#self-employment
Learn about self-employment taxes, LLC owner compensation, and freelancer financial management
Brazil's MEI revenue cap of R$81,000 a year has been frozen since 2018. A bill sent to Congress in June 2026 would raise it to R$110,000 in 2027 and R$140,000 in 2028, and let microentrepreneurs hire two employees instead of one — a case study in how frozen tax thresholds quietly penalize small business growth.
The IRS standard mileage rate rises to 72.5 cents per mile for 2026. Here's how it compares with the actual expense method, why your first-year choice can be irreversible, and what a mileage log needs to survive an IRS audit under Section 274(d).
Online ordination doesn't make you IRS clergy — officiant fees are ordinary Schedule C income subject to 15.3% self-employment tax. This guide covers where online ordinations face county-level recognition problems (Tennessee, Virginia), what celebrants actually charge ($300–$1,000+), and why booking deposits belong on your books as liabilities until the ceremony happens.
Subscription platforms report gross earnings on Form 1099-NEC even though they keep roughly 20% as a platform fee, and adult content businesses see chargeback rates of 3-5% — well above the 1% threshold that triggers card network monitoring — making separate bookkeeping for fees, taxes, and disputes essential from day one.
How dog boarding and pet sitting businesses should track revenue by service line, reconcile Rover and Wag payouts against the $20,000/200-transaction 1099-K threshold, file 1099-NECs for sub-sitters paid $600 or more, and apply the strict exclusive-use home-office rule — the childcare daycare exception does not extend to pet care.
IFTA returns are due four times a year, and two consecutive missed filings can get an owner-operator's fuel tax license revoked. This guide covers the quarterly deadlines, the $50-or-10% late penalty, the four-year record retention rule, the audit triggers auditors actually look for, and the recordkeeping habits that keep filings painless.
NIL income is self-employment income subject to a 15.3% self-employment tax on top of ordinary income tax, and college athletes owe tax on any net NIL earnings over $400 even without a 1099, a form now only required above the 2026 threshold of $2,000.
Utah, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and West Virginia have passed portable benefits laws letting businesses fund contractor health, retirement, or PTO accounts without that contribution counting as evidence of misclassification under state law — but the safe harbor is state-only and doesn't touch federal IRS or DOL tests.
Utah, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and West Virginia now let businesses contribute to an independent contractor's portable benefit account without that contribution counting as evidence of employment. How the state safe harbors work, what Utah's 50% tax credit (up to $2,000 per contractor) covers, and how to track contributions in your books.
A freelancer earning $80,000 net self-employment income can shelter roughly $43,070 in a Solo 401(k) versus $18,570 in a SEP IRA in 2026 — the gap comes entirely from the $24,500 employee-deferral bucket that SEP IRAs don't offer.
Substack newsletter creators are self-employed under IRS rules, owe 15.3% self-employment tax on net profit via Schedule C, and receive a 1099-K only above $20,000 in gross payments and 200 transactions — though all income must be reported regardless.
Form 1099-K reports gross App Store and Google Play sales — before the 15–30% platform commission, refunds, currency conversion, and marketplace-remitted taxes — so it will never match your bank deposits. Track four numbers (gross revenue, net payout, after-tax income, real take-home) with a five-step monthly reconciliation routine.
