I’ve been very careful about taxes my entire freelance career. With every check I receive, I set aside a percentage for taxes and business expense before I pay myself. I pay my quarterly estimated payments. And most years I’ve received a small refund or owed just a little. This year, I filed taxes late (with […]
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My last post was about working with an office assistant. One huge consideration for me was to be sure that anyone who worked with me would be considered an independent contractor, not an employee. Laws vary by country so everything I am talking about here only applies in the USA. The IRS has rules that […]
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You probably track your business mileage. At least you should, or you could be paying more in taxes. The 2012 IRS mileage rate is 55.5¢ a mile: that means that you get to deduct 55.5¢ from your taxable income for every mile you drive for business. It’s gone up to 56.5¢ for 2013. Going to […]
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It’s Tuesday, April 17, 2012. That’s tax day in the U.S. this year (because the 15th was a Sunday, and Monday was Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C.). For people with regular jobs, today is the last day to file your 2011 tax return unless you file for an extension. But you knew that. Bonus! It’s […]
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As freelancers, we don’t have taxes withheld from our paychecks by our bosses. Which is awesome, because it means we don’t have bosses. It does mean that, in the U.S. at least, we need to be responsible and pay our income and self employment taxes on time. For many freelancers, that means paying quarterly taxes. […]
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Q: I’m just getting started. How do I know what to charge? A: What to charge is the question I hear the most. I’ll take it a piece at a time. This is part 1 of the “what do I charge” post. Some people chose to bill by the hour; others bill by the project. […]
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It’s the first week of the year: go out to your car and write down your mileage. I note mine on my calendar for January 1st. It could come in handy at tax time next year. Speaking of mileage, in July, 2011 the IRS changed the amount businesses can claim for business miles, so there […]
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