Comments on: Tax-Time Chat for Authors

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Sun, 05 Apr 2020 19:52:29 +0000

In reply to Bette A. Stevens. You are so welcome, Bette!

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 06:54:18 +0000

In reply to dholcomb1. I really admire and envy all you amazing record-keepers. It sounds lime you have a great system in place, Denise.

By: Bette A. Stevens

Bette A. Stevens — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 01:15:07 +0000

Thanks, Jenny!

By: dholcomb1

dholcomb1 — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 20:51:51 +0000

I give my receipts to my accountant, answer his questions, and he lets me know whether or not I can deduct or what to count. I keep thorough records.

denise

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 20:40:42 +0000

In reply to Eldred Bird. Ooooooooh. You're so so lucky!

By: Eldred Bird

Eldred Bird — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 18:43:28 +0000

I'm lucky enough to have married my tax person, so I'll be passing this post on to her!

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 17:12:15 +0000

In reply to ecellenb. I'm right there with you, Ellen! And thanks for passing on that summary - it was SO hard for this non-tax genius to write. However, it should be noted...writing articles like that helps me write off my fiction writing costs (and pay my bills). Income diversity is a blessing! :-)

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 17:11:17 +0000

In reply to Kathleen "KC" Parrish. Good for you, Kathleen! Paperwork is always the same - a clear record of income coming in and expenses going out. My best tip is to keep a receipt envelope and toss all receipts for the year into, especially cash receipts. It's astonishing how much those add up, especially if you are going to concerts or meeting your editor at Starbucks. Also, as a writer, the books you write and movies you see are education costs. Isn't that AWESOME? Keep those movie ticket stubs. :-)

By: ecellenb

ecellenb — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 16:27:25 +0000

Super helpful post!
I detest doing taxes. Thank goodness for tax programs.

The CARES act summary is brilliant! I've passed it along to the hubby, our family paperwork genius.

By: Kathleen "KC" Parrish

Kathleen "KC" Parrish — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 13:32:55 +0000

Thanks, Jenny. I wasn't ready to start writing off my expenses last year, or the years before that, but I do expect to do so this year. I'm mulling over my first book contract and am at that major fork in the road. Do I sign on with a publisher or self-publish? Is the record keeping the same either way?