Tag Archives: tax incentives

10 Questions to Ask Your Freelance Tax Preparer

freelance-taxesI will NOT give tax advice here, since I’m not a tax professional. No, wait–that’s a lie. I will give ONE bit of tax advice. Don’t do your  freelance taxes yourself!

End of advice.

When I use my tax preparer or CPA, I refuse to simply hand over the paperwork and hope for the best. Some people do this, but I think they cheat themselves.

I ask a lot of questions so I can learn where I went wrong last year, what I did right, and how I can set myself up for next year with a lower tax bill and more of my money in my own bank account rather than AIG’s.

Here’s a list of questions you should ask your tax preparer–and if they don’t feel like answering your pesky questions, you’ve got the wrong tax pro. Move on and find someone willing to help you understand what you need to know. After all, we’re paying THEM, not the other way around.

Here’s a list of top ten things you should grill your tax preparer about:

10. How much can I deduct for my home office and how do I legally justify the deduction?

9. Can I deduct professional purchases like memberships in writer’s guilds, subscriptions to writing magazines, or buying research materials?

8. Under what circumstances could I deduct the cost of DVDs, CDs, and computer software? What do I need to do to be compliant with IRS regulations here?

7.  Should I depreciate my computer purchase over three years or take the whole amount for a single year? What are the advantages to doing it one way or the other?

6. What do I need to do to prove a deduction was business-related?

5. Can I deduct a new car purchase? What if it’s a company vehicle for business use only?

4. What is the difference between a business deduction and a personal deduction for self-employed people? Which should I be trying to take and when is it to my advantage?

3. Can I deduct the full amount of business equipment purchases every year? Or MUST I depreciate at some point?

2. I want to take all the deductions I am entitled to by law, but I don’t want to risk getting into hot water over gray-area deductions. How do I tread this fine line and remain on the good side of the IRS?

1. When the tax preparer has finished preparing your taxes, be sure to ask what you didn’t do well enough this year and how you can handle your finances for the following tax year to legitimately reduce the amount of tax you owe through proper deductions and tax breaks.