Amazon, $36, and Taxes

Summary

An author living overseas reflects on the emotional mix of self-publishing a memoir and reporting the modest $36 income from book sales on their U.S. taxes.

Abstract

The author, residing abroad and not subject to U.S. taxation due to low income, shares the experience of adding a new element to their simple tax filing process: a $36 income from Amazon for their self-published memoir, "A Year There." The small amount prompts a range of feelings, from questioning the value of self-publishing to pride in having taken action and earned something from their work. Despite the added complexity to their tax preparation and the modest financial return, the author finds satisfaction in having shared their story after nearly a decade.

Opinions

The author experiences a mix of pride and embarrassment about earning only $36 from their book sales.
There is a sense of accomplishment in having done something with their memoir instead of letting it remain unpublished.
The author wonders if the effort of self-publishing was worth it for such a small financial return.
There is curiosity about whether their book has recent sales or readers, indicating a hope for engagement with their work.
The author feels a bit of self-consciousness about how tax officials might perceive the minimal book income.
Despite the modest income, the author acknowledges that any amount earned is more than they had before self-publishing.

A tale of mixed feelings

Two bits of information to lay the foundation:

I live overseas, and I don’t make enough to pay taxes in America, though I still file. Taxes are usually simple, so I do them myself.

In October 2021, I self-published a memoir of a year I spent teaching in China called A Year There. It’s on Amazon Kindle.

In a fit of procrastination to avoid something I really needed to do, I decided to do my American taxes, which clearly implies that what I needed to do was something I really didn’t want to do. When I only have my foreign income, taxes are easy, but this year, I had a 1099 form from Amazon with a whopping $36 income from book sales. Stunning, eh? Don’t be so jealous!

This $36 payment added a bit of confusion to my tax preparation flow, but I felt a mix of emotions each time each time I typed “$36.”

I wondered if it was worth it to self-publish my book for such a menial payback.

I felt almost embarrassed that I only made $36.

I checked to see if anyone had purchased or read the book lately. Nope.

I wondered if people at the tax department would laugh.

I felt proud that I had done something instead of nothing.

I thought that though $36 isn’t a lot, it is $36 more than I had before.

Overall, though the $36 added some confusion to my already mundane task, I was glad that I had done something with my memoir that had sat patiently for almost 10 years.