The Tax Man Cometh

Currently Reading - Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn

Total word count for yesterday - 1,108

Warning: The following cannot be construed as legal advice.

Tax season is closing in on us. If you're persuing a writing career like me, those business deductions add up, but the trick is treating your writing career LIKE A BUSINESS!

That means keep accurate records. Because of various business ventures, DH and I have a fabulous accountant named Ed. I understand not everyone can cough up the moola for an accountant, but that doesn't mean you can't keep your ducks lined up. We use Quicken, an easy to use and affordable software package.

Label your receipts and keep them in a safe place. Better yet, scan them and keep the digital info off site, like a safe deposit box.

Keep a log of pitches, queries and submissions. I have an Excel spreadsheet for each novel, showing who has queries, partials or fulls, the date I sent them, the date of the response, and what the response was.

Little things like this will avoid major trouble with the IRS.