Tool/App Recommendations
How to get ready to file your taxes as a creator
Tax time is here and now is the time to get organized and prepared to file.
Thankfully, there are a few top-rated tax and bookkeeping tools that can help take the lift on sorting through receipts, invoices, and other files to prepare you to file your taxes with an accountant or on your own.
1. Collect all of your tax documents, including 1099 forms, invoices, financial statements, and receipts.
2. Determine which federal and state taxes you are required to pay, as well as any estimated taxes that may be due.
3. Determine your filing status and determine the right form of filing for your situation (e.g., 1040, 1040-EZ).
4. Gather all of the necessary forms and documents needed to complete your return (e.g., W-2, Schedule C).
5. Calculate all income sources from freelance work and other self-employment activities to determine whether or not you have a taxable profit or loss from these activities.
6. Deduct any business expenses that are related to freelance work in order to reduce your taxable income and lower the amount of taxes owed for the year.
7. Make sure to take advantage of available credits and deductions for freelancers such as the home office deduction and self-employed health insurance deduction if applicable.
Quickbooks is a best-selling software that helps self-employed creative professionals stay organized and prepared for tax time.
Capture and organize receipts, pay bills, track miles, invoice and accept payments, and more all in one place, and easily share your records with your tax accountant or bookkeeper.
Not there yet? Get a free trial of Quickbooks and start organizing your income sources and receipts in preparation for filing your taxes. Quickbooks offers incredible support and resources that can help you get closer to your tax preparation goals!
Keeper Tax helps gig and creator economy workers discover tax-deductible expenses and file taxes.
- The platform automatically connects to a user’s financial accounts to scan their purchases for possible write-offs, with the help of AI and machine learning.
- On average, Keeper Tax users uncover extra tax write-offs worth $1,249 per year.
- To date, Keeper Tax has helped over 50,000 gig and creator economy workers discover tax write-offs worth $70M.
Xero is one of the fastest-growing cloud accounting software that helps over 2.7 million+ subscribers worldwide transform the way they do business with seamless integration with over 1,000 apps.
Keep track of your unpaid and overdue invoices, purchase orders, bank account balances, profit and loss, cash flow, bank reconciliation, bills to pay, and more.
Xero accounting software is made for small businesses. Easily sync your bank and financials to the cloud and invite your tax accountant or team into the system.
