Tax Tips for Freelance Writers - Freelance Writing Jobs | A Freelance Writing Community and Freelance Writing Jobs Resource

How Do You Want Your Tax Refund?

Why You Should Opt for Direct Deposit

By Noemi Twigg on September 17, 2010. 1 Comment

Practically everyone dreads tax season, but if there is one thing that can get people all excited about taxes, it is the idea of receiving a tax refund. Even if the money is already actually yours from the start (it’s not like you are earning additional income when you get your money returned to you), having that cash on hand is still a welcome thought. How do you receive your tax refund? Check or direct deposit? There really are no strict rules as to which method you should choose. You ought to know, however, that the IRS prefers to use [Read more…]

Categories: Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: direct deposit, IRS, tax refund, tax tips Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

I Don’t Live in the United States – Can I Apply for U.S. Freelance Writing Jobs?

The Simple Answer to a Common Freelance Writing Question

By Susan Gunelius on September 16, 2010. 3 Comments

I receive a lot of emails and comments on Freelance Writing Jobs posts asking the same question: I don’t live in the United States. Can I apply for U.S.-based freelance writing jobs? Since it’s such a common question, I want to provide an answer publicly. Here goes… Can you apply? Yes. The hiring manager will determine whether or not they’re willing to work with a writer outside of the United States. You’ll never know if they’re willing to do so if you don’t apply. When it comes to freelance writing, you’re not an employee. You’ll either be paid as a [Read more…]

Categories: Preparing for Freelancing, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: applying for writing jobs, Freelance Writing Business, freelance writing payments, freelance writing taxes, freelance writing tips Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

What Would You Do to Trim Your Tax Bill?

By Noemi Twigg on September 10, 2010. 2 Comments

Some people would go as far as to “forget” to declare some of their income. I think we’ve sufficiently discussed the repercussions of not declaring all of your income in the previous post. This time, I’d like to bring up the idea of engaging in certain practices that I personally find questionable. At the top of my list: hiring family members to work for you so that you can make some tax savings because of medical health insurance and wages. Here’s one source which actually suggests these two points. One, it suggests hiring your spouse as an employee. As the [Read more…]

Categories: Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: tax deductions, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

What the IRS Doesn’t Know Won’t Hurt It

By Noemi Twigg on September 3, 2010. 5 Comments

I’ve heard it said so many times that I can’t keep track of it: what you don’t know won’t hurt you. For some, ignorance is bliss. Maybe in some cases, this can be true. However, if you project this kind of thinking to the IRS, you might find yourself in deep trouble. How many times have you been tempted to NOT report income because you think that the IRS will not be able to track it anyway? Perhaps your best friend might have told you – if you can get away with not reporting something, why not? Or maybe another [Read more…]

Categories: Freelance Writing, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: freelance tax, IRS, tax tips, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

Save Money – Pay Your Taxes in Full

Why You Should Avoid Installment Agreements

By Noemi Twigg on August 27, 2010. Leave a Comment

If money were no object, would you rather pay your taxes in full or via an installment agreement? I don’t know about you, but I would rather get it over with and pay everything up front if I could. While this may not be possible for everyone, you ought to realize that you can actually save money if you pay your taxes in full. That is probably common sense – you don’t need me to tell you that you will save money if you pay everything in one go (much like with other purchases that you make). Do you know [Read more…]

Categories: Freelance Writing, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: full tax returns, installment agreements, tax tips for freelancers Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

Tips to Help Avoid a Tax Audit

By Noemi Twigg on August 20, 2010. 2 Comments

In the last post, we took a look at the different kinds of tax audits. I hope that the information provided somehow alleviated any apprehensions about tax audits. After all, the most basic kind of tax audit is not that much of a big deal! In this post, I am going to share some tips that can help you avoid a tax audit. Yes, I sincerely believe in the old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Let’s begin with looking the groups of people that the IRS usually looks more closely at. The bad news [Read more…]

Categories: Freelance Writing, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: home office deductions, tax audits, tax deductions, tax tips Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

Understanding Tax Audits

By Noemi Twigg on August 13, 2010. Leave a Comment

The mere mention of “tax audit” can make even the most seasoned entrepreneur apprehensive. While not everyone will experience a tax audit – cross your fingers that you’ll never have to – no one really knows how the IRS determines who to audit. What you may want to know is that there are different kinds of tax audits, and they’re not all that scary. Correspondence Audit This is the most common type of tax audit, and some tax experts don’t even consider a correspondence audit the “real thing.” The whole process is done via mail, wherein you will have to [Read more…]

Categories: Freelance Writing, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: IRS, tax audits, tax terms Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

Contest Winnings and Taxes

By Noemi Twigg on August 6, 2010. Leave a Comment

If you haven’t already heard, Bona Fide Books is holding a poetry contest. Susan Gunelius wrote about the Melissa Lanitis Gregory Poetry Prize yesterday, and I am sure that aside from the prestige the opportunity offers, the $500 prize is also a good enough enticement. While we’re on the topic of contests and prizes… Have you ever won a prize – cash or otherwise – from a contest? Let’s say you joined the contest above and you won, what would you do with the prize? Oh, I can count the things that I can use the $500 for. It may [Read more…]

Categories: Freelance Writing, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: contest prizes, contest winnings, tax tips for freelancers, taxable income Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

How Do You Track Your Income?

By Noemi Twigg on July 30, 2010. 3 Comments

The benefits of being your own boss outweigh the advantages of working a 9 to 5 job – we’ve already established that. Sometimes, though, we might forget that there are certain responsibilities attached to being a freelancer. For sure, we KNOW these responsibilities are there, but especially for those new to the freelance business, little things might slip by you every now and then. When it comes to taxes, the need to track your income is paramount. After all, how will you be able to declare your income and compute taxes accurately if you do not follow some one system [Read more…]

Categories: Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: 1099, freelance income, taxes, tracking income Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

When Clients Do Not Pay

By Noemi Twigg on July 24, 2010. 14 Comments

It’s every freelancer’s nightmare – when a client suddenly disappears after the goods have been delivered. You find a client, and you strike a deal. At the agreed time, you turn in your deliverables. Your client – and the money due you – is nowhere to be found. If you’re dealing with a person face to face, it might be easier to follow up on the payment. If you’re dealing purely via the Internet, it will be much more complicated. Worst case scenario – you do not get paid for your work. While this hasn’t happened to me yet, I [Read more…]

Categories: Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: business loss, tax tips, tax tips for freelancers, write offs Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

Saving for Tax Time

By Noemi Twigg on July 16, 2010. 6 Comments

Last month, Jennifer shared the pros and cons of paying taxes monthly, and she mentioned something about letting her tax burden pile up. I believe that she is not alone in doing this, as it can be quite easy to simply “forget” taxes till the time that we absolutely must deal with them. I guess this is one of the perks of working for an employer. The company takes care of the taxes for you – computation, payment, and everything else. For freelance writers, however, all the responsibility lies on our shoulders. If you opt to go the monthly payment [Read more…]

Categories: Freelance Writing, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: monthly taxes, saving for taxes, savings Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

Common Expenses for Freelance Writers

By Noemi Twigg on July 12, 2010. 4 Comments

It’s been more than a month since we had a post up in this section, but most of you already know that a lot of changes are underway in Freelance Writing Jobs. Starting this month, I will be helping out in giving you useful information and insights on handling taxes as a freelancer. Let me start out with a very important aspect: listing down business-related expenses. Organizing your taxes and filing them may prove to be an arduous task if you leave everything for the last minute. If you do the groundwork way before tax-paying time, though, your work just [Read more…]

Categories: Freelance Writing, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: business expenses, Form 1040, Schedule C, tax tips Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

Alleviate Quarterly Estimated Tax Burden By Paying… Monthly?

By Jennifer Escalona on June 8, 2010. 7 Comments

Quarterly estimated taxes are coming up next Tuesday. Honestly, I don’t really like to think about emptying my pockets for Uncle Sam until I absolutely have to, but paying quarterly taxes in April, June, September and January Is just a sad fact of life for we poor, suffering freelance writers. I have been in the bad habit of letting my tax burden pile up, and paying the entire amount that I owe right on the due date. On one hand, this allows me to keep my money in my pocket longer, but on the other hand, I have four massive [Read more…]

Categories: Freelance Writing, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: freelance taxes, freelancing writing taxes, quarterly estimated taxes, quarterly taxes, sole-proprietor taxes Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

The Pros and Cons of a Separate Bank Account for Freelance Income

By Jennifer Escalona on May 11, 2010. 9 Comments

The Cons of Opening a Separate Checking Account for Freelancing Income

Hooray! A check from a client came in. Now what? Do you stick it in your personal bank account where it mingles with your part-time job income and your spouse’s direct deposit? If so, you might be making your life needlessly harder when it comes to keeping your freelancer finances straight. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about all the fine tax deductions freelancers like you and me get to take at tax time. But be warned, those nifty little deductions can get lost among payments to the grocery store, the vet, and Uncle Hal’s Hardware and Bait Shop. [Read more…]

Categories: Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: bank accounts, freelance income, freelance taxes, freelance writing pay, freelancing income Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

Pay Less to Uncle Sam Later by Tracking Your Tax Write-Offs Now

By Jennifer Escalona on May 4, 2010. 7 Comments

Last week I wrote about how, like it or not, keeping track of tax deductions is a year-round job for freelance writers. Yes, I know. Yuck. Don’t you hate when people are part of the problem and not part of the solution? For that reason, I decided to follow up with a post about what you need to know about keeping track of those pesky deductions throughout the year. Hang on to Receipts First, keep receipts or invoices for anything you purchase that could even remotely be considered part of your business. Even if you aren’t sure whether your book [Read more…]

Categories: Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: freelance taxes, freelance writer taxes, tax deductions for freelance writers, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers, taxes Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

Now’s the Time to Track Those Tax Deductions

By Jennifer Escalona on April 27, 2010. 7 Comments

Wait, what? But April 15th just passed, you’re saying. Can’t I please get a break from all this tax talk? Sadly, no. While they’re no fun to think about, if you’re a freelance writer, tax deductions are a part of your life all year round. And trust me, you want to think about tax deductions because they’re going to save you money in the long run. What Can I Deduct? Almost anything you buy to use in your business can be deducted on your taxes. In the past, respectable tax payers have been able to convince the IRS that cat [Read more…]

Categories: Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: freelance tax deductions, freelance taxes, tax deductions for freelance writers, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers, taxes Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

26 Blog Posts and Articles About Freelance Taxes

By Deborah Ng on January 4, 2010. 3 Comments

So…I’m sitting here thinking about how my quarterly taxes are due in January and probably many of you are having the same experience. Freelance writers don’t pay taxes in the same manner as those who are salaried employees. We have to plan ahead and predict. For freelance veterans, this may all seem routine. However, new freelancers might be confused as to how to pay taxes as a freelancer and estimate taxes if needed. Many don’t even realize they have to put away money from each gig for taxes. To help, I’ve prepared a list of posts about freelance taxes. Hopefully [Read more…]

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How to Solve Freelance Tax Problems

By Deborah Ng on January 3, 2010. 2 Comments

by Thursday Bram When something goes wrong with an employee’s taxes, her employer is often responsible when everything is said and done. For freelancers, though, no employer is going to take the time to correct errors. That means that you have to take responsibility for making sure that all of your paperwork is in order and, if it isn’t, that you take the right measures to keep the IRS happy. Contact the IRS Staying in touch with the IRS can simplify most of the problems a freelancer can face when it comes to taxes. In most situations, such as late [Read more…]

Categories: Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: estimated taxes, freelance tax tips, freelance taxes, income taxes, quarterly taxes, tax tips, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers, tax tips for freelancers, taxes Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Part 4: When a Writer Needs to Hire a CPA

By Deborah Ng on December 15, 2009. 1 Comment

by Thursday Bram While the standard business advice is that you need to hire a CPA as soon as you go to work for yourself, most freelance writers don’t need to call on a CPA quite that fast. As long as your taxes are fairly straight forward, you can take your 1099s to a tax preparer and get your income tax return completed for less than you would pay a CPA. If you’re willing to put the hours into it, it’s even possible to do your taxes on your own: completing Form 1040 will take some time if you aren’t [Read more…]

Categories: Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: freelance taxes, Freelance Writing, freelance writing taxes, quarterly taxes for freelancers, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

Easy to Forget Income Tax Deductions

By Deborah Ng on December 8, 2009. 3 Comments

by Thursday R. Bram One of the perks of being a freelance writer is that we don’t have a lot of major expenses when we start up our businesses. When I started freelancing, I already had a computer and an internet connection. Just because we start out with very few expenses doesn’t mean that we can’t take deductions for our business expenses when tax season rolls around. We all know the standard deductions: the home office expense, any computer equipment bought specifically for business use and that sort of thing, but there are a lot of deductions that are easy [Read more…]

Categories: Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: freelance tax deductions, freelance tax tips, freelance taxes, freelance writer deductions, freelance writer taxes, tax deductions for freelance writers Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

Freelancers and Taxes Part 2: Introduction to Quarterly Taxes

By Deborah Ng on November 10, 2009. 1 Comment

by Thursday Bram The biggest difference between doing your taxes as an employee and doing them as a freelancer, at least in the U.S, is figuring out just what to do about quarterly estimated income tax. Since your clients pay you as a contractor, rather than an employee, they do not make sure that the IRS receives your payroll taxes. Instead, you’re responsible for sending in a check every quarter for a fourth of the amount you expect to owe at the end of the year. Not Every Writer Has To Pay Quarterly Estimated Taxes In general, it seems like [Read more…]

Categories: Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: freelance tax tips, freelance taxes, freelance writing taxes, quarterly taxes, tax tips, Tax Tips for Freelance Writers, tax tips for freelancers Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

Tax Tips for UK Freelancers

By Deborah Ng on November 5, 2009. 2 Comments

by James Hendicott Working for yourself is great, isn’t it? You get an open schedule, a nice mixed bag of employers and plenty of creative freedom. Wait, nobody told you about the paperwork? Well, if you’re a casual freelancer with a small income, you might not have to worry too much (see how to pay, and how to calculate payments). If this is the start of something big, though, you’d better get on with registration… here’s a quick lowdown on freelance tax issues to get you started: How to register with HMRC: So you’ve just received that first fulfilling payment [Read more…]

Categories: Tax Tips for Freelance Writers Tags: freelance writing taxes, tax tips for freelancers, UK Tax Tips Writing Jobs Editing Jobs Publishing Jobs Blogger Jobs

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