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Can someone recommend me a book about taxes

Taxes and regulation

rsj

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Hey guys, This year i got fired from my job(best thing that ever happened) and i started doing contracting work, I am going to have a 1099 when i file for taxes. I don't know anything about taxes, so can someone recommend me some books that i can listen to to learn some basics also any tips would be appreciated!
 
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CareCPA

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Hey guys, This year i got fired from my job(best thing that ever happened) and i started doing contracting work, I am going to have a 1099 when i file for taxes. I don't know anything about taxes, so can someone recommend me some books that i can listen to to learn some basics also any tips would be appreciated!
The cliffnotes version is:
You will pay taxes at 15.3% for self-employment, plus your income tax rate for federal. Half of that SE tax is deductible in figuring your adjusted gross income.
I'm assuming from your profile you're in Florida, so no need to worry about state taxes.

You will want to make quarterly estimated tax payments to the IRS, both to avoid a penalty, and to avoid having to write a large check at tax time. Most people do not keep large amounts of cash in the bank, and scramble when it's time to make this payment.

Make sure you keep track of any money you spend for this job, and anything you use in this job (i.e. cell phone, mileage, etc). These can be partially or fully deducted from your earnings depending on the specific item/expense.
 

JAJT

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Laughingman21

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I'm UK based, but if your tax rules are any where near as complicated as they are here, I'd speak to an accountant. If you're lucky, they may even pay for themselves in savings they might find you (if you're lucky)
 

AgainstAllOdds

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I'd speak to a tax attorney or CPA. Screw reading books about tax law.

I understand your sentiments of outsourcing paperwork to an accountant, but every entrepreneur should have at least some understanding of taxes. Reading a book on tax law should be a minimum requirement for anyone that wants to acquire wealth.

@rsj I can't recommend a specific book, but take a look at textbooks form the past year. They should give you a solid understanding of taxes and how they really work.

Taxes are not something that you should brush off as an afterthought. It's something that should go into your business and life planning.

Unlike other tasks that you can "outsource", taxes make up a huge portion of your revenue. For a lot of people it's between the 20% to 60% mark. That's F*cking huge, and can have a tremendous impact on your life.

Let me give you an example of how studying tax law can help you:

Myself and a handful of other members on this forum are familiar with the "Foreign Earned Income Exclusion" which basically gives you an exemption on the first $102,000 that you make - as long as you're living outside of the country 11 months out of the year. Knowing that piece of information, we can travel the world, blow money on nice hotels, dinners, plane tickets, etc., and live a great life overseas for cheaper than the cost of paying taxes in the U.S.

This is just one example.

There's countless examples like this one that fit your business in different ways and allow you to exponentiate growth and maximize wealth.

End of the day, how much money you have is not what you made pre-tax, but post-tax. Learning about taxes and studying the subject matter is just smart business and essential to maximizing your wealth.

Yeah, it won't make you a better "entrepreneur", but it will make you a much better wealth creator.
 

G-Man

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You will want to make quarterly estimated tax payments to the IRS, both to avoid a penalty, and to avoid having to write a large check at tax time.
They'll let you get away with not making quarterly estimated SE payments for the first calendar year. You just pay at tax time. If you do it two years in a row, there's a penalty. Ask me how I know :rofl:
 
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JAJT

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I understand your sentiments of outsourcing paperwork to an accountant, but every entrepreneur should have at least some understanding of taxes. Reading a book on tax law should be a minimum requirement for anyone that wants to acquire wealth.

I totally get what you mean, but to be clear, my sentiment isn't "outsource the paperwork".

Rather, my sentiment is "Utilize professionals and experts in your field that you trust to give you the best possible legal and accounting advice for your evolving situation".

My accountant isn't someone I throw numbers at so they can file them away properly.
The accounting firm I use is part of my "business team" that I utilize to answer questions I have and to inform me preemptively on situations that apply to me.
Same with the law firm I use.

In your example - I would be sitting down with a tax lawyer and accountant and saying "this is how I do business, what do I need to know? How can I structure this? Is how I'm operating in my best interests? What might apply in the near future that I should watch out for?"

That's when things like exemptions I didn't know about come up.
Or laws I didn't know existed come into play.

I'm not preaching ignorance - just acknowledging that legal and taxation are highly specialized fields beyond my comprehension and ones where I fear that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing", if you get my meaning. I'd rather assume nothing, get the consultation about the situation, and then armed with the information I'm provided choose how much more research may be required, if any.

Of course I like knowing enough to know I'm not being screwed by professionals, or that the advice I'm being given "smells right", which is important, but other then that I fully acknowledge that I'm simply out of my element in those fields.
 

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