More money, more problems, right? If you made money last year from your blogging, congrats! You must be great at it, and you’re doing something you love. If you’re a freelance blogger and get paid as an independent contractor, you probably didn’t get taxes taken out of your pay. It depends on how much money you made throughout the year, but you could owe some money from your taxes. Don’t worry, just prepare yourself.
We aren’t tax professionals, but there’s plenty of content out there to help prepare you for when you file this year. Here are some of the most helpful articles.
1. Tax Tips for Bloggers, Writers and Journalists – HR Block on Blog Talk Radio
First things first – if you’re making money from it, it counts as a business in the eyes of the IRS.
2. 7 Things That Every Blogger Should Know About Taxes – Problogger
“Telling the world about your blogging business is also deductible. Consider the cost of printing business cards and letterheads or advertising your blog when calculating your expenses.”
3. Tax Tips for Bloggers – Saving for Someday (Shareaholic publisher!)
It may surprise you that the IRS defines swag as compensation.
4. How to Avoid Income Tax Fines and Legal Penalties As A Blogger – Problogger
“A business online is a business nonetheless. And any business can be sued for anything. At the very least, it’s a good idea to ensure your personal assets are protected and “separated” from your business assets. One way to do this by incorporating your business under a formal legalized structured such as a limited liability company (LLC).”
5. Tax Tips for Bloggers and Freelancers – TurboTax
“Whether you use Quicken, a spreadsheet in Excel, or an envelope containing check stubs and deposit receipts, make sure you know the source and amount of all income that you earn. This can be difficult when you are dealing with multiple modes of payment, including paper checks, electronic direct deposits, PayPal, and cash. Tracking your income and your important expenses and having the details ready when you sit down to complete your tax return will make your job so much easier.”
6. 101 Tax Deductions for Bloggers and Freelancers – Wisebread
#92: Clothing. Don’t mind if I do.
7. 2011 Tax Tips for Bloggers Who Make Money – Adventures in Blogging
An actual CPA on deducting your home office: “When you claim the home office, you base the deduction on the square footage of the home office divided by the total square footage of your home. You then multiply that percentage by the amount spent on rent, utilities, repairs and maintenance, and mortgage interest and real estate taxes if you are a homeowner. ”
8. Blogging As a Business: Tax Tips – Young and Thrifty
If deducting at-home internet, you have to calculate the % you use for the business.
9. Blogging Tax Tips for 2011 – Yakazie Personal Finance
Like the Problogger article said, spreading the word about your blog is deductible. This includes placing ads on other blogs and giveaway prizes you offer to promote your blog.
10. Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center – IRS
Just how much do you have to earn from blogging to be taxable? $400. From the horse’s mouth: “You have to file an income tax return if your net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more. If your net earnings from self-employment were less than $400, you still have to file an income tax return if you meet any other filing requirement listed in the Form 1040 instructions.”
We aren’t tax professionals so we can’t offer all the guidance you may need on this topic. Hiring a professional to help sort this out may be the right solution for you. If you earned money last year from blogging, be proud of being able to earn an income from something you love! Just take it seriously and consider how you should file your taxes accordingly so you can continue to blog happily and audit-free.
What other resources have you seen out there for tax tips for bloggers? Let us know if the comments.