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Self-employedWorking for yourself should not mean guessing at tax.
Freelancers, contractors, gig workers and side businesses. Schedule C done properly, and quarterly payments planned so the bill is never news.
Remote across the US. In English or Español.
The shock is almost never income tax. It is self-employment tax.
When you work for yourself you cover both halves of Social Security and Medicare, on top of income tax, calculated on your profit. Nobody withholds it for you, which is why the IRS expects payments through the year rather than one payment in April.
The three things that decide your bill
- Profit, not revenue. What you keep after legitimate costs is what gets taxed, so records are worth real money.
- Quarterly payments. Paying as you go avoids an underpayment penalty and makes the year survivable.
- Structure, eventually. At a certain level of consistent profit an S-corp election starts to pay. Below it, it costs more than it saves.
Deductions that hold up
Every self-employed person has heard a story about what someone else wrote off. The useful question is not what is deductible in theory but what you can evidence.
A home office has to be a space used regularly and exclusively for work. Mileage needs a log kept as you go, not rebuilt in March. Phone and internet get apportioned to business use rather than claimed whole. Meals have rules that changed recently and get misremembered constantly.
Keeping a separate business bank account does more for this than any individual deduction, because it turns an argument into a statement.
Every 1099 you were sent
Clients file 1099s. Payment apps and platforms file 1099-Ks. The IRS receives all of them whether or not you do, and a total that does not match your return is one of the most common reasons a letter arrives. Bring everything, including the forms you think are duplicates, so it reconciles before filing.
If you are already behind
Nothing paid all year is a situation we see constantly, and it has a path out: work out what is owed, check whether penalty relief applies, arrange a payment plan if needed, then plan next year properly. If a notice has already arrived, start with IRS help.
If the business has grown past a Schedule C, see small business returns.
Self-employed questions.
How do I file taxes when I am self-employed?
Your profit goes on Schedule C, which attaches to your personal return. On top of income tax you pay self-employment tax, which covers the Social Security and Medicare that an employer would otherwise split with you. Because nobody is withholding, you are generally expected to pay in quarterly instead of once a year.
Do I really have to pay quarterly?
If you expect to owe a meaningful amount for the year, yes, and skipping it adds an underpayment penalty on top of the bill. The quarters are not evenly spaced calendar quarters, which trips people up. We work out the number with you and put the dates in your calendar.
What can I actually deduct?
Costs that are ordinary and necessary for your work. In practice that is a home office if the space qualifies, mileage or vehicle costs, tools and equipment, software, phone and internet apportioned to business use, professional fees, and health insurance premiums in many cases. What decides it under questioning is not the category but whether you can show the record.
Should I form an LLC?
An LLC is a liability question before it is a tax one. By itself a single-member LLC does not change how you are taxed: you still file Schedule C. The tax change comes with an S-corp election, and that only pays once profit is consistently high enough to cover payroll and an extra return.
I got a 1099-K from a payment app. Is that new income?
Usually it is income you already know about, reported a second way. The risk is double-counting it, or having the IRS see a total that does not match your return. Bring every 1099 and 1099-K you received so the numbers reconcile before filing rather than after a letter.
What if I have not paid anything all year?
It is common and it is fixable. We work out what is owed, look at whether penalty relief applies, and set up a payment plan if you need one. Then we plan next year's quarterly payments so it does not repeat. If the IRS has already written to you, start at IRS help.
Get next quarter planned.
- Fifteen minutes, free
- Bring last year's return and your 1099s
- A clear price up front