10 Tax Deductions You Never Want to Miss as an Entrepreneur

10 Tax Deductions You Never Want to Miss as an Entrepreneur

Most business owners start their entrepreneurship journey because they found out that society has been misleading. A 9-5 no longer means job security! People of great professions and educational backgrounds have been laid off. Struggling to find the nextjob to support their family. Then something happens. You are up all night, thinking about your passions, aspirations that you now have the chance to live out. You yearn to pursue life on your own terms. You desire to make it on your own, build security with your business. 

When you reached a point in your business where you’re more than breaking even, you may have been guilty of overpaying your taxes. Tax season headaches begin with ill or nonexistent bookkeeping in your business when your business starts. Without proper documentation, you will not be receiving any refunds... Or you may be gifted a hefty tax bill!

What if I can tell you in a simple blog post how to avoid missing out on real cash come tax time. As a virtual bookkeeper, I help online business owners like you, ensure that you never miss out on tax deductions. I relieve the stress and apprehension of you commingling your personal and business expenses. I also ensure proper reconciliation on all of your tax deductible expenses. I even attach the appropriate invoice/receipt to each transaction. This way, you'll do what you do best while remaining confident of the financial health of your business!

What is a 1099-MISC and do I need to file one?!

It's that time of year again!

Tax season.

This month there's an important form you must send out to those who've worked for you throughout 2017. It's called the 1099-MISC form.

The 1099-MISC can be one of the most confusing things known to business owners. Especially those in the online world. Even within the financial community because there's all sorts of "if this then that's" going on in one form.

Let's not forget that they're due on January 31st.

Per the IRS, the 1099-MISC determines how much self-employed individuals get paid. Once we understand the pertinent information (or collect it ahead of time) the form isn't so bad!

Do you have a team?! Wondering if they way you paid them throughout the year qualifies you to file a 1099?! This post can help!

You have to look and see where you've paid someone. And it gets really scary if you come or do pass a deadline of January 31st but it doesn't have to be so scary.

Just as a note, for the duration of this post, I'll be sharing how to navigate a 1099 form in relation to small businesses. Mostly meaning we're worrying about box 7!

Please refer to the IRS for further instructions! Don't take this post as an end-all be-all for 1099s. If you'd like to work with us to file your 1099s, click here.

The 1099-MISC form signifies how much you pay your contractors on this form is important. Your contractors are in charge of paying their own taxes. The form helps the IRS know who is getting coins and from where!

You also want to be careful about who you actually label as a contractor instead of a W2 employee.

That's a discussion for another day...

Who actually gets a 1099-MISC form?!

Sole proprietors, partnerships (LLLPs) and LLCs you pay $600 or more via cash or ACH aka bank transfer.

These people can be the following:

  1. Virtual Assistant
  2. Affiliates you payout
  3. Copywriters
  4. Coaches or consultants
  5. Attorneys (Even if they're an incorporated. Double check with your attorney!)
  6. Bookkeepers
  7. Accountants
  8. And anyone else in between!

***Quick tip that even I got stumped on: When you write the check is when you paid the contractor. NOT when it actually clears!

Who does NOT get a 1099-MISC form?

If someone is an S-Corp or C-Corp. This means that this type of business is actually incorporated (unless they're an attorney).

Your team members who live outside of the US. These individuals should get a W-8BEN form.

Those who you've paid via PayPal, credit/debit card, or payment processor. This means if someone sends you an invoice and you pay through the invoice, you paid through a processor. These companies are supposed to send your contractors a 1099-K at the end of the year.

how and where do I file them?!

1099-MISC forms
1099-MISC forms
25.00
Quantity:
buy now!

I'm all about digitizing everything to make life easier and avoiding postage.

I love both software tax1099 and track1099. They allow you to quickly file directly with the IRS and deliver the forms to your team without the hassle.

The best thing about the software is that it works with both Xero (my fave accounting software) and QBO.

A detailed bookkeeping system with your W9 form will delete deplete the guessing!

If you don't have an a cloud-based accounting system, we need to talk! Check out our Start Me Up program to get those coins in order!

 

How do I avoid getting confused next time around?!

Obtain a W9 form your contractors or vendors at the beginning of your relationship! This form allows you to get your team's correct Legal Name, Tax ID number, and address. Get one from your team members every year because... people do move OR change their business names.

Choose one way to pay them. This will take out the guessing if you paid someone with a check then PayPal then cash... you get where I'm going with this...

If things do come up and you have to pay another route, document the way you paid them. Then by the next 1099-MISC season, there's no scowling your bank statements! Or bugging your contractors.

Have a bookkeeping software (or hire us) to easily track said payments! Nothing like having everything done throughout the year and all you have to do is pull up a software next Jan.

Let us help you!

Take the quiz below to see how many actual 1099-MISC you have to file!

I hope this helps you make delivering 1099s to your team less stressful! Take the quiz below and see how many 1099s you potentially have to give this year!

If you need a bookkeeper on your team to create your 1099s for you, buy below!

 
1099-MISC forms
1099-MISC forms
25.00
Quantity:
buy now!
 
 

How I Use The 50/20/30 Budget Plan For Personal Finances

How I Use The 50/20/30 Budget Plan For Personal Finances

When I started my entrepreneurial journey, I began to ignore my personal finances. I was so selfish about my business baby that I didn't handle much within my own household.

Mostly because of comfort. Upon inception of my business, I was as a foster mom to special needs adults making pretty good money. It was 2016 and I stopped writing for the personal blog I created a year prior. I quit this blog because I felt like the digital space needed someone to help them with business finance.

I started my bookkeeping business with low startup costs. After a while, I started to drink all the Kool Aid from the cool kids. I invested in the latest course. Signed up for every sexy software subscription. Since I didn't yet master my client experience, I wasn't making consistent income. Most of these funds were borrowed from my personal finances. It became awful.

Through this, I stacked up a pretty expensive first year of business.

I vowed to avoid this in my second year of business. I also committed to keeping myself as accountable as I do my bookkeeping clients!

The first 5 steps to best manage your money as an entrepreneur

The first 5 steps to best manage your money as an entrepreneur

So you’ve started your business or on the beginning steps of starting your blog. Now what?! You ask yourself. You look to your left and right. All the other ladypreneurs in their chapter 5-20 are killing it in your industry. You get succumbed by imposter syndrome and analysis paralysis and remain stagnant. Simply because you don’t have the slightest idea on what to do first.

You go into groups and email people you idol: How you should monetize your blog? What you should be investing in first? I want to give you some super easy tips on how you can better handle the money in your business. Ease up those tensions a bit.

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4 Ways to Drastically Improve the Way You Invoice

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4 Ways to Drastically Improve the Way You Invoice

Newbie entrepreneurs seem to have it rough. You’re in the beginning of a new chapter in your life. You’ve birthed a beautiful baby business. It keeps you up at night. You think about it constantly and you always want to show people how cute it is. 

You begin to realize that your baby costs so much but at times, you have trouble speaking up for it. Demanding that your business be is taken more seriously. Creating a routine to make it easier to earn money and help it grow.


online business tax deductions! 

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