The organized freelancer will make sure the amount here is right.; Credit: Photo by Great Beyond via Flickr Creative Commons

For freelancers, consultants, actors and other self employed people, life gets complicated this time of year. Digging around for the paperwork to fill out tax forms practically qualifies as exercise.

"They have a nightmare trying to find receipts," said accountant Tristan Zier.

Zier founded Zen99 to help freelancers manage their finances, including filing their taxes.  His most important advice to freelancers: keep track expenses and receipts year round rather than pursuing a paper chase as April 15 nears.  

"When they can’t find receipts, they can’t write off their expenses," he said. "And they’re paying more money to the government instead of keeping it for themselves."

Zier and others have come up with a lists of common mistakes freelancers make at tax time. 

Here are seven don't - or, deadly sins, for freelances at tax time:

1. Not knowing what they owe.  Zier says there are 20 different 1099 forms that get sent out to workers to track freelance gigs.  One of them is the 1099-K, which only has to be sent to you by a company in paper form if you make over $20,000. "People think, 'Great, no paper form, no taxes on that," says Zier. "Big mistake there.  You still have to self-report the income."   
2. Not knowing WHEN they owe.  For freelancers who owe more than $1,000 in taxes for a year, tax time comes more often than just April 15.  They have to pay taxes quarterly. But then it's not coming out of paychecks like it does for permanent employees. 

3.  Not tracking and writing off the right types of business expenses. Zier says many freelancers fail to realize they can write off part of their cell phone bill as a business expense.  Expenses vary by the type of work.  "A rideshare driver's biggest expense will be related to their car, while a web developer's biggest expense might be their home office," Zier says. "Figuring out what expenses are important to your type of work is important is maximizing your tax savings."

4. Writing off personal expenses.  This goes back to that cell phone.  If you use the same phone for personal and business purposes, don't be tempted to write the whole bill off. Estimate the amount you use it for your work. The same goes for your vehicle. Don't go trying to write off miles driven to the beach. 

5. The Double No-No: counting expenses twice.  Speaking of vehicles, Zier says most people use the Standard Mileage Rate ($0.56/mile for 2014), which factors in gas, repairs and maintenance and other costs like insurance and depreciation. But if you use this rate, you can't also expense your gas receipts and repair bills.  

6. Employee AND employer.  At lifeofthefreelancer.com, financial consultant Brendon Reimer reminds freelancers they play both roles. For regular employees, Federal, State, and payroll taxes are withheld from a paycheck, and distributed on the employee’s behalf. It's how Social Security and Medicare are funded. The IRS mandates that the employer must pay half of every employee’s payroll tax, and the employee is responsible for the other half.  Independent contractors have to handle both halves.  "The IRS does give you a small benefit by letting you deduct the half that you pay yourself as a business expense," Reimer writes. Zier said the freelancer's sin here is believing he or she pays more taxes than the regular working stiff.  

7. Not keeping adequate records. The IRS requires you to keep proof of all business receipts, mileage, etc.  If you can't show these, the IRS  could refute the expense and force you to pay back taxes. Zier says the good news is there are other ways to prove expenses if you've lost the receipt. A bank or credit card statement with the date and location might do the trick. "The IRS is surprisingly accommodating if you are doing your best," Zier says. "If you're being a headache, they're going to be a headache as well." 

In separate reports, Zen99 and the consumer finance web site nerdwallet ranked Los Angeles the best city for freelancers.

Each considered housing and health care costs, the percentage of freelancers in an area as factors. Zier said even before the sharing economy began to take off, the entertainment industry and growing tech scene were already strong sources of freelance gigs in L.A.

"Even back in 2012, L.A. had twelve percent of people report themselves as self-employed on the Census," Ziers said.   "You know your Ubers and companies like that  are really bringing a lot of attention to the contractor market, but it was a very robust community before."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

So i have some doubts regarding my freelance income and the tax and gst on it.If i file under section 44ada , the thing is if i have income of 40lakh and i file tax on 20lakh (50%) than how can i justify if i invested around 16lakh in stocks and suppose 8 lakh i payed for the prep

Hello everyone,I've recently transitioned into freelancing in IT (software development & support) after a decade in a salaried role. I've learned that I may need to register for GST and apply for an LUT. Could anyone guide me on the key steps I should take? I currently have one US-ba

Billing your customers is, of course, vital -- but even more critical is getting paid for those bills. Thanks to the ongoing evolution in the payments industry, there are more payment tools and platforms to choose from to help find the perfect option for your business based on how many payments you receive, the type of business you have and your budget.

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The organized freelancer will make sure the amount here is right.; Credit: Photo by Great Beyond via Flickr Creative Commons

For freelancers, consultants, actors and other self employed people, life gets complicated this time of year. Digging around for the paperwork to fill out tax forms practically qualifies as exercise.

"They have a nightmare trying to find receipts," said accountant Tristan Zier.

Zier founded Zen99 to help freelancers manage their finances, including filing their taxes.  His most important advice to freelancers: keep track expenses and receipts year round rather than pursuing a paper chase as April 15 nears.  

"When they can’t find receipts, they can’t write off their expenses," he said. "And they’re paying more money to the government instead of keeping it for themselves."

Zier and others have come up with a lists of common mistakes freelancers make at tax time. 

Here are seven don't - or, deadly sins, for freelances at tax time:

1. Not knowing what they owe.  Zier says there are 20 different 1099 forms that get sent out to workers to track freelance gigs.  One of them is the 1099-K, which only has to be sent to you by a company in paper form if you make over $20,000. "People think, 'Great, no paper form, no taxes on that," says Zier. "Big mistake there.  You still have to self-report the income."   
2. Not knowing WHEN they owe.  For freelancers who owe more than $1,000 in taxes for a year, tax time comes more often than just April 15.  They have to pay taxes quarterly. But then it's not coming out of paychecks like it does for permanent employees. 

3.  Not tracking and writing off the right types of business expenses. Zier says many freelancers fail to realize they can write off part of their cell phone bill as a business expense.  Expenses vary by the type of work.  "A rideshare driver's biggest expense will be related to their car, while a web developer's biggest expense might be their home office," Zier says. "Figuring out what expenses are important to your type of work is important is maximizing your tax savings."

4. Writing off personal expenses.  This goes back to that cell phone.  If you use the same phone for personal and business purposes, don't be tempted to write the whole bill off. Estimate the amount you use it for your work. The same goes for your vehicle. Don't go trying to write off miles driven to the beach. 

5. The Double No-No: counting expenses twice.  Speaking of vehicles, Zier says most people use the Standard Mileage Rate ($0.56/mile for 2014), which factors in gas, repairs and maintenance and other costs like insurance and depreciation. But if you use this rate, you can't also expense your gas receipts and repair bills.  

6. Employee AND employer.  At lifeofthefreelancer.com, financial consultant Brendon Reimer reminds freelancers they play both roles. For regular employees, Federal, State, and payroll taxes are withheld from a paycheck, and distributed on the employee’s behalf. It's how Social Security and Medicare are funded. The IRS mandates that the employer must pay half of every employee’s payroll tax, and the employee is responsible for the other half.  Independent contractors have to handle both halves.  "The IRS does give you a small benefit by letting you deduct the half that you pay yourself as a business expense," Reimer writes. Zier said the freelancer's sin here is believing he or she pays more taxes than the regular working stiff.  

7. Not keeping adequate records. The IRS requires you to keep proof of all business receipts, mileage, etc.  If you can't show these, the IRS  could refute the expense and force you to pay back taxes. Zier says the good news is there are other ways to prove expenses if you've lost the receipt. A bank or credit card statement with the date and location might do the trick. "The IRS is surprisingly accommodating if you are doing your best," Zier says. "If you're being a headache, they're going to be a headache as well." 

In separate reports, Zen99 and the consumer finance web site nerdwallet ranked Los Angeles the best city for freelancers.

Each considered housing and health care costs, the percentage of freelancers in an area as factors. Zier said even before the sharing economy began to take off, the entertainment industry and growing tech scene were already strong sources of freelance gigs in L.A.

"Even back in 2012, L.A. had twelve percent of people report themselves as self-employed on the Census," Ziers said.   "You know your Ubers and companies like that  are really bringing a lot of attention to the contractor market, but it was a very robust community before."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Company said the product is also suitable for SMEs with turnover below £1.5m.

Online Publishers LLC brings together clients and freelancers in one convenient platform to connect and help one another reach a new level of success.

TOP platform is an international campaigner that invites all freelancers no matter where they might be in the world to sign up and explore the opportunity to make money online by offering services through this digital marketing agency.

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If you want to succeed as a freelancer, you can’t compete for scraps. That’s the message that Kaylee White of Kaylee Writes puts forth in her new book, How Not to Be Just Another Freelancer, but how do you find the GOOD clients that will push you and your business into the next level? 

Kaylee talks with Kyle about what it means to step away from the pack and run a successful business for yourself, and the very important steps you need to take to do so! 

Today’s links: 

• https://www.kayleewrites.com/
• Kaylee Writes Youtube channel
• How Not to Be Just Another Freelancer!
• Theme song by topmen.bandcamp.com!

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Freelancers and small companies are getting hit especially hard by the corona crisis. DER SPIEGEL has learned that the federal government is planning a massive financial aid package. It would mark the end of Germany’s balanced budget policy.

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French startup Shine is adding a new option today. If you think there’s a chance that a client is not going to pay your next invoice, you can insure that invoice to avoid any bad surprise. Shine is building a challenger bank for freelancers and small companies. It lets you send and receive money in […]

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