Skip to main content

#freelance

Freelance

Financial management and tax guidance for freelancers

203 postsView all tagsBack to All Posts
7 min read

Japan's Qualified Invoice System: What the October 2026 Deductibility Cut Means for Freelancers and Their Clients

On October 1, 2026, Japan's transitional 80% input-credit for consumption tax paid to unregistered suppliers shrinks — to 70% under the FY2026 tax reform taper, then 50% in 2028, 30% in 2030, and 0% by October 2031 — while the 2-wari tokurei simplified rate for newly registered small businesses expires. Here's what Japanese freelancers, small suppliers, and the buyers who rely on them should do before the deadline.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-complianceinternational-tax
7 min read

The Mega Backdoor Roth for the Self-Employed: How a Solo 401(k) Reaches $72,000 in 2026

A Solo 401(k) with voluntary after-tax contributions lets self-employed owners shelter up to $72,000 in 2026 — or $83,250 with the age-60-to-63 catch-up — by converting after-tax dollars to Roth with no income limits. Here's how the three contribution buckets work, a worked example at $150,000 of net earnings, and what your plan document must allow.

Mike Thrift

solo-401k401kretirement-planning
8 min read

Sequence-of-Returns Risk: Why the Order of Market Returns Can Make or Break Your Retirement

Two retirees with identical average returns can end up decades apart in portfolio longevity — the order of returns decides it. How sequence-of-returns risk works, why the ten-year retirement risk zone hits business owners and freelancers hardest, and five defenses including cash buffers, bucket strategies, bond tents, and spending guardrails.

Mike Thrift

retirement-savingsfinancial-planningrisk-management
7 min read

How Bookkeeping-Native Banks Like Found Automate Freelancer Tax Set-Asides — and Where They Fall Short

Freelancers owe 15.3% self-employment tax plus income tax with no automatic withholding, and skipping quarterly payments triggers IRS penalties around 7% annually. Bookkeeping-native banking apps like Found earmark 25–30% of every deposit automatically — here's what they solve, where their tax estimates break down, and why your books should live in a format you own.

Mike Thrift

freelanceself-employment-taxbanking
10 min read

Germany's Kleinunternehmerregelung in 2026: How the €25,000/€100,000 VAT Exemption Thresholds Work

Germany's Kleinunternehmerregelung (§19 UStG) exempts small businesses from charging VAT if prior-year net revenue stayed under €25,000 and current-year revenue stays under €100,000 — a hard, real-time ceiling since the 2024 reform. Here is how the thresholds, invoice wording rules, e-invoicing deadlines, and the five-year opt-out lock-in work in 2026.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-complianceinternational-tax
6 min read

New York's Freelance Isn't Free Act: What the $528,817 Splashlight Settlement Means for Businesses That Hire Freelancers

New York's DCWP fined production company Splashlight $528,817 for paying fewer than 1 in 5 freelance contracts on time. Here's what the Freelance Isn't Free Act requires — written contracts for work over $800, payment within 30 days, six years of records — and how similar laws in Illinois and California now apply nationwide.

Mike Thrift

freelancecompliancelegal
8 min read

New Zealand's GST Is Turning 40 — And Inland Revenue Just Proposed the Biggest Cleanup in Years

Inland Revenue's May 2026 "Current GST Issues" paper poses 56 questions across eight reform areas for New Zealand's 40-year-old GST Act — excluding zero-rated exports from the $60,000 registration threshold, reclassifying student accommodation as commercial dwellings, zero-rating residential solar exports, and a 5% materiality test for error correction. Here's what small businesses, freelancers, and landlords should track before draft legislation lands.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-compliancesales-tax
Start Free→Documentation