#self-employment
Learn about self-employment taxes, LLC owner compensation, and freelancer financial management
GitHub Sponsors issues a 1099-NEC above $600, Patreon's 1099-K only triggers past the OBBBA-restored $20,000/200-transaction threshold, and Open Collective's fiscal host absorbs the paperwork entirely — a platform-by-platform breakdown of sponsorship tax reporting and the hobby-vs-business test that determines self-employment tax.
A 2026 bookkeeping playbook for solo and small residential cleaning operators — ASC 606 deferred revenue on recurring plans, OBBBA tip deductions up to $25,000, W-2 vs 1099 ABC-test pitfalls, care/custody/control insurance, and the KPIs that predict retention.
OBBBA Section 71308 and IRS Notice 2026-05 let you pair a Direct Primary Care membership of up to $150/month per adult ($300 family) with an HSA starting January 2026, reclassify all Bronze and Catastrophic marketplace plans as HSA-eligible, and make the telehealth pre-deductible safe harbor permanent. Here is how freelancers, solo S-corp owners, and small employers should stack DPC, marketplace coverage, HSAs, and QSEHRA/ICHRA reimbursements without double-dipping.
The enhanced premium tax credits expired January 1, 2026, restoring the 400% FPL cliff. This guide walks self-employed filers, S-corp owners, freelancers, and early retirees through the 2026 applicable percentage schedule, MAGI levers like Solo 401(k), SEP-IRA, HSA, and Section 162(l), and Form 8962 reconciliation strategies to avoid five-figure repayments.
Independent ski and snowboard instructors juggle W-2 resort wages and 1099 private lesson income across a 120-day season. This guide covers OBBBA tip deductions, Section 179 gear write-offs, ASC 606 lesson revenue timing, worker classification under AB5, PSIA-AASI deductible expenses, and the KPIs that separate $80K careers from $35K seasons.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made Section 199A permanent, added a $400 minimum deduction for active small-business owners starting in 2026, and widened the joint phase-in range to $150,000. A field guide to the three QBI tiers, wage tuning, UBIA, aggregation, and SSTB positioning for pass-through owners.
How independent doulas should structure their books — allocating prepaid birth packages across performance obligations, classifying backup doulas correctly, handling HSA/FSA and Medicaid payment pathways, and reading the KPIs that predict whether a perinatal practice is actually sustainable.
How solo and multi-inspector home inspection firms should structure their books — entity choice, ASC 606 revenue recognition for buyer-side and pre-listing reports, Section 179 deductions for thermal cameras and Part 107 drones, sub-inspector classification, and the KPIs that predict three-year survival.
How independent pet sitters and dog walkers should book Rover and Wag 1099-K income, deduct mileage at the IRS 2026 rate of $0.725 per mile, structure care-custody-and-control insurance, classify sub-walkers under the ABC test, and track visits-per-sitter-per-day as the core profitability KPI.
A practical bookkeeping guide for solo Registered Piano Technicians and small tuning shops, covering ASC 606 revenue recognition across home tunings, rebuilds, and concert hall contracts, plus Schedule C deductions, Section 179, care-custody-control insurance, and the operational KPIs that drive a profitable practice.
A practical bookkeeping guide for solo court reporters and stenographers — covering per-page transcript revenue, ASC 606 recognition of appearance fees and copy sales, Section 179 deductions for stenotype writers, multi-state tax nexus, and the KPIs (pages per workday, effective hourly rate, DSO) that separate six-figure practices from break-even ones.
How freelance translators, court interpreters, and small LSPs should structure their books — entity choice, CAT-weighted revenue, ASC 830 FX accounting, ABC-test worker classification, multi-state nexus, and the KPIs that actually drive per-word yield.
