Preface ix Introduction xi Part 1 Self-Employment Basics 1 1. Being Self-Employed and On Your Own 3 What Does Self-Employment Mean? 4 Legal Consequences of Self-Employment 6 Practical Issues in Self-Employment 7 Tax Terminology 8 Being 1099ed 9 What''s Ahead 9 2. Getting Set Up for Tax Reporting and Business Operations 11 Preliminaries 12 Keeping Books and Records for Tax Reporting 12 Business Reasons for Recordkeeping 14 Tax ID Number 14 Tax Year 17 Accounting Method 17 Decide Your Business Name 20 What''s Your IP? 21 Obtain Licenses, Permits, and Permission 23 What''s Ahead 24 3. Using Schedule C 25 Tax Filing on Schedule C 25 When, Where, and How to File 30 What''s Ahead 31 Part 2 Reporting Income and Expenses 33 4. Reporting Your Income 35 Payment Types Don''t Matter 36 Alternative Payments 38 Where to Report Payments 39 What to Do about 1099s 40 What to Do When You Don''t Get Paid 42 Losses 43 What''s Ahead 46 5. Writing Off Vehicle, Travel, Meals, and Gifts Expenses 49 Vehicle Expenses 50 Local Transportation 56 Business Meals 56 Business Travel 59 Business Gifts 61 Strategies for Saving on Travel Costs 61 What''s Ahead 62 6. Deducting Office-Related Costs 65 Rental Expenses 65 Home Office Use 68 Materials and Supplies 79 Furniture and Fixtures 80 Computer-Related Costs 84 Insurance 86 Utilities 86 Miscellaneous Office-Related Costs 87 What''s Ahead 88 7. Claiming Deductions A to Z 89 Advertising Costs 90 Bad Debts 91 Banking Fees 92 Casualty and Theft Losses 92 Charitable Contributions 93 Dues 95 Education Expenses 96 Impairment-Related Expenses 96 Interest 97 Legal and Professional Fees 98 Licenses and Regulatory Fees 99 Materials and Supplies 99 Moving Expenses 99 Payments for Outsourced Workers 100 Penalties, Fines, and Damages 101 Repayment of Income 102 Startup Costs 102 Subscriptions 103 Supplies 103 Taxes 103 Utilities 104 Checklist of Nondeductible Expenses 104 What''s Ahead 105 8.

Protecting Yourself with Medical Coverage and Retirement Savings 107 Medical Insurance 108 Health Savings Accounts 111 Tax Deduction for Health Coverage 113 Retirement Savings 114 SEPs 116 Solo 401(k)s 118 Pension Plans 121 IRAs 121 Roth IRAs 122 Strategies for Retirement Savings 123 What''s Ahead 124 9. Taking Tax Credits 127 Business-Related Tax Credit 127 Personal Credits Arising from Business 130 What''s Ahead 134 10. Claiming Your Tax Bonus 137 General Rules 137 Limitations 138 Specified Service Trades or Businesses 139 What''s Ahead 140 Part 3 Strategies for Your Business 141 11. Paying Your Taxes 143 Self-Employment Tax 143 Additional Medicare Tax on Earned Income 146 Additional Medicare Tax on Net Investment Income 147 Estimated Taxes 148 Sales Taxes 152 What''s Ahead 153 12. Strategizing Year-Round for Tax Savings 155 Tax-Savvy Business Decisions 156 Year-End Planning 158 Post-Year Tax Elections 160 Lease Instead of Buy? 161 Don''t Overlook Carryovers 162 Audit-Proof Your Return 163 What''s Ahead 165 13. Strategies for How to Grow 167 Getting Certified 167 Getting a Mentor 168 Outsourcing 169 Using Technology 170 Continuing to Learn 170 What''s Ahead 171 14. Strategies as Your Business Grows 173 Moving to Larger Quarters 173 Hiring Employees 175 Changing Legal Status 178 Selling the Business 180 Final Thoughts 181 Index 182.