The most valuable decision you can make as a freelancer is to spend time understanding eligible business deductions. The IRS guidance is that business expenses are ordinary and necessary for the operation of your business.

Since every business owner is in a unique situation, we can provide guidance on what would meet IRS criteria. Some of the common deductions we help clients navigate are:

• Home office

• Contractors vs. Employees

• Equipment depreciation

• Vehicle purchases & leases

• Business travel

As a freelancer you're responsible for a few key things:

• Accurately tracking business income & expenses

• Filing quarterly estimated taxes

• Filing annual profit & loss statements, along with self employment tax calculations

• If you have contractors or employees you may also be responsible for payroll reporting, taxes, and W-2/1099s

Poor planning can get you in trouble with the IRS and cost you money (penalties for underpayment of taxes, missed deductions, etc.) so it's critical to get this part right!

As a W-2 employee you may be familiar with having social security and medicare taxes automatically taken out of your paycheck. When you own your own business, those taxes double to 15.3% of your profit in addition to your ordinary taxes.

Our team can work with you on the appropriate entity selection to ensure you’re maximizing your tax refund.

This is the biggest question from our freelancer clients. The answer depends on your location, profit, vision and goals.

Fortunately this topic is where we shine, and we have an advisory package to help get you answers.