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Ways Through the Maze: A Tax Guide for Indies

#18: My Gift To You
 December 2009
 

Jingle bells, jingle bells: You're buying presents, sending cards, visiting Grandma. You're thinking about the holiday season and making plans for the New Year.

 

But tax time is around the corner. Ugh!

 

To help you out, here is my gift to you: A little more savvy so that you may take advantage of more deductions and pay less tax.

 

You'll be reminded that ... 

... some of your gift purchases may be deductible ...

... as may the postage for sending your holiday cards ...

... you need to write down your auto mileage on New Year's Eve ...
... and more.


I wish you a Glorious Holiday and A Bountiful and Joyous 2010!
 
June Walker
June Walker
Consultant to Indies

June's Blog
What's an Indie?
Whether you call yourself a
1099 Worker
Sole Proprietor
Freelancer
Subcontractor
Free Agent
or
Self-employed
 you are an
independent professional.

The IRS classifies you as an independent contractor.

I call you an indie.

Tax Solutions for Creatives

Tax Solutions for Creatives: An Audio CD
 
Basics for the Visual Artist
An Audio CD
by
June Walker

1. Introduction
2. Self-employed in Business 
3. Three Ways to Deductions 
Listen
4. Expenses in General
5. Office-in-the-Home
6. Auto & Transportation
7. Travel or Transportation
8. Meals & Entertainment
9. Income
10. Taxes  
11. Recordkeeping
12. A Final Caution
June's Book
Self-employed Tax Solutions 
Want more expense deductions? 
The Why of 
Ways Through the Maze

To guide indies to a more simple and secure tax life. 

To promote indie-business self-confidence.  

To humanize tax issues with glimpses into the lives and concerns of self-employed people. 

Each issue will include events and Q&As that come out of real-life situations of indies who have visited my blog or my website.  

You'll learn clear and simple solutions to complicated situations about income, expenses, recordkeeping, indie pensions, and being self-employed. 

From time to time I'll also announce indie happenings of interest to you.
Savvy on Postage Expense and Christmas Cards
About POSTAGE expense from my book Self-employed Tax Solutions:

Nadine Novella must get her manuscript and Christmas cards mailed before leaving to visit her father in Vintage Village, Florida. Nadine follows the cardinal rule of the MOST SIMPLE SYSTEM -- she pays for everything by check. So in her haste, no need to think about the business deductibility of postage -- of course she paid for the postage by check. Months later when she goes though her cancelled checks she'll have her proof of the POSTAGE expense for mailing her manuscript, and for the stamps used for that portion of Christmas cards sent to her business associates.

Savvy about Business Gifts
Are any of your Christmas gift purchases possible business deductions?

I say in the post Business Gifts Given:
"There is no limit on the amount you may spend on a gift for a business associate. The limit is on the amount you may deduct as a business expense. And that amount is $25 per business associate per year..." Read more here Business Gifts Given . 
Get Savvy about Working from Home 
Lost your job? Looking to freelance?
 
Learn more about what you can deduct from this post: More about START-UP COSTS: The expense of checking out a new business.
About Starting An Indie Business
Had to give up your rented office? Working from home now?

Here's what's required and what you can deduct: 3 Rules for Home Office Expense ... everybody's asking about them .
Driving Savvy
Want to know an easy how-to for recording business mileage?

Check this out: How to Keep a Record of Business Miles . 
Two About Taxes
From the post Estimated Taxes:
Not every self-employed has to make estimated tax payments.
It's the overall tax liability of a self-employed that determines whether estimated tax payments are required. An indie's total tax liability is made up of self-employment (SE) tax on his net self-employed earnings and income tax on all his and his spouse's income.
 
It's December, yet there is still time for indies to take a few steps that will make tax-filing season less distressing. Read It's December - Do you know what your taxes are?

Coming Soon

The Confident Indie 

With knowledge comes confidence. Many indies wrote to me after reading my book Self-employed Tax Solutions to let me know that an astonishing process took place: The further they got into reading it the more confident they became. Upon finishing the book a personal and business confidence existed that had not been anticipated.

 
The Confident Indie series of small publications will help you build your indie-confidence.
 
Please watch for the first of The Confident Indie series to be released: Recordkeeping Using the Most Simple System. It's a book of manual recordkeeping how-to and includes 2009 tax return worksheets. It will be be available online for download. 
Please tell your colleagues and fellow indies about 
Ways Through the Maze
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