From Fast Company — Samantha Cole writes about the tax deductions available to freelancers and self-employed workers. In general, freelancers and self-employed workers can deduct expenses for a home office, equipment, software, office suppliers and travel expenses if they are clearly distinct from personal expenses. Samantha writes:
FREELANCE, SELF-EMPLOYED, OR WORKING FROM HOME?
You’re employed with a company but on a freelance contract. Or you’re working several jobs and manage your own clients—or you’ve hired a few extra hands to help run things. With working lives getting more and more complex as roles shift to become more flexible, the first question you might be asking yourself is, What am I?
For the sake of filing for deductions, it doesn’t matter that much, says Mark Steber, chief tax officer of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. “Freelancers or self-employed individuals have the same rules as those that work from home for their employer’s convenience,” he says. “The only difference is where the deduction is claimed.” Freelancers and self-employed use Schedule C for deductions, and contracted employees claim as part of a miscellaneous itemized deduction on Schedule A.
WHAT CAN I CLAIM?
If only work and personal time could stay as separate as deductions in a freelancer’s life. As a general rule, work-related items and personal items have to stay completely separate in order to claim them as deductions. More details:…
Read the full story at The Freelancer’s Guide To The Complicated Mess Of Tax Deductions
