Tax deductions for photographers cover almost everything your business needs: cameras, lenses, lighting, editing software, studio space, travel and marketing. If you shoot as a freelancer, you report these costs on Schedule C. As a result, every dollar you deduct lowers both your income tax and your 15.3% self-employment tax. The rule behind every deduction … Read more
Standard mileage vs actual expenses is the choice of how you deduct a car you use for work. In fact, it’s one of the biggest freelancer tax deductions for anyone who drives for business. So the right pick can be worth thousands of dollars a year. Also, parking and tolls for business trips are deductible … Read more
Design is a tool-heavy profession. A powerful computer, a color-accurate monitor, a drawing tablet, Adobe Creative Cloud, fonts and stock assets can easily cost several thousand dollars a year. Fortunately, almost all of these are tax deductions for graphic designers who work for themselves. However, many freelancers only claim the obvious ones, such as their … Read more
If you write for a living, the tools of your trade cost money: a laptop, software, books, a website and sometimes a trip to research a story. Fortunately, most of those costs are tax deductions for freelance writers, and claiming them can cut your tax bill by thousands of dollars. However, many writers miss them … Read more
Yes, freelancers can deduct their phone and internet, but only the part used for business. The phone and internet deduction is one of the easiest freelancer tax deductions to claim, and one of the most often missed. The key is a reasonable, documented percentage. Below you’ll see what counts, how to calculate your share, and … Read more
The home office deduction lets freelancers deduct part of their housing costs when they work from home. You can calculate it in two ways, and picking the right one can be worth thousands of dollars a year. The home office is one of the most valuable freelancer tax deductions, because it lowers both your income … Read more
Freelancer tax deductions are business expenses you can subtract from your income before you pay tax. Every legitimate expense lowers both your income tax and your 15.3% self-employment tax, so missing them is like paying the IRS a tip. The IRS rule is simple: you can deduct any expense that is ordinary (common in your … Read more
The best tax software for freelancers is the one that handles Schedule C and self-employment tax without charging you for features you don’t need. Prices for self-employed filing range from $0 to more than $200 once you add a state return, so the right choice can save you real money. In this guide, we compare … Read more
If you freelance, this guide shows you how to fill out Schedule C line by line, from your first dollar of income to the net profit you’ll pay tax on. Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business, is the form where sole proprietors and single-member LLC owners report what they earned and what … Read more
Every January, freelancers start receiving tax forms with almost identical names, and the 1099-NEC vs 1099-K question is usually the first one that comes up. For example, you might get a 1099-NEC from one client, a 1099-K from PayPal or Stripe and, occasionally, a 1099-MISC. As a result, it’s easy to assume they’re interchangeable or … Read more