If you are anything like me, or most of the rest of the people that you know, you probably hate doing taxes. In your early years you can usually do them on your own because they are rather simple, but that changes as you get older. Once you add kids to the mix, and perhaps your own business, you are suddenly faced with something that can quickly become very complicated. If you work for yourself, you may have to file independent contractor taxes. In that case, you want to be very careful about what you do.
You are going to want to save every single receipt that might have something to do with your career when you have to file independent contractor taxes. If you have anything that can be a deduction, you had better be able to prove you spent the money if you want to claim it. Even the smallest things like pens can be deducted, but you want to have the receipt. You don?t always need it to file your taxes, but if you get audited, you are going to have to have the receipts to back up what you have claimed for expenses and deductions.
You have to know what you can claim and what you can?t claim when it comes to filing your independent contractor taxes. If you have a home office space, as many who work from home do, you do have to keep some rules in mind. Your space must be used for your work only and nothing else can be in that space. Even having pet dishes under your desk can get you into trouble. You can claim true office space by square footage. That number will be used to figure out how much of your home utility bills and even your mortgage or rent you can claim on your independent taxes forms as a deduction.
If you really don?t know what you should save and what won?t work as a deduction for your independent contractor taxes, you can always consult with someone who does taxes for a living. You can also find some great information online about what you should know. If you really feel like you are in over your head, hire someone to do your taxes for you, and save anything that you think could be remotely related. That way you know you will have what you need, even if you have to sort through it all at tax time.
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