Practical guides on invoicing, taxes, and expenses for freelancers running their own books.
Most freelancers never charge a late fee because it feels petty over a few slow weeks. Learn how much you can legally charge, and how to write a clause that actually holds up.
Selling templates, courses, or software can put you on the hook for sales tax in states you've never visited. Most sellers still don't know the 2018 rule applies to them.
One shared account turns bookkeeping into guesswork and can undo the liability shield an LLC is supposed to give you. Here's what actually breaks when you mix the two.
A client stops paying and most freelancers assume the loss is a write-off. For a cash-basis freelancer, there's usually nothing to deduct, because the income was never reported.
This deduction lowers your income tax, not your 15.3% self-employment tax, and a profit ceiling can shrink it more than freelancers expect.
The 1099-NEC threshold jumped from $600 to $2,000 for 2026. What that changes, when a W-9 is required, and what happens if a contractor never sends one back.
Tax software applies the QBI deduction and moves on, but two hidden limits and your business type change how much of the 20% you actually keep.
Your tax software defaults to the biggest write-off it can find. The smart pick depends on next year's income, not just this year's, and the math is easy to run before you file.
The IRS 1099-K threshold bounced between $20,000, $5,000, and $600 four times since 2021. The number for 2026 is set, and it changes nothing about what you actually owe.
Retainer clients pay the same amount every month, but a hand-built invoice invites mistakes. Automate the date and the math, and it stops needing you.
Your income doesn't land in equal monthly slices, so a normal budget doesn't fit it. Three numbers, tracked every payment, turn lumpy revenue into a forecast you can trust.
The IRS raised the business mileage rate to 76 cents halfway through 2026, the first midyear change since 2022. The math and the habit that keeps you covered.
Most freelance contracts never say what happens if a client cancels halfway through. A kill fee clause fixes that before you lose weeks of work for free.
Freelancers still deduct client meals at 100% or skip the write-off out of confusion. The real rule is 50%, with tests for what counts and what the IRS wants on the receipt.
Intuit stopped selling QuickBooks Self-Employed in 2024 and moved new freelancers to a pricier plan. What the old app did, and how to choose a replacement built for one person.
Most freelancers absorb the one quick thing and eat six unbilled hours. Saying yes is fine. Send a price first, in three sentences, before the work starts.
The IRS has a set window to question your return, and your records have to outlast it. Some for three years, a few for six or seven, one kind until you sell.
Most freelancers do the whole job before seeing a dollar, then wait weeks to get paid. A deposit flips that. Here's how much to ask for and how to bring it up.
Most freelancers pick a SEP-IRA because it sounds simpler. At freelance-level income, a Solo 401(k) usually shelters thousands more from the same net profit. Here's the math.
Most freelancers default to the simplified home office method without doing the math. For real offices in real-cost cities, that choice quietly hands the IRS extra cash.
Missing a quarterly payment isn't the disaster it feels like, but pretending it didn't happen makes it worse. Here's how to limit the penalty and get back on schedule.
Most freelancers are told they need an LLC for tax reasons. The IRS disagrees. Here's what an LLC actually does, what it doesn't, and when the paperwork pays off.
Most freelancers waste hours chasing late payments. Here's a repeatable follow-up system that keeps cash flowing without the awkward emails.
Estimated taxes don't have to be stressful. Learn the deadlines, the math, and a simple system to never miss a payment.
Bad expense tracking is the most expensive habit in freelancing. These five mistakes silently eat into your bottom line every year.