaction, plan or arrangement, or other plan or arrangement having a potential for tax avoidance or evasion" (eCFR, 31 CFR Part 10). Circular 230 at 31 CFR 10.3 limits that practice to attorneys, certified public accountants, enrolled agents, enrolled retirement plan agents, enrolled actuaries, and other named categories.

State rules can be stricter than the federal baseline. California law requires anyone who, for a fee, assists with or prepares tax returns for another person and is not an exempt CPA, enrolled agent, or California State Bar attorney to register with the California Tax Education Council, which requires a 60-hour qualifying education course, a $5,000 tax preparer bond, and a $33 registration fee plus a $2 processing fee. The Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners states that anyone who prepares Oregon personal income tax returns for compensation must be licensed or registered with the Board. Requirements vary by state, so a creator should check the rules of the state they operate in before charging for tax content.

Why does a text-only format keep documents out of the exchange?

Because a follower physically cannot send a 1099, a W-2, or a draft Schedule C through it. With Paid Questions, the follower pays a fixed price upfront, types one question, and receives one written reply privately.

Brillay's how-it-works page describes the follower side of that flow:

Followers pay by card as guests, with no Brillay account to create and no app to install, and they pay upfront when they order. (Brillay, how it works)

You set the price and choose how long you need to reply, up to five days. The exchange stays written and private, with no call to schedule. Brillay's published pricing page confirms the numbers: No monthly fee, you only pay a small platform fee when you get paid. 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% platform fee on tips and goals. Card processing is separate. (Brillay pricing) Card processing runs through Stripe, and Stripe's published pricing lists 2.9% + $0.30 for a standard US online card transaction (Stripe pricing).

For a tax educator, the text-only format is the whole safety mechanism: the reg turns on what was actually done, so the cheapest way to stay clear of preparer status is to not do the work in the first place.

When should a request go to a PTIN holder instead?

When the answer requires the follower's own documents or numbers. Custom Requests accept attached files from the client for defined document-based work if a creator offers it at all — and a creator who takes on real returns for compensation is subject to IRS PTIN requirements and whatever registration or licensing law their own state imposes. When a fixed-price question stops being enough, paid questions versus services for experts walks the choice through.

There is a large credentialed population that exists specifically to take the work a general-education question is not meant to cover. Among the 879,698 individuals holding a current 2026 PTIN, the IRS counted 208,519 certified public accountants, 68,548 enrolled agents, and 26,039 attorneys in its federal tax return preparer statistics table labeled "Data current as of 08/01/2026".

A non-credentialed educator who later wants to do return work has a defined on-ramp rather than a guess. The IRS Annual Filing Season Program requires 18 hours of continuing education from IRS-approved providers, including a 6-hour Annual Federal Tax Refresher course, for a Record of Completion; individuals exempt from the AFTR course need 15 hours instead. Even then the IRS states that AFSP participants "have limited representation rights, meaning they can represent clients whose returns they prepared and signed" — a paid explainer for a stranger produces no such return and no such right.

Which requests would make you a nonsigning preparer?

Any request whose answer supplies a figure, entry, or filing position for one person's actual return. "Explain generally how self-employment tax works" is education. "Calculate what I owe from these numbers" is the work 26 CFR 301.7701-15(b)(3)(i) treats as having prepared that entry, and it needs a document the format cannot accept anyway.

Two markers show what full preparation work actually looks like from the outside, and neither is triggered by explaining a rule. First, signing preparers carry statutory duties: the IRS states the penalty under IRC § 6695(b) for a preparer's failure to sign a return is $60 for each failure for returns filed in calendar year 2025, with a maximum penalty of $31,500, which is the most recent calendar year listed on the IRS tax preparer penalties page as of September 2026 (IRS, tax preparer penalties). Second, volume preparation triggers an electronic filing obligation: the IRS states the law requires tax return preparers and firms who reasonably expect to file 11 or more covered returns in a calendar year to file them electronically (IRS, e-file requirements for specified tax return preparers), which in turn requires an Electronic Filing Identification Number issued after an approved IRS e-file application.

State the scope in your listing and repeat it at the top of your reply.

Which dollar thresholds does this offer actually turn on?

Eight published figures decide whether a paid tax answer stays on the education side of the line, and each comes from a federal or state primary source rather than industry commentary. A creator who knows these eight can scope a listing in one sitting.

Only two of those eight are about the follower. The other six describe what happens to the creator, which is why a tax educator's pricing decision is really a scoping decision made before the first follower ever pays.

What scope wording belongs on the listing and every reply?

Scope wording has to state three things: that the answer is general tax education, that it is not tax, legal, or accounting advice for the reader's own situation, and that it is not return preparation. Two short blocks cover it — one on the listing, one pasted above every answer.

Listing scope line, copy as-is and edit to fit:

General tax education only. I answer one general question about how a
tax rule, form, or category works. I do not review your documents or
numbers, do not tell you what to claim or file, and do not prepare
returns. Nothing here is tax, legal, or accounting advice for your
situation. For your own filing, consult a licensed tax professional.

Reply header, pasted above each answer:

This is general information about how this rule works, not personalized
tax advice and not return preparation. Your facts may change the answer.
Please confirm anything you act on with a licensed tax professional
before you file.

A disclaimer describes scope; it does not create scope. A creator who then works through a follower's actual numbers is doing something the wording does not cover, because 26 CFR 301.7701-15 turns on what was actually done for compensation, not on how the offer was labeled (eCFR).

What are realistic price bands for a general tax explainer?

There is no regulated rate for a paid tax explainer. For a tax explainer that takes real expertise, test a clear fixed price around $20–$35 and raise it when the answer requires more time or detail. Price by how long explaining the concept well actually takes, not by the tax dollars at stake in the follower's own filing.

The four bands below are illustrative examples of how a general-education question can be tiered, not a rate card, a benchmark, or a guarantee of demand or income. None of these bands is a published Brillay figure — treat them as a starting point to price from, not a benchmark.

Demand for this niche is seasonal but not small, and it comes disproportionately from people filing without a professional. The IRS reported 65,730,000 self-prepared e-filed returns received as of May 8, 2026, against 75,316,000 e-filed returns received from tax professionals. Those tens of millions of self-preparers are the population that asks "how does this actually work" — and the practical implication for pricing is to hold one steady price through the January-to-April crush rather than surge it, then keep the offer live off-season for entity-choice and estimated-payment questions.

What else fits a filing-season audience?

Beyond Paid Questions, creators can add Tips, Goals, Personalized Videos, and Custom Requests to the same Brillay link. For a tax educator the fit is seasonal: a free April explainer thread earns tips from readers who never buy anything, Goals funds a filing-season explainer series as cash toward a goal rather than a purchased product, and Personalized Videos cover a lighter ask, like a congratulations message for a follower who finally filed before the deadline.

The neighboring boundary problem — general money education versus licensed investment advice under the Advisers Act, which is a different statute with a different test — is covered separately in how financial educators price general money questions. Broader guidance for the niche lives at personal finance creators.

How does a tax educator launch this before filing season?

To launch, claim a free Brillay page, turn on Paid Questions, set one fixed price and your reply time, and publish the scope line before the first question arrives. There is no follower minimum, no monthly fee, and creators can receive payouts in 41 countries. Then share the link wherever the "can I write this off" DMs already land — a pinned post, a bio, or a video description.

The creator's own tax position is worth settling in the same sitting, because paid-question income is generally self-employment income. The IRS states that taxpayers generally have to make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe tax of $1,000 or more when their return is filed, which is paid on Form 1040-ES across four periods rather than in one April payment. That income is reportable whether or not any platform issues a Form 1099-K.

Brillay gives the people already sending those "can I write this off" DMs somewhere to pay you for the answer instead of asking it for free.

Frequently asked questions

These six answers cover what tax educators ask before pricing an explainer: whether this page is itself advice, what a follower can send, what credentials a general answer needs, whether disclaimer wording changes the analysis, whether e-file registration applies, and what to do when a question turns out to need a real return.

Is this tax or legal advice from Brillay?

No. This page is general information about how a paid-question format can work, not licensed tax, legal, or accounting advice. Whether a specific question or reply requires a PTIN or crosses into paid preparation depends on its content and on state law — check the IRS rules cited here and your own state's licensing rules before offering paid tax content.

Can a follower attach a 1099, W-2, or draft return to their question?

Not with a Paid Question — the follower can only send text, and the creator replies privately. A request needing a document should be declined, since Paid Questions do not support file attachments.

Do I need a PTIN or a credential to answer general tax questions?

The IRS requires a valid 2026 PTIN for anyone who prepares or assists in preparing federal tax returns for compensation, and the 2026 PTIN fee is $18.75. General education about how a form, deduction, or entity type works is a different activity, but 26 CFR 301.7701-15(b)(3)(i) treats advice that determines an entry on a return as preparing that entry (eCFR). Keep replies general, avoid a follower's specific numbers or documents, and check your state's rules too.

Does a disclaimer keep me out of preparer rules?

No. A disclaimer sets expectations, but 26 CFR 301.7701-15 turns on what the person actually did for compensation, not on how the listing was worded (eCFR). Use a listing scope line plus a short header on every reply, and keep the actual answers general.

Do I need an EFIN to answer paid tax questions?

An EFIN is for filing returns electronically, not for explaining rules. The IRS states that preparers and firms who reasonably expect to file 11 or more covered returns in a calendar year must e-file them, and an EFIN is issued only after an approved IRS e-file application. Answering a general question files nothing, so neither requirement is triggered by the offer itself.

What if a question turns out to need a real return review?

Decline and refund it rather than answer outside the general-education scope the listing describes. Point the follower to a PTIN-holding preparer for anything tied to their own documents, numbers, or filing decisions — the IRS hosts a searchable Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications for exactly that handoff.

Create your free Brillay page and give the next "can I write this off?" DM somewhere to pay you — without turning it into tax preparation.