Tax/Financial Advise

[camino70]

I have recently become a contractor and am being 1099'ed. I was wondering if anyone here is an Advisor or could point me in the right direction to finding one. I want to use this to my advantage as best I can.
Thanks.
Ron

 

[1badTTA]

I hope you are keeping a log of every single mile you drive for bussiness as it will seriously help you come april 15th. Also if it is a home based bussiness you are able to legally claim a percentage of nearly everything for your home including utilities.

It isn't hard to take advantage of come tax time, just find someone who knows how to get the most for you.

 

[camino70]

Thanks,
I am keeping a detailed log and keeping all receipts. I have turned one of our bedrooms into an office and I want to take advantage of it all. Are there any computer programs that can help or how do I find someone to help with this?

 

[GN One Day...]

Quarterly estimated tax payments, don't forget. Got some insurance? I heard about a solo 401K for self employed people, but I haven't gotten any real info yet, haven't had time to investigate it. Sounds promising.

 

[Reggie West]

If you are a sole proprietorship ( meaning you work by yourself and have no employees) keep track of the receipts like you are doing. Whatever money is left after you have paid expenses is taxable income as far as the IRS is concerned.

You do not need to do quarterlies if you are by yourself. If you pay social security taxes for your employees ( if you have any) then you have to do quarterlies. That 1099 is what will dictate your income.

I am in the same boat myself. I use Quickbooks Pro and I invoice each job separately. That way I know how much I made on the job and what my costs were versus the estimate I gave.

When I get the 1099 all I have to do is run the reports and I will know how much I actually made after expenses.

 

[1badTTA]

Due to the fact that you must claim everything you make during the entire year, and I do side work in my garage, I am legally obligated to claim it and it ends up being to my benifit every year. I only make a small amount but since I can claim part of my tools and part of my property (actually part of the garage) the write off ends up being more than I made and my tax return is higher by doing the right thing. Every time I go to get parts for someone elses car I write down the mileage, a certain percentage of my utilities etc are all write offs. I could probably push it legally alot farther than I do but since I use the tools and garage on my own cars I don't claim the max I could. Kinda funny how many people lie to the IRS and pay more than they would if they didn't.

edit:I do my own taxes using Tax Cut Pro adn have them looked over by a CPA and he laughs every year when I show him. Alot of places don't want to touch home bussiness/ self employed (H&R Block)