Guides
The things nobody explains until you need them
17 guides on tax, structure, records and money for people whose income is not fully withheld. Each one answers the question and does not require an account.
Tax
Tax
9 min read
Quarterly taxes, explained for a first-year freelancer
What quarterly estimated tax is, who has to pay it, the four deadlines, how to work out each amount, and what actually happens if you miss one.
Read the guide7 min read
Self-employment tax, and why your first bill is double what you expected
What the 15.3% actually is, why it is charged on 92.35% of profit, how a job changes it, and what reduces it.
Read the guide10 min read
Schedule C, line by line
What the main expense lines are for, which ones are most often used wrongly, and why the line an expense lands on matters more than the category you called it.
Read the guide9 min read
Year-end tax moves for the self-employed: what has to happen by 31 December
Which year-end moves only count if made by 31 December 2026, which can wait until the return, and the rules behind equipment, a solo 401(k), timing, and New York’s PTET.
Read the guide7 min read
The 15 January estimated payment: do you have to make it, and how much
When the last 2026 estimated payment is due, who has to make it, how the safe harbors set the amount, the file-early exception, and how to pay, federal and New York.
Read the guideMoney
Money
6 min read
How much of each payment to set aside for tax
Why the usual rules of thumb are wrong in both directions, what actually drives the number, and how to keep the reserve honest as the year moves.
Read the guide6 min read
Budgeting when every month is different
Why monthly budgets fail on variable income, what to do instead, and how a tax reserve fits alongside an emergency fund rather than competing with it.
Read the guideBusiness structure
Business structure
8 min read
LLC or S-corp: two different questions people ask as one
An LLC is a legal wrapper and an S-corp is a tax election. What each one actually changes, when the election saves money, and what it costs to run.
Read the guide7 min read
The S-corp election deadline, and what to do if you missed it
How the Form 2553 deadline is counted, when a new business’s clock starts, who signs, where it goes, what the IRS sends back, and the late-election relief.
Read the guide8 min read
Forming an LLC or a corporation in New York
What it costs to form an LLC or a corporation in New York, the LLC publication requirement, the paperwork after filing, and electing S-corp with the state.
Read the guide7 min read
How much salary an S-corp owner should pay themselves
What the IRS means by reasonable compensation, how to arrive at a figure you can defend, what happens when it is too low, and how it works with two owners.
Read the guide5 min read
What New York LLC publication costs, county by county
What the publication requirement is, why the price swings so much by county, estimated ranges for the larger counties, and how to keep the cost down.
Read the guide7 min read
What an S-corp costs to run each year
Every recurring cost of an S-corp, with New York’s own pieces, and how to set them against the payroll tax the election saves.
Read the guide8 min read
S-corp owner payroll: what to fix before 31 December
A December checklist for an S-corp owner on payroll: reasonable salary, distributions and basis, shareholder health insurance, the January filings, and cash on pay day.
Read the guideRecords
Records
7 min read
Tracking business expenses so the deduction actually holds
The difference between a charge and a deduction, the $75 receipt line, what mileage records have to contain, and why reconstructing it later does not work.
Read the guide6 min read
What an accountant actually needs from you
The handover that makes a return cheap and quick, what makes it expensive, and why a folder of receipts is the worst version of both.
Read the guide7 min read
1099-NEC for contractors you paid in 2026: who gets one, and by when
The new $2,000 threshold, who does and does not get a 1099-NEC, W-9s and backup withholding, the 2027 due date, and how to file.
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