Hey, I was wandering how some of you guys go about doing your taxes as a webmaster. This could specifically be for single programs such as adsense or specific affiliate campaigns through something like Clickbank, or combined. Even selling ad space... How do some of you go about doing this? Is it a pain or fairly simple? How do you guys go about documenting your earnings? what works best for you? What methods do you use to pay your taxes or who do you do it through? Thanks for the info and discussion in advance
I just keep track of it in paypal. When tax season rolls around, I'll just show my accountant my Paypal statistics. Should be as simple as that. Of course, don't forget to take advantage of business expenses. I'm getting $2,000 back for my laptop, which I "needed" for my business.
Ha, I do not pay for my internet, or else I would. I'm actually not writing anything else off, just the laptop. It'll help pay off the $1,500 I'll probably have in taxes by then. If you want to get creative with it, you can even write off labor costs, phone expenses, dinner dates, plane tickets, and more. I read a nice article on what you can get by with, but seemed to have misplaced it. It's definitely an art in itself.
That reminds me I've to submit that w-8 form. Btw I thought you didnt have to pay your taxes till you felt generous and nationalistic enough to do so...
A while ago I lost all my sites and domains, but just recently started online again... I was thinking about buying a new desktop (as my current one is getting old), and was wondering if I could write that off even if I'm not back to making much money online.... It would be weird if I go to H&R block next year having made like $2k online, but claiming $1k for a computer write off... Anyone try this?
But you have to do these things in order to get paid.. it's not like you can make them up... I'm lucky in my country I don't pay a penny for adsense taxes.
That's a good way to get put in jail. Although, it's tougher to catch webmasters not reporting profit than other tax crimes. That is, if you aren't transferring thousands of dollars to or from your bank account. I think you could get by with not reporting minimalistic profits. But that wouldn't be good if you were to be audited EDIT: KingofKings - You could still get by with it being a business expense even if you aren't being honest. In my case, I am. I could not do the work I am now without the mobility of a laptop.
Most of the companies that I work with report to the IRS and ask for my tax ID. They also give me a very good reporting of what money I have made over the course of the year. But some companies (overseas) do not ask for my tax ID and thus I assume they also do not report to the IRS. That's where it gets a little confusing. Am I stupid to be paying taxes on this money? (I do... I'm just wondering what others think on this issue. It has to be reasonably common...)