I know so many of you out there are fellow bloggers or small business owners like myself. I now officially consider my blog a business. It takes a portion of my time daily, I am earning revenue which I MUST pay taxes on and I do it to help my families financial situation.
Do you blog? Are you a consultant for a home party company? Do you Mystery Shop? Do Online Offers? Earn with Surveys?
If you do, you are earning revenue and you should also be tracking expenses. What about your mileage to and from the shop you did for your Mystery Shop? Do you need your computer to earn revenue for Online Offers, Surveys, etc? What about all those trials you signed up for to earn your Online Offer money? Did you pay postage to mail your documentation? So many things are deductible if you can just remember to track them.
If you do any of these activities or more, you may enjoy this FREE software as much as I do.
Up to this point, I have been tracking everything in Excel. But, the one thing I was not doing was estimating my taxes. This is important BECAUSE......I am sure we can all finish the sentence.
Well, because if we would happen to spend the money earned and not set enough aside for taxes..then we have a problem when the IRS wants their money.
Outright is a free website that you can use to track your earnings, expenses ( this also important so you can DEDUCT at the end of the year thus lowering your tax bill ).
What I like about it is that is estimates your taxes owed as you enter details. So, you can always get a ballpark figure of how much of the money is, well, not yours! :-) Just because you cashed those checks does not mean you get to keep it forever. :-)
In addition, it will put reports together for you that show your profit and losses.
If you would like to take advantage of this free service from Outright as well, and begin tracking your numbers and estimating your taxes, click here for registration information. It only takes a few moments to begin.
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!
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4 comments:
Carrie,
Thank you so much for this heads up! My husband and I have been doing secret/mystery shops, merchandising/audits as independant contractors for almost 2 years. we use Excel as well. thats sounds so much more efficient! Between the above jobs we do, I also blog (just starting to dabble into the money making part of that-so confusing! LOL), Ebay, sell on Craigslist, and several other things to help bring money into our home. So, everything can truly get crazy trying to track! So, thanks :)
Hi Carrie,
I just started mystery shopping. What items related to this can I deduct from my taxes? I know you mentioned mileage, but are there anything else? I was thinking of ink and paper, I always print out the job guidelines and it adds up to my ink consumption. Can I include that?
Also, say I only get "reimbursed" without a shop fee. That does not count as income, am I right?
Thank you so much. Your blog has benn really helpful and educational.
Jem
jemtanghal@yahoo.com
Jem,
You should be able to deduct paper, ink, etc.
If you have to buy anything as part of the mystery shop, you should be able to deduct that.
For example, I did an eye exam and my pay is categorized from they as pay and bonus. BUT, I had to buy glasses. So, I will be able to deduct the cost of the glasses.
If you are simply being reimbursed, that should not be taxable, for my understanding.
But, contact your scheduler to make sure they will not be turning that in as income if they file a 1099. You just want to make sure they are categorizing it on their end the same way they had it posted on the job board.
Carrie,
I'm new to your website and LOVE it. I'm getting ready to start a blog and am confused about affiliates wanting you to own a url. Your blog is through blogger, so you don't "own" it.....what is the name of your url for affiliate purposes and what it the purpose of having one?
I hope my question/confusion is clear. Sorry---I'm just learning! The only dumb questions are the ones never asked, right? :)
Thanks,
Jillian
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