Commuting vs. Business Mileage: When Your Drive Is Deductible and When It Never Is
Home-to-work driving is never deductible, but a qualifying home office or temporary site flips the same miles to IRS business mileage at 76 cents each.
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Self-Employment
Learn about self-employment taxes, LLC owner compensation, and freelancer financial management
The Kill Fee Clause Every Freelancer Contract Needs
A fair kill fee is 25% before kickoff or completed work plus 25–50% of the rest mid-project — and every retained dollar is Schedule C income.
Tarot Reader and Astrologer Bookkeeping: Per-Reading Rates, Party Pricing, and Fortune-Telling Laws
Four states ban paid fortune-telling and Massachusetts requires a license. Price tarot readings and parties, track cash, and meet IRS quarterly tax rules.
Doula Business Bookkeeping: How to Bill State Medicaid as a Fee-for-Service or Group NPI Provider
Medicaid reimburses doulas in 26 US states — get paid by matching Type 1 and Type 2 NPIs to claim fields, contracting every MCO, and aging receivables.
Loan-Out Corporations for Actors and Performers: How Getting Paid Through Your Own Company Works
A loan-out corporation restores the business-expense deductions the IRS permanently denies W-2 performers — at $3,000 to $6,000 a year to run.
You Won a Hackathon (or a Sweepstakes, or a Car): How the IRS Taxes Prize Winnings and the One Legal Way to Refuse One
US prize winnings are ordinary income at fair market value — report them on Schedule 1 even when no 1099-MISC arrives under the 2026 $2,000 threshold.
The October 15 Countdown: An Extended Filer's 2026 Guide to Penalties, Safe Harbors, and Last-Chance SEP-IRA Funding
File by October 15 and the IRS failure-to-file penalty — 5% a month, ten times the failure-to-pay rate — stops; it is also the last day to fund a 2025 SEP-IRA.
IRS Free File Survived While Direct File Didn't: Your 2026 Guide to Filing Free
IRS Free File is open to AGI of $89,000 or less for 2026, and Direct File is gone. Start at IRS.gov or your free return quietly becomes a paid one.
Mobile Mechanic Bookkeeping: Van Build-Out vs. Lease, Parts Markup, and Pricing the Trip Charge
A $125 posted labor rate falls to $94 once drive time counts. Price the trip charge by zone, tier parts markup, and claim Section 179 on a 6,000-lb van.
Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android: Take Cards With No Terminal — and What It Really Costs
Tap to Pay skips the $59 reader but still pays 2.6–2.7% card-present rates; a per-tap surcharge and the IRS 1099-K decide whether phone-only actually wins.
The Workers' Comp Ghost Policy: A COI With No Employees to Cover
A workers' comp ghost policy covers nobody — it buys the COI a general contractor demands for $750–$1,200 a year. Who qualifies, and what the audit checks.
Billable Expense Income Done Right: How to Invoice Client Pass-Throughs Without Overpaying (or Underpaying) Tax
Client reimbursements are gross income on Schedule C, and most states tax them even at zero markup — bill and book pass-throughs correctly.