Zack Brown Could Owe More Than $21,000 In Taxes For His Potato Salad Kickstarter

Zack "Danger" Brown's potato salad Kickstarter had made more than $70,000 from 5,000 backers yesterday. Though it's a profitable campaign, it looks like Brown will likely owe a large percentage of his earnings in taxes.

Tax Foundation, a non-partisan think tank, crunched the numbers. Assuming Brown's earnings remain steady at $70,000, he'll be shelling out $8,632 in federal taxes, $1,712 in Ohio state taxes, $1,510 in Columbus city taxes, and $9,313 in payroll taxes, bringing his tax bill to $21,167.

In the U.S., money crowdfunded on Kickstarter is considered income instead of non-taxable gifts. Kickstarter explains its policy for taxing its pledges on its website:

A creator can offset the income from their Kickstarter project with deductible expenses that are related to the project and accounted for in the same tax year. For example, if a creator receives $1,000 in funding and spends $1,000 on their project in the same tax year, then their expenses could fully offset their Kickstarter funding for federal income tax purposes.

Brown's goals with the potato salad Kickstarter started as a joke among friends, but he's been feeling more philanthropic since his project went viral.

"The point of this Kickstarter campaign is becoming service, charity, giving back, and doing things as a community," he told Business Insider in an interview Wednesday. "And not just the community of Columbus or my friends, but the global internet community. What can we do with a lot of extra money and a huge visible opportunity?"