Your tagline seems even more appropriate in this situation.

All right, my mavens. Due to my change in work circumstances, I am basically now self-employed for the first time in my life. I know I need to start saving for quarterly taxes, itemize expenses, etc. Any apps or software y'all recommend for tracking? Should I formally registered myself as an LLC or something? Online resources you like?

Thanks! I'm a little worried about the additional responsibilities but I think it'll be fine.

I am the laziest self-employed person ever; every paycheck I just pull about 21%% out and throw it into a separate savings account (21% is what it generally works out for me; I'll see if I can rustle up the website I found where I worked out the calculations for that percentage).

And then I put reminder dates on my calendar to be sure to pay my quarterly taxes -- check to see if you need to pay estimated quarterly taxes to the city of NOLA or can just file in April.

That is literally all I do, but my work is super simple and I have no expenses other than a rapidly depreciating laptop.

t edit So my advice is most certainly not ALL the advice you need, but it's a decent foundation of the stuff you gotta do.

The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to find a good accountant to sit down with and have them work out what your estimated quarterly payments should be. You don't need to set up an LLC, you should be fine as a sole proprietor.

A good accountant is going to help make sure you are getting all the write offs/business losses that you can.

Start tracking your mileage. Buy a log and keep it in your car, the mileage can add up quickly and it is a great deduction when you are self employed.

Save your receipts, lots of purchases can now count as business expenses. It's hard to say specifically which ones will apply in your instance, that's why it's important to have a CPA who understands your type of work.

ND is more professional than I am, by miles. But he has a whole business, and employees, and equipment, and travel, which is far more complicated than me editing on the couch.

What I'm saying is, listen to him.

The business started as me just freelancing, and one of my biggest lessons has been the value of a CPA that I trust. It's so much better to start with a CPA when you taxes are pretty simple so that they can know how you work as your business grows.

There is also the fact that if you do get audited the IRS can look back up to 7 years, so it makes sense to have a long track record with a CPA who will be with you if that ever happens, and who will know your taxes going back quite a few years.

Good advice.

Thanks! I will look for a CPA.

You might be able to get some good information from the SBA:

[link]

Save your receipts, lots of purchases can now count as business expenses.

I was just thinking about this, as I bought $20 worth of bandaids and such.

Thanks for the link, Dana!