Self-employed
You work for yourself. Your taxes should keep up.
1099 income sits between a personal return and a real business, and it is where the most money gets left on the table in both directions.
01
Who this is for
If you get paid on a 1099, this is your page.
Different work, same tax problem: nothing was withheld and nobody kept the records for you.
- Barbers and stylists
- Truck and delivery drivers
- Rideshare drivers
- Contractors and trades
- Realtors
- Creators and photographers
- Consultants
- DJs and promoters
- Home health and care workers
- Cleaners and landscapers
- Caterers and food vendors
- Anyone paid on a 1099
02
The four problems
Four things that catch people out.
Every one of these is normal. None of them is a reason to put the return off.
Nobody withheld anything.
A 1099 pays you gross. Income tax and self-employment tax both come out at the end, and that bill surprises people every April. We work out what you owe and set up quarterly payments so it stops being a surprise.
You are guessing at deductions.
Mileage, phone, supplies, tools, chair rent, home office, equipment. Most people either miss deductions they are entitled to or claim ones that will not survive a letter. We go through the year properly.
Your records are a phone full of receipts.
That is normal, and it is fixable. Basic bookkeeping turns a shoebox into a number you can file from, borrow against and plan with.
Somebody told you to start an LLC.
Sometimes that is right and sometimes it is not, and an S-corp election is a different question again. It depends on your numbers, so we look at your numbers before answering.
03
What comes next
Where this goes.
Nobody needs all five at once. They arrive in order, and most people move up one rung a year.
- 01This year's returnSchedule C, deductions, self-employment tax.
- 02Quarterly estimatesFour dates, one number each. No April surprise.
- 03Books that keep upIncome and expenses recorded as they happen.
- 04Entity, if it earns its keepLLC or S-corp, decided on the numbers.
- 05Payroll, once you hireIncluding paying yourself correctly.
Already have a business
Behind on quarterlies