If you’re like me, the recent deluge of 1099 forms in the mail is a signal that this weekend is time to get crankin’ on my freelance taxes. I’ve come across a number of helpful links in the past few weeks on the topic, so here’s a quick roundup:
How I Do My Taxes. John Soares of Productive Writers offers some great tips on how to be, of course, more productive in managing your freelance taxes. I’ll echo his sentiments about funding your IRA, SEP-IRA or other retirement vehicle to the greatest extent possible. And he made me feel a little less guilty about not using an accounting program, which is nice. John’s updated “The 8 Top Ways to Legally Lower Your 2013 Freelance Writer Tax Bill” is also worth a read.
Tax Advice for Freelancers in 2014: What ACA & New Home-Office Calculations Mean for You. I don’t know about you, but I’m pleased that our friends at the IRS simplified the home office deduction, and the couple hundred extra bucks that I can dump into my Solo 401(k). On the other hand, I’m not so thrilled about the new Medicare surtax.
How To Do Your Taxes as a Freelance Filmmaker. Even if your only experience with films is watching them, Evan Luzi’s series from 2013 does a fantastic job of covering what to expect when doing taxes as a freelancer, common mistakes and potential pitfalls, and deductions. This underscores my belief that you can learn a lot from folks who are in a freelance discipline different from your own. Don’t just listen to writers and editors!
As I mentioned last week: I love the freedom of being a freelancer. There’s not much to like about paying taxes, but I will say this: The fact is that taxes don’t lie when it comes to assessing the health of your freelance business.
If you’ve posted about freelance taxes on your blog, please share the link in the comments!
And of course, the fine print: I’m not a tax attorney, nor Certified Public Accountant, nor professional tax preparer. (Thank goodness I’m a freelancer who deals in words and creativity, not numbers.) For official advice on your freelance taxes, please consider hiring someone with those credentials. Or, if you’re a do-it-yourselfer, please refer to the IRS’s Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center.
John Soares says
Thanks so much for including me Jake! You’ve included a lot of quality information to help us with our taxes.
I recently ran an excellent guest post by CPA Carol Topp. It’s the CommentLuv link just below.
Jake Poinier says
You’re very welcome, John. Thanks for producing great content!
Lori says
I loathe tax season. LOATHE. Even though I’m much better at bookkeeping and at paying the taxes, I hate the surprise of it.
Thanks for providing such great links. John’s post is an excellent starting point, too!
Jake Poinier says
Thanks for commenting, Lori–loathe is a good word for the emotion. But, c’mon now, you’re not REALLY surprised by anything anymore, are you?