‘Tis the season. Yes - for shopping, eggnog and overindulgence at the buffet table. But for freelancers, it’s also the season to take stock of what your income and expenses were in 2015, to get your financial house in order and to determine what you will owe in taxes come next April. Plus, it's a […]

The holiday season is here (in case you hadn't noticed!), which means time for awkward get-togethers with your in-laws and too much shopping on Amazon Prime. Actually, it means times for happy occasions involving food, drink, and, if you’re lucky, travel. For self-employed individuals, entertaining clients or traveling to their places of business can seem […]

What’s worse come December? The unending hunt for a good parking spot or buying the right present for your picky Uncle Todd? Add in responding to last-minute client requests and wrapping up presents and projects before the holidays and the end of the year is stressful. Yet, freelancers and the self-employed shouldn’t skip year-end tax […]

A Three-Step Plan for Catching up Unfiled Taxes We have all fallen out of someone’s good graces. Remember that time you forgot your mother’s birthday? Whoops. Or that time you ignored your taxes? I mean, really, how can the IRS expect you to calculate payments, keep up with expenses and filter through their complex tax […]

Congress has yet to approve these tax laws—and it may affect your freelance business Every year, Congress passes new tax laws, lets some old ones expire or adds new life to some that would have expired. While there are no major changes this year like there were with Obamacare last year, there are still dozens […]

Put down the leftover Hallowe’en candy and chew on this instead, because your future tax bill depends on it: Acting now to lower your tax bill can significantly up your money-saving potential by the time tax season rolls around. The key words are, of course, acting now—because after December 31, 2015, the opportunity to create […]

Companionship, love and life…you share so much with your significant other, and if your freelance business supports both of you, there’s another thing you may be able to share with your partner: a $3,950 federal tax exemption. If you have a sweetheart who, by design or by hard luck, has the majority of their living […]

There are a lot of things that can catch a freelancer off-guard—an unhappy client, an unexpected internet outage, an unannounced visit from family when you’re up against a tight deadline…the list goes on. While these situations are all legitimate causes for concern—there’s another issue that is often overlooked by self-employed business owners which can have […]

Chances are you’ve been asked to volunteer before. Maybe you got trapped, er, talked into leading a Brownie troop. Or running (okay, walking) a 5k for a good cause. In your professional life, maybe it was to do some pro bono work to help a charitable organization. If yes, it would seem reasonable to write […]

If you’re a lucky college graduate, you may be familiar with 529 plans—a savings vehicle specifically designed for those who need to put money aside to cover the costs of higher education. Perhaps your parents or grandparents set up a 529 plan for you and maybe you are now contemplating using one to save for […]