Taxes, taxes and more .. taxes

As I sit here with several tabs opened: IRS publications, as well as the 5 income tax tips, the feeling of being overwhelmed increases. It is not only the lack of understanding of the ins and outs, but also the frustrations of a few companies which have contracted and paid me that have not sent out my1099’s, haven’t responded to emails, nor returned phone calls.
I will be making an appt with a reputable tax co. to assist with all of these ups and downs, ins and outs.

I know I am not the only one who has had to make an extensive list of income without 1099 (as I mentioned above)
The tricky part of expenses- rent/utilities etc., Mileage- (ugh) am I really going to have to open GPS and get mileage (why did I not realize this technical part a few months sooner? Starting up costs of a new business let us not forget- which docs did NOT require Notarial seals/stamps/sigs, just footwork… printer, paper and toner- oh my! Some companies state this in the rate they pay, others do not.
I think I am preferring to be a RON only.

It’s really a shame that training platforms don’t provide you with this basic information. Rent/utilities are tricky, yes, IF you claim a portion of your home for your office - then you get into the percentages…I never did that because my “office” was not a separate designated space…

Mileage - discussed here many times and yes, you should keep these records…along with good records of all your work; that avoids the need for 1099s and chasing companies. I always used my own records as not all companies send a 1099. Thankfully I knew ahead of time that I needed to track my mileage for taxes (I had training in tax prep eons ago). I used Quicken - created invoices, could input mileage - then create year-end reports. I’m sure there are better programs now but back in my day Quicken worked for me.

Good luck

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Notary gadget is perfect for tracking income and expenses.
Mile IQ is perfect for tracking mileage.
Once a month I enter the prior months business miles as my last expense, run my p&ls for the month and good to go.

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Now you know why I launched a Tax Business last year. I knew signings would eventually decline and wanted to develop a second stream of income. The decline happened sooner than I thought it would, I was guesstimating sometime around 2024.

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