Tax Tips for Online Marketers
The misconception that Online Marketing is a tax free industry is basically the worst and most dangerous misconception in the market. Individuals who enter it seem to believe that just because they are generating an income and being paid through, for instance, PayPal, they don't need to pay taxes on what they generate. This isn't true! More to the point, failure to pay taxes on this income could very well land you in a lot of trouble. You don't need to freak out, though: Online Marketing taxes don't really need to be stressful. Below are great tips to aid you.
1. Secure an appointment at your local Small Business Association. Each community has a Small Business Association (typically working through a community college) that employs specialists on both starting your business and making sure that all of the details (like taxes) are handled. What's notably great is that this powerful resource is just about always without charge.
2. Keep an eye on every little thing. Let us repeat that because it is important: monitor each and every detail. Excel makes this easy. You only need one spreadsheet that will monitor all of the money you make (down to the penny) and another that will keep track of all of the money you expend (once again, down to the penny). Make sure you keep receipts and invoices for all of the money which you fork out.
3. If you've got more than enough funding, engage a professional accountant. This would allow you a little freedom in the tracking of all of your taxes and online business numbers. You tell your accountant what you've brought in and paid out (make sure you can prove this with official records) and they take care of everything else--especially during tax season.
4. Put money toward the taxes that you could owe at the end of the year. A good rule of thumb is to pay 30% of every sale. This can be accomplished every three months or even each month by making Estimated Tax Payments to the IRS. The IRS is right now set up well enough that they can take estimated tax payments from you whenever you feel like making them. This will keep you from paying a gut wrenching amount at the end of the year (which, if you haven't saved up for it, can be particularly stressful). What is even better is that if you have somehow overpaid through your estimated tax payments, you'll get a refund just like you would if you were working for a traditional company. You'll want to speak with someone at the IRS so that you can get this set up correctly.
5. Be familiar with every one of your allowed deductions. When you operate your own business lots of things like your utility payments, etc are tax deductible (as is any money you spend on business equipment or supplies). Your accountant or someone from the IRS can help you figure out what all you can write off when it is time for you to pay taxes.
It isn't all that difficult to become intimidated by the idea of paying taxes when you are a web marketer. The great news is that there are many resources to help you make sure you stick to the law and keep a healthy share of the profit you make!
Additional Links:
Internet Marketing Tax Hints
Online Marketing Tax Guidelines
Tax Hints for Internet Marketers