Taxes, Expenses
Posted By: cartwheel on 2007-06-13
In Reply to: It isn't that most of us have anything against newbies. sm - searching
I would have internet anyway; now I get to write it off. I would have long distance anyway; now I get to write it off. Everyone pays taxes and insurance, it is just a matter of who is doing the bookkeeping. Walmart STARTS at $8/hour and then when they pay all that same stuff they are really making $5- $6. You can write off ALL your health insurance, a portion of your utilities and the area you work in, computer, software, and other supplies.....save on gas (this is HUGE right now), work clothes, make up, day care, and and and. There's always more than one way to view something.
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I deduct all expenses that relate to my home office-% of utilities, taxes, repairs to that room, --s
mortgage (we do not plan to sell our house so this deduction will not affect us)as my office is used only for that purpose, internet, phone, I print out a daily schedule so paper/ink, computer repairs, pens, pencils, tape, staples, file cabinets, storge bins for tax recepts/tax returns,file folders. Anything/everything I use to do my job.
I was using mileage for another account where I pick up tapes every day, but found for me the time it took to keep track of the mileage, write it down, add it up was not worth the effort so I quit doing it this year.
You have your W2 showing very clearly those taxes were paid. MQ is responsible for those taxes
because you were a statutory employee. That is the responsibility of the employer to pay those just as though you were an employee.
I have no expenses except to buy my
computer, desk and chair, which after time becomes a wash and are nominal expenses. All my references are online paid for by the company (all Stedman electronic word books, my free personal subscription to Monthly Prescribing Reference, etc.)
Maybe you can cut your expenses? sm
If you are using telephones for dictation, maybe switch to handheld units? Or use a TASP to save money on calls? Use the Internet more to cut down on expenses. Hope this helps. If you can, keep your clients. They are hard to come by nowadays.
Remember that's $40 before all expenses. nm
x
Medical expenses
January, 2000 - DH tore rotator cuff, needed MRI/arthrogram, followed by rotator cuff repair.
January, 2001 - I had foot surgery in podiatrist's office.
January, 2002 - DH had cervical MRI/myelogram, followed by anterior cervical diskectomy with fusion, two levels.
January, 2003 - DH had knee MRI, followed by arthroscopy.
January, 2004 - I had LASIK surgery.
OMYGOSH, it's almost January again! 
Why not just add it to your business expenses? nm
x
You can still deduct your MT expenses if your and IC - sm
regardless of taking the standard deduction. Your write offs for MT are on the Schedule C (not B). My husband and I take the standard deduction as we don't have enough on our Sch. B; then I write off all my IC deductions and report my income on the Sch. C.; putting the bottom line (income minus IC write-offs) on the 1040 line 12. So I am not quite clear on what you are talking about but I know how I do it is how most of us (if not all) do our deductions. You may want to do an amended return.
Tax Deductible Expenses
We ran a business for years from our home. As far as I know, you can take the base rate of your telephone bill as an expense (which includes FCC taxes) and any long distance calls related directly to the business. As for Home Owners Insurance, you can take 7% of the insurance because you use 7% of your home for your business. Also, anything related to the business such as equipment, paper, tapes or special software programs can be taken as well. If you have to travel to deliver the finished reports, I believe the rate is 28 cents a mile. If you travel, you can also deduct any maintenance on your vehicle. Hope this helps. 
Also, are these figures before tax/expenses or after? sm
Some ICs might be quoting their pay before taxes and expense deductions, which isn't their ACTUAL pay for the year. If someone has their own accounts and says they bring in $50K per year, that's possible, but probably not the amount they receive free and clear.
I find it hard to believe anyone makes that much free and clear unless they are working 12 hours a day, every day, and pulling in a significantly high per-line rate. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I base this opinion on the fact that I make a very good line rate, type over 100 wpm for easy accounts I've had for years, and still don't bring in that kind of money free and clear. I come close with my gross income, but after taxes and expenses, it's only about 65% of that! And I work 9-10 hours a day with only one week of vacation per year.
Come to think of it, that's pretty sad when I see it on paper. LOL I'm going to go look for a new line of work now.
What is the cost of your living expenses? sm
I would really like to know this as mine seem high. My cost for the bare minimum, not including insurance, medical costs or entertainment, is about $1,800.00 per month.
Is that high to most people? TIA.
$350 a month for my share of expenses.
z
get a credit card just for your IC expenses
it will keep all your expenses in one place and you won't need to keep receipts, just the credit card statements. Other than that, track mileage, though to be frank most people will just claim an average mileage and then create a mileage journal if audited. Also if you will take the home office deduction, you can claim percentage of heating, etc. but easy enough to do that. Might be worth your while to consult with a CPA if you take the IC job, and then the first year that you do your taxes. He can explain everything you need and then you can take it from there. Just one or two more forms to fill out, nothing earth-shattering.
Poll: Earnings vs Expenses
1. What are your monthly earnings -- just you (no spousal income) -- doesn't matter how many jobs....monthly earnings?
2. Do you work more than one job?
3. What is your base line rate? If you have more than 1 job, list all base rates.
4. Now what is the minimum bring-home pay you need to survive each month? This is your housing, energy, transportation, insurances, food -- what you have to have to make it.
5. What's the difference? Are you in the hole? Got surplus? Breaking even?
My answers:
1. About $3100 each month.
2. One job.
3. $0.095 cpl plus some incentive bonus each month.
4. $2287 gets everything paid. Savings and pocket money not included in that figure.
5. Surplus but not much. Trying to save as much as possible and have a few greenbacks in my wallet each week.
Was told could deduct pet expenses. sm.
If it is a dog and is over 50 pounds, you can claim its food, vet bills, pet insurance, vaccinations all that as long as your business is run from your home. It applies as a guard dog. It does not matter which breed the dog is either. This is the state of Missouri, not sure about other states.
I am gonna try it as we shelled out alot of money over a period of time for a dog that was poisoned. Luckily, he lived.
WORK-AT-HOME EXPENSES JUST AS MUCH - sm
as if I were working outside the home, if not more. The only thing I would spend money on an outside job would be the $4.00 daily bus fare. I have more than enough clothes for work, no problem there, maybe lunch or can brown-bag. The company pays the office space, light, electricity, internet, cable, AIR CONDITIONING in summer (imp.)
On the other hand, even as an employee, I am not reimbursed for my high-speed, HIGH-COST cable/DSL/telephone I need to make these few cents a line, electric costs, lights, AC BILL JUMPS WHEN SITTING AT PC ALL DAY IN SUMMER, buy my own office supplies, books, references.
Just another mind sc---ing they give you by telling you it's cheaper to work at home. (I have no kids).  
6 months of expenses "tucked/socked" away? No way. sm
I am the owner of a small transcription company. We have 50 transcriptionists. We invoice $150,000 per month. Our payroll, taxes, manager salaries, postage, bank fees, overhead, etc run approximately $140,000 per month. That means that we should have $840,000 tucked away somewhere. No way. We depend on our customers to pay. Our employees are paid on time and paid a decent rate. Our bills are paid. To say that someone needs 6 months of expenses put away is unrealistic and naive. Where did I attend school? For undergrad, University of Michigan, for graduate school, Northwestern University, with a master's degree in Business Management and a Bach degree in Finance. The rule of thumb is to have one payroll worth of cash on hand or a line of credit available equal to that amount.
It's really annoying that people can toss out comments like that, stating them as if they were fact, without any basis of fact. Most companies do not have close to a million dollars lying around. If they do, it is foolish.
I also took home office expenses as an employee, but --
You can only get any good out of it if you are also a homeowner with a lot of mortgage interest or have a lot of medical expenses, etc., that would make it higher than the standard deduction.
deducting home office expenses -
For the home office expense - You would measure the amount of space you actually use to work (your desk area) and figure the percentage of that square footage to your total square footage. Then you would use that percentage of your utilities costs, etc., to count on your taxes.
I got into this because it paid more money and I didn't have daycare expenses.
I have more time for a social life now that I work at home. I go to lunch or coffee with family and friends. I used to run errands on my lunch half-hour at my old job and either pay my bills or balance my checkbook on my breaks. I know all the other parents at the school now, so we get together on weekends or chitchat at the school. When I used to work outside the home, I was so exhausted from dealing with crabby people all day long that I just wanted to isolate myself at home on evenings and weekends. Now that I work at home, I actually seek out friends to keep from getting isolated.
You could take him to small claims to get expenses and pain and suffering.
:+
Need help with calculating expenses for bid on large account. At the moment I do not know *sm*
how many lines they dictate per day/week. I am going to call the person who sent me the bid forms and ask. I do not have my own call-in system and would be using a TASP. Can someone tell me that currently uses a TASP how to go about figuring my costs in so that I do not under bid. I know that each dictator and the type of report is going to vary but on an average what would you say? Bottom line is I need to know how many cents per line I need to charge to cover the call-in system and my other expenses. Another thing they listed in the bid is that the vendor is to provide all other supplies including plain paper to complete each assignment. The hospital will provide any special letterhead, envelopes, etc. How do you provide the paper and probably the toner if you are doing this remotely? Would there be any other expenses that would fall under other supplies that you can think of other than toner and paper? How much toner and paper do I provide or should I ask the hospital what they use on a weekly basis? I would assume I have the right to ask questions as to how much paper, toner, how many lines they do each day or week on average. I want this account very much but I do not want to have to pay a cheap line rate and I need to make this worth my while. Thank you very much for you help.
One thing also - keep all your receipts of any business related expenses
I have a folder and everytime I buy anything related to work whether it be a pen, a printer ribbon, a book, a keyboard, etc. I put in that folder. Those things add up and they are all deductible which comes off of your gross. This is in addition to the home use of your office. A statutory IC is a great way to go because you don't have to pay the entire social security but you are still IC and can utilize the business deductions. If you pay your own health insurance and it is in your name that is also deductible. Keep good records...this is the most important I have learned being an IC. Also you will probably have to file quarterly if you make over a certain amount. If you don't you will be penalized by IRS and have to pay the penalty fee with your April 15th filing. And also remember to figure your state taxes for the year. However it does depend on your personal situation and if you file jointly with your husband that may change things. Good luck.
Personally I think IC is great but unless you have some really good deductions you can end up paying a lot in taxes . If you have to pay your own social security at 15% and you were taxed at 20% rate for federal and let's say 6% for state you would be paying 41% of your income in taxes which is no fun. But you only pay on your net income and not your gross so it sort of comes out in the wash.
home office expenses are still deductible if you are an employee - nm
x
My cost of living expenses monthly is $2200/month
I'm self employed, so I'm killed in taxes AND I live in NY...but I wouldn't have it any other way
I LOVE NEW YORK!!!!
Any help on form 8829*Expenses for Business Use of your Home would be greatly
Hi All,
I was a statutory employee last year but not now. I usually do my own taxes but am having trouble with form 8829 and am not sure if the accountant can squeeze me in at this late date. Thought I would try here first for help. I use my den exclusively for work (almost) and am going to take this 7% of our home as a business expense.
Under Part II... Lines 10 and 11. Deductible mortgage interest and real estate taxes...I am going to take the entire amount on schedule A, so, hopefully, do not have to enter anything here.
line 17. Insurance. Are we allowed to take a portion of our homeowners insurance as a deduction? I have no separate business insurance.
Line 19. Utilities. I know I can take 7% of my electric, gas, water, garbage (I think), but what about phones? We have both cell and regular phone. When I call, I use the regular phone for toll free numbers, but the cell phone to my boss who does not have a toll free #.
Then, I need to find the value of my home for Part III. I guess I will check home sales in the neighborhood and go by that.
Geez..sorry for sounding like such a dummy. I can do all the other...capital gains, etc, just not sure what is allowed for home expenses.
As I say, I will try to get in to the accountant, but any advise for any of this form would be greatly appreciated. I cannot complete schedule A until I have my Profit or Loss done, which I cannot complete until I do this form.
Thanks.
I too question you overhead expenses. I work for a company that only gets 11-12 cpl and pays us 8-8.
/
True but that is to cover the expenses like rent, office supplies, sm
manager salaries. That does not include payroll that is based on service.
A good example woould be this: You are starting a book store. You need to plan the original inventory and six months worth of expenses. If you sell that inventory, you use the money from that to buy more books. If you do not sell any at first, you can stay in business for six months while you get noticed.
With transcription or any service business, you need enough in the bank to cover the same expenses, those that can keep you afloat while building your client base. However, you only hire more people as you get more customers. The payroll does not figure into the 6 months as it is based on what you provide, whereas the 6 months takes into account what it takes to get it going even if you do not have 1 employee.
Very, very few companies can have $800,000 lying around. If they did, they probably would need to invest it in equipment or spend it in other ways or the IRS would consider it profit and tax the heck out of it!
I figure income minus expenses, send 23% for federal and 7.5% to state--sm
quarterly. The state probably differs state to state, but that is the percentile my accountant came up with. Have never had to pay and additional.
As an IC when paying taxes, are SS and fed taxes sent SM
to the same place?
THANK YOU! That is my point. She still pays taxes, her DH still pays taxes...
so who exactly is getting cheated? And just who are you talking about when you talk about whether it is "fair" or not. I don't give a crap how much taxes my neighbor pays. It's none of my business. And if I found out they were paying less in taxes than me, I would ask them how they heck are they doing it so I can do it too!
I just want ask, is it necessary to get personal and insult? You disagree with me, fine. But I've been called a liar, a cheat, a no-ingetrity thief, my intelligence has been insulted, and I have had my parenting skills questioned. That is a little over the top. If you cannot debate an issue without resulting to personal attacks, then YOU are the stunted one!
It is a very good thing that some of you work at home, ALONE! You are sorely lacking in people skills and diplomacy. Let me guess, when you worked in the office you were one of those girls who didn't like to share her desk, griped if someone dropped a crumb on your desk, and kept track of everyone's breaks, lunches, and line counts just so you could tattle to the supervisor! I've worked women like you, it was like working with kindergarteners. That's why I came home to work. Do us all a favor, looking in the mirror, count your wrinkles, and realize that this isn't high school anymore!
I do pay taxes --- MOST DEFINITELY PAY TAXES
I also keep track of all of the write offs!!
Do you also pay your own taxes?
that means it works out to about $13 an hour.
Taxes
Do you think when you are working for someone else that "they pay your taxes?" We all pay our own taxes except for the additional 7.5% of SS as an IC you pay. And I will bet that as an IC/MTSO I pay a lot less taxes than you do and I make more than you do. I cannot understand the mentality of people that say "you pay your own taxes." Your employer just "holds your money and pays your taxes." I am just responsible enough to put the money aside and pay mine but as a IC/MTSO with all my deductions I pay on 20 to 25% of my gross and I am able to put aside $700 to $1000 per month in my retirement which is totally deductable. Your statement is totally incorrect.
IC - taxes
I am never sure whether to classify myself as an IC or small MTSO as I have my own accounts. But where I see a lot of the problem is that the doctors are not making as much as they used to, due to insurance company reimbursement, etc. They are trying to save every penny that they can just like we do. I keep my line charges probably quite low according to many standards but I make a a very good living and I cannot see charging the doctors 15 to 18 cents per line when I make very decent money at 11 to 12 cpl -- gross lines. I also get GREAT tax breaks and though I have to pay the other half of the SS self employment, I still bring home more of a dollar than working for someone else. I have also found it hard to find anybody that will subcontract to me that is truly dedicated and will work hard. (I pay 8 to 9 cents per gross line and I deliver tapes and do all the printing, pick ups and deliveries) I know that kids get sick, there are football games, etc. but this is still a job and you gotta put it first sometimes. It is hard to find anyone that will work the TAT of 20 to 24 hours by the time I get the tapes to them. Then that leaves the burden on me. So I mostly stick to my accounts that bring me in $50 to $55 per year (and this gives me my benefits) and have turned down accounts because I don't want the hassle of the IC's to me and they could be going overseas right now. But I think that the insurance companies are behind this more than the docs. When your MRI is interpreted over in India -- do you get a break on the interpretation -- no but the insurance company gets a break on what they pay out so who pockets it????
My thoughts and I am sure I will get a lot of disgreements but that is okay we are all entitled to our thoughts. Oh yea for this amount of money I do work 28 to 32 to hours per week-- just quit an in house part-time job as they wanted me at least 24 hours now, started out at 10 to 12 but the docs found out that they could make more money paying me to transcribe their tapes than to type their own notes in the EMR's even with templates. So we will be around for a while. Oh yea if I would have kept on with both jobs would have easily made $65 K but working 50 hours a week was getting to be a bit much.
Patti
IC taxes
One suggestion that I have for all of you that are questioning IC taxes is to look at your past tax refunds when you were an employee and see what percentage was withheld and do about the same. Yes there is that extra 7.5 for SS but it is also a deduction and you can look to find 7.5% of your pay as a deduction whether it be in the form of your own retirement fund, etc. When I saw that I was paying so much to the IRS, I decided that if I could afford that I could start my own retirement fund and did it. I now contribute close to $1000 to it per month. So go online, get an old copy of Turbo Tax and run off the schedule C's and see what deductions can be taken for a small business and then see what you can do to save in taxes. Look at your old tax returns and if you are married have your husband over withold if you can't do it yourself. You are not paying that much more when you work for yourself you are just in charge of paying them yourself and not allowing someone else to hold it out from your check. But look at old returns, plan, plan and plan. When you look at your net vs your gross that will tell you what percentage your employer is holding out. Either as an employee or an IC we all pay our "OWN" taxes but as an employee someone just does it for you. Good luck to all of you. Patti
TAXES~~
You get to deduct sooooo much, part of your housing, utilities, any supplies such as printer paper. Last year I made about 40,000 and once the deductions were complete, it was right at about 8000 (have kids to deduct of course so that helped)
taxes
I live in Alabama and have always been employed in Georgia. Other than the time I was an IC, we always filed both Alabama and Georgia tax, whether I did the work at home or not. My husband works in Alabama. The amount of the tax always pretty much balanced out. In fact, I usually got a refund from both states, just more for one than the other. As an IC, I only file an Alabama return, as that is where my "home business" is located, no matter where my "clients" are.
Taxes
If you are talking about tax deduction the answer is no. If you are an employee and the company is taking out your taxes, etc. you are not considered an independent contractor. If you are SELF-EMPLOYEED...then the answer would be yes.
Taxes
Maybe they do that because they don't have to pay SS, or withhold any taxes for them since they don't live here. Maybe we need to put the bug into the government's ear that they are losing out on a lot of money here by allowing them to do this and you know how the government loves money. Just a thought.
IC and taxes
Is it a pain to do taxes when you are an IC? What do you all do?
IC taxes
Go here: https://www.eftpssouth.com/Eftps/
This is for federal taxes and you can pay on a weekly, daily, monthly, etc basis. As far as expenses deductible, you really need to do some research - you can deduct all expenses related to the running of your business. Best thing to do is have a room in the home/apt totally devoted to work and you can then take that % of home as a deduction. You obviously know very little about this stuff or you wouldn't ask that question. I would suggest getting the IRS instruction booklet on home office and the one on business expenses and reading it thru thoroughly. If you are not good at this stuff, then hire someone to do your first year and learn.
IC taxes
Will do that. Thanks for your input.
taxes
They are right in that the SS is 15.7% but remember when you were working for someone they held out 7.5% from your check. Look back at your checks as an employee and see what was held out -- the only diference from being an IC is that you have to be responsible to pay the taxes and not have someone withold them for you. Also look to see what deductions you have, take those off and you pay 15.whatever of that amount in SS. It all depends on what you are making. I start out with 45K+ and pay SS on about 15K. But I have a retirement fund that I am contributing to and that takes a lot off. But if you look at your paycheck as an employee you will see that 20 to 25% is being taken out of your check and you ARE paying those, someone just makes sure it is deducted. If you husband is working as an employee (my ex-was) I had him hold out as single none and we always got something back. Either way as an employee or an an IC -- we allpay it in the end.
IC Taxes??
I have recently taken a job as an IC, this is my first IC position and I was wondering if any of you wise folks could give me some advise regarding income taxes and such.
In the past I have always used TaxCut or TurboTax for my income taxes. Is there a similar product for the 'self employed' that is as helpful? Does anyone have any experience with any of these?
Also, MUST I pre-pay taxes and/or SSI quarterly? I ALWAYS get all my taxes I pay in back in a refund and my income is essentially the same as my previous employment.
Thanks!
You actually mean net? After taxes? nm
x
taxes
Haven't started mine, but for the first time in ages, I have only one 1099! Should be pretty simple.
TAXES.
I am new to this IC tax stuff. This is my first year doing this, and I have no idea what I am in for at tax time. I only work part time, and I bring in about 350 every two weeks. Should I be paying in quarterly? Any tips for tax time? Thanks in advance for your help.
Taxes as IC
Are you married -- did you have your husband over withold to cover your taxes? Do you have receipts for any programs, computer, etc. that you bought? Do you use part of your house solely for your business? Do you use an internet service for your business, phone? You need to buy Turbo Tax or talk to an accountant if you are unsure as to what to claim and not claim. But anything that pertains to your business is deductible. Turbo Tax takes you through it step by step. Mileage to the bank to deposit, buy supplies, any business related errand is deductile. You will have to pay 15% on your NET income that is why you want as many deductions as you can get. Again, if you are married have your hubbie over withhold even if it is a certain amount of one less deduction if you have kids to cover your taxes. When you see what you owe -- if you do this year you can then divide that by how may pay periods and have him withold that much. But dig for those deductions. E-mail me with any questions.
Taxes (sm)
We used to pay a CPA at the end of the year to do our taxes, claimed all our exemptions, equipment costs, office costs (if applicable), phone, etc.,on a Sched. C for me and my husband's W2, then we both were IC's and he did two Sched. C's and all he did was give us 4 slips for next year's "estimated" tax to send in a check quarterly. If we found we were making more, we were to call him and he would adjust our quarterly payment to more, it usually worked out. If you're an employee, then it will be different, I was self-employed, helped to keep track of all expenses, postage, phone, books, etc., anything to do with my profession. Perhaps you are not an IC but this worked for us, if you have kids, then the acct. would take this into consideration. Perhaps you'll get a "surprise" refund for the "kiddos." Good Luck! Have a "fruitful" year!
Taxes
In 18 years of filing as an IC and owner, have never paid quarterly while married. Always had my husband over withold and even some years had to pay a little (under $500) but they have yet to question (knock on wood). But my income and write-offs always stay about the same, every third year a new computer, then the next a printer, then some transcribers, etc. The government does not care who or where the tax money comes from when filing as a joint return as long as they get it. You are just combining your income as if each of you had a job but you are an I/C instead and don't have someone withholding from your earnings.. I always filed electronically and had my refund within a week. Heck you can borrow the money to pay your taxes and they don't care as long as they get paid.
Patti
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