TikTok Creator Fund tax reporting under new US entity: 1099 and W-9 questions after Oracle/Silver Lake deal

I publish illustrative scenarios prepared by my practice. All participants and conversations are fictional. The fictional posts are not posts by real users, accounts of client experiences, or reports of actual results.
Illustrative scenario prepared by my practice.
For informational purposes only. Tax law varies by jurisdiction and individual circumstances. Consult a qualified CPA or tax attorney for advice specific to your situation.
Hypothetical question

EDIT: added more context below. I have ~500K followers on TikTok and earned about $47K from the Creator Fund in 2025. Now that the Oracle/Silver Lake deal closed on January 22 and TikTok is operating under a new US joint venture structure, I'm confused about how this affects my tax reporting for 2025 and going forward.

Specific questions:

  • Will my 2025 1099-NEC come from ByteDance or the new TikTok US entity? The deal closed mid-January so it's unclear which entity is responsible for 2025 earnings.
  • Do I need to submit a new W-9 to the new entity? I haven't gotten any notification from TikTok about this.
  • For 2026 earnings, will payments now come from TikTok US LLC instead of ByteDance Inc? Does this change anything about how I report the income?
  • I've seen creators saying the new entity structure means we're now "employees" of a US company — is that true or is it still 1099 contractor income?

I'm a full-time creator and this is my primary income. I file quarterly estimated taxes and I want to make sure I'm not messing anything up with the entity transition. Any CPAs or tax attorneys who've looked into this?

Illustrative response

Non-compete update: the FTC's rule was blocked by the courts, so non-competes are still enforceable in most states. California is the exception — Business & Professions Code § 16600 makes virtually all non-competes void. If you're in CA and signed a non-compete, it's probably unenforceable sadly.

Browse more illustrative scenarios

Illustrative response

If you're behind on payroll taxes (the trust fund portion), be very careful. The IRS can assess a personal penalty against any "responsible person" — that includes officers, directors, and sometimes even bookkeepers.