It is tax time for those of us in the U.S.A.
It the Love family house hold, it is a time of darkness and dismay. It is especially torturous for me (Jason Love), as I have to go over my books, see how much money I am going to have to pay this year, cry a little, then hand the tear stained paper work over to my accountant.
I figure writing a blog post on taxes for webcomic creators would allow this day to feel more productive. So, I am taking a break from fishing receipts out from under my car seat to share with you my tax experiences.
Disclaimer
I am required to say that I am not an accountant or a lawyer. My experience is specifically mine and not in anyway meant to be taken as advice. We are all in different states and different times with different situations. For answers to your questions or to ensure you do your taxes properly, please consult a professional.
Sales Tax
Sales tax is something you need to look into for your state or the state you are selling in.
To be honest I would talk to a accountant about this because I am currently trying to figure it all out myself. There are rules for buying and selling online, rules for sellers who are in specific states, and it is really all very confusing. With such a large number of sales going in e-commerce, laws are changing quickly and personally I find sales tax to be really confusing.
Taxing my Income and The government’s piece of the pie
Income tax on the other hand is a lot simpler.
As a sole proprietor I just take the following steps:
- Collect all my receipts, bank statements, invoices, mileage journal, etc.
- Categorize all the expenses
- Add up each category as an expense total
- Add up all the income
- Send the totaled expense categories numbers, income numbers, mileage, family information, and any other paper work that seems relevant to my account.
From there he lets me know how much I owe and I am done!
Luckily I am in a low income bracket so my percent is lower, but it is an annoying process nonetheless and some times it’s a struggle to pay the total taxes if it has been an especially profitable year.
I will eventually hire a freelance bookkeeper to keep track of all my expenses and incomes. This is still dreadful because I have to pay the government, but at least it will not cause me two – three days of going over my records to ensure I didn’t forget to include something important.
Back to the grind
Now it’s time to get back to this pile of receipts on my desk. I would love to hear if anyone out there has any tips or tricks that make your tax time run smoother. Please leave your responses in the comment section below.
Also, if you haven’t yet, check out the newest update for the madman of magic comic book at http://www.madmanofmagic.com/chapter1/
