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I know I am not the first one to bring this up by any means, but it’s really bugging me. I have done OK this year with my freelancing. It hasn’t been too much work where I am enslaved completely, but enough to help with the bills around the house. Supporting a stay-at-home mom and two kids burns money faster than I could ever imagine. So most of what I have made has been burned away, and nothing has been paid toward taxes. I know it will be a lot, but how much? A headline caught my eye (Extremely Important Tax Rules for Designers in the United States, at In The Woods [an rss I watch]) and basically kicked me in the butt to look into this before I am sitting down filling out my 1040.
With the year winding down, I am thinking about my tax return for this year and how my added freelance-earned money may effect it. Well as I have read into it, it will effect it a lot! One helpful article I found on the matter is, Taxes and Freelancing at About.com. This article coverd much of the basics and has some good pointers on getting organized and what information you will want for filling out Schedule C on your tax return. The article supplied better information the the In The Woods one.
So, sure that is a bit of a pain, a lot more to organize and keep track of, but one of the biggest part of the pain is Self-Employment Tax. What is Self-Employment tax, well in a nutshell its the Social Security and Medicare taxes you pay on any net profits you have.
The Self-Employment tax is 15.3% — Social Security Tax is 6.2% and Medicare Tax is 1.45%. Wait you say, that only comes to 7.65%, and you are correct, though since you are self employed, you must pay the employee and employer portion of the tax. 7.65% times two is 15.3%. For those of you who are a bit curious yes, if you are a W2 employee you pay 7.65% in Social Security and Medicare taxes. Please note, in 2009 Social Security tax is only paid on the first $102,000 subject to Social Security tax. I am sure this will play into your Self-Employment tax number too, though I don’t know for sure. I can speak more to this once I go through it next February and if I make it over that amount
Please realize, I am not a tax accountant or CPA nor do I play one on TV. The information written here is solely based on my readings and limited experience. Consume it at your own risk.
It feels a bit strange seeing the one plus terabyte drives roll out to the market. It reminds me a lot of when the one plus gigabyte drives came out. It all really seems the same: sizes, pricing, amazement.
I look at some drives sitting around my desk; removed some time ago do the the plowing of a machine (I prefer a new hdd over erasing a current one). I look at a drive, 80GB hmm, that seems small. Really, did I just think that–yes I did. Simply because the 500GB drive I have installed now has plenty of space on it. This is no different than when it was 80MB drive and I had that first 720 MB drive in my main machine. This all really has the same smell.
Funny, even though I balked at that 80GB drive, I plugged it in to load up my Windows 7 beta. You know what, there was more than enough room for Win7, VS2010, Office 2007, etc.
What are we doing with all this extra space we have on these drives?
Take control of your social network, don’t let your social network take control of you!
I remember spending much of my pre-teen and teen years flipping and drooling in the once defacto electronics guide, The Radio Shack Catalog. No always the best products, but it sure had everything.
I have been introduced to a website archiving all of these great catalogs, and it’s been fun looking at all those products again. I am amazed at how many I still have; which still work!
http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/
The TRS-80, one of the first computers I fiddled with. STA-7 stereo receiver, which is still in use today. Liner tracking turntable. Chronomatic 248 clock radio (introduced in the 1986 catalog).
What items do you still have and use? What items do you remember the most?
Can’t believe I just turned 40.
That was quick
I Really hate chain eMails, I really do…
You know what I am going to say next, “but this one…”
Well your correct, not sure where the guy got 85B from, but it sure would pump some money back into the system. The only problem with it is that most Americans, unfortunately, are not responsible enough to pay off their debts. They would think they were rich and fall further into debt. You see this happen all the time with lottery winners. How great will it be if it really did happen?!?
I would love to pay of my house and purchase a new motorcycle. You know, I wouldn’t pressure my employer for such a large raise anymore either. Without my mortgage, my family will be able to build our wealth again without raising costs on my employer. Hmmm
By the way, if you know who originally wrote this, please let me know so I may give credit where it’s due!
OK, I really do hate chain eMails, I really do, and still do. I should of never posted this without checking at least the numbers. Pfft, I am ashamed.
So 85,000,000,000 / 200,000,000 = 425; not 425,000. So $425 per person is more like the current administrations attempt to spark the economy, which basically I used to buy groceries.
This idea sounds just crazy enough to possibly work, so naturally it won’t
be given serious consideration. How great is our government??
Hi Pals,
I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.
Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve
It Dividend.
To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bona-fide U.S.
Citizens 18+.
Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child.
So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..
So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00.
My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.
Of course, it would NOT be tax free.
So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.
Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.
But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.
A husband and wife has $595,000.00.
What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved.
Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads
Put away money for college – it’ll be there
Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Buy a new car – create jobs
Invest in the market – capital drives growth
Pay for your parent’s medical insurance – health care improves
Enable Dead-beat Dads to come clean – or else
Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who
lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting
back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.
If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it…instead of
trickling out a puny $1,000.00 ( ‘vote buy’ ) economic incentive that is
being proposed
by one of our candidates for President.
If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U S
Citizen 18+!
As for AIG – liquidate it.
Sell off its parts.
Let American General go back to being American General.
Sell off the real estate.
Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.
Here’s my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t.
Sure it’s a crazy idea that can ‘never work.’
But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!
How do you spell “Economic Boom”?
I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion.
We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington
DC.
And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5
Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.
Can you imagine what might happen if the bailout, $700 billion was given as
a We Deserve It Dividend?
Rest in peace Paul Newman, thank you very much for entertaining us so well for so long. You will be missed.
I really don’t understand it; why in the world has gasoline gone up 35 cents within the last week? Sure you are going to say, because of Ike; but Texas contains 20% of our refining equipment, and there isn’t any shortage of fuel right now. So, you say, because of Ike, there it’s very probable there will be a shortage. Phooey, enough of that one. Gasoline is so important it affects the prices of absolutely every thing else we do in this world (I mean, oil is the worlds currency after all) . Gasoline price should not be based on probabilities, but actualities. The only people benefiting from probabilities is the gas and oil companies. They are having record quarters, quarter after quarter and are still allowed to rape the public, quarter after quarter. It’s not about the price as a whole, it is what it is; what I don’t understand is the wild price increases every time someone farts next to a refining plant. The prices always shoot up wicked fast, but come back down much more cautiously.
What am I missing, can anyone tell me? Why are there mad changes in price when it does nothing to control supply and demand? You can raise the gas to $7 a gallon tomorrow, and I will still have to fill up my vehicle so I can go to work. The transportation companies will still fill there tanks, too. There is no choice in the matter, the fuel necessary and nobody can change that today.
By the way, does the government still give the oil/gas companies tax breaks and other spiffs?
Big day in our family today; I have disassembled my childrens crib for the last time. They are both now sleeping in regular beds. Well the younger one is in a firetruck bed, not sure if that would be considered normal?
Oh, but it feels sooooo good. It’s only the second week of June and we had to turn out A/C on already; mostly so everyone will get a good night’s sleep. It’s really, really humid here in Chicago, so much so everything is sticking together. I don’t mind it so much, but anyone with kids knows, let them get a good nights sleep, or everyone will be miserable. I am actually beginning to miss having the windows in the house. It seems it’s too cold from winter, and spring. Then before you know it, it’s 85 and 73% humidity.
Oh well.
