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| Tax Tips for Authors |
Bigger, longer, and more of what you really
need.
EM Lynley is back sharing 2014 tax tips for authors.
“If you make money from writing, you need this book!”
– Neil Plakcy
Stymied by Schedule C? Not sure if you should take the new home-office
deduction? Wondering just how many books you can deduct, how much of that trip to
RT, or even whether your writing is a business or a hobby according to IRS rules?
The end of January means the 1099s are flying fast and furious
from publishers and distributors. Whether this is your first year filing a tax return
with writing income, or you’ve been doing it for years, chances are there’s something
you’re just not sure about and don’t know who to ask. You either guess and cross
your fingers, or decide not to deduct it, just in case.
A few years ago I was in exactly the same boat. My first novel
was published five years, almost to the day (Feb 1, 2009) and I chewed a few fingernails
those first two years of filing my own returns. I didn’t want to pay anyone to do
it for me, so I actually enrolled in 90-hour Basic Tax Course at H&R Block so
I would have all the answers to do it myself.
Now, from January to April I’m a tax preparer, and the rest of
the year I write (fiction and financial articles). I decided to meld my two halves
and write a book to help other writers get the answers you need to file your own
taxes, or at least keep better records to make the task easier for your accountant
or tax pro.
Despite the name, Tax Tips for Authors packs much more than tips
to help you keep accurate records and your tax return. I have a full walkthrough
on Schedule C, show you how to calculate estimated quarterly payments, let you know
if you need to send 1099s to anyone else, and how to prove to the IRS you are running
a business rather than a hobby.
If you self-publish, you have even more issues to think about.
If you haven’t gotten published yet, you may still have deductions coming to you.
The book is filled with examples of every type of deduction and
various scenarios,
The 3d edition (January 2014) is only available from
Amazon or my website. (Smashwords and ARE and not yet the most
up-to-date version).
A print edition is coming in mid-February. Here are the topics I cover:
- General Legal Issues
- Hobby vs. Business
- Recordkeeping Basics
- Tackling the Schedule C
- Deducting Expenses on Schedule C
- Line-by-Line Walkthrough of Schedule C
- Home-office Deduction
- Self-employment Tax
- Quarterly Estimated Tax
- Self-published Authors
- Unpublished Authors
- FAQ
Contest
Ask a tax question and be entered to win a copy of Tax Tips for
Authors. (Please do not mention any personal financial information).
DISCOUNT OFFER
Everyone here wins with a 10% off coupon for a future Tax Tips
class. We’ll cover everything in the book with extensive Q&A. Use coupon cone
RLF10FEB to register at my website: http://bit.ly/eml-taxclass.
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