Sure you can do your best to handle taxes on your own, but this seems kinda silly if you ask me. I wouldn’t try to fix my own plumbing on my own, and the tax system is a lot more complex than the maze of pipes under my sink.

Furthermore, this article isn’t about tax-breaks; in fact, it stops just short of that by making it one of the steps in the “what can you do” section – the idea of talking with a CPA is to figure out just how many tax breaks that you can get. In many cases, freelancers certainly DO have the best tax breaks in the system, but not being an expert on the matter, I can only reference that in passing. Take the advice or leave it, the article attempts to define what you owe “technically speaking”. What you do with the advice, and how you work to reduce your taxable income is totally up to you

Anyways, thanks for the comment – you’re the first person to offer up real criticism and pushback and it’s a critical part of this kind of discussion.

Cheers!

People if you follow this you’ll either get audited or end up in the poor house. No you don’t need an accountant.

Seriously save your receipts, realize as a freelancer you can nearly write off everything you do and own, if you used it in connection with your business. All your electronics, your transportation after certain miles, your food, everything.

Use TurboTax it lets you check on and off deductions like these to see how they work.

Freelance should allow you to pay some of the lowest taxes in the united states.

Another thing you pay TAXES in the country you are working, and possibly the country you are a citizen off. Not the just the country you were born in!

I know you heart is in the right place but people don’t walk away thinking taxes are cruel.

Freelancers have the best tax breaks in the world, and not using them makes you a sucker and a poor business manager.

@Kayla – yep – it’s steep, but you can do a lot (especially as a first year business) to reduce your tax rate. Contact a CPA as soon as you can to make sure that you’re doing everything that you can do now to reduce your taxes come April. It’s really not as bad as it’ll seem – but it will give you a good hard look at how much you actually need to charge to keep your young business alive. Thanks for the comment!

i work for an US company, but i’m in another country.
i get paid thru paypal, but my paypal account was open in the US.

so because of that the company and me are thinking bout me getting an ITIN for them to discount me the taxes and declare them.

will it work for them?
if i get that, i won’t be able to get those taxes later, right?

thanks for your help.