Guides
Plain-English walkthroughs for the money side of freelancing and side hustling.
How to pay quarterly self-employment tax
Who has to pay, when payments are due, how to calculate them, and how to actually send money to the IRS in 3 minutes.
Form 1099-K in 2026: what side hustlers actually owe
The restored $20,000 threshold, why you may still get a form below it, and how 1099-K gross differs from what you actually owe tax on.
Schedule C for gig workers: a plain-English walkthrough
Part by part: reporting income with and without 1099s, the expense lines that matter, and how net profit flows to SE tax.
DoorDash and Uber taxes: the 2026 driver's guide
Contractor status, which 1099s you get, the mileage deduction, and the quarterly payments the apps never withhold for you.
Lyft driver taxes: what to set aside and what to deduct
The set-aside habit, the gross-fares trap on your 1099-K, deadhead miles, and the deductions rideshare drivers forget.
Instacart shopper taxes: mileage, deductions, quarterlies
Full-service shoppers are contractors: which miles count, which gear is deductible, and how to stay ahead of the IRS.
Amazon Flex taxes: the block driver's guide
Why Flex sends a 1099-NEC instead of a 1099-K, which miles in a block count, and the mileage deduction that does the heavy lifting.
Grubhub driver taxes: what to set aside and deduct
Grubhub keeps no cut of your pay, so your taxable income starts at every dollar. The 1099-NEC, mileage, and the quarterly habit.
Airbnb host taxes: the 14-day rule and Schedule E vs C
When hosting income is tax-free, when it avoids self-employment tax, and when guest services change everything.
Turo host taxes: depreciation, SE tax, and Schedule C vs E
Hosting a car is a rental business. Why depreciation is your biggest deduction and the test that decides whether you owe self-employment tax.
eBay and reseller taxes: personal items vs a real business
Selling your old stuff is not a business. Reselling for profit is. The tax treatment is completely different.
Poshmark and Mercari taxes: a reseller's guide
The current selling fees, why cost of goods sold makes or breaks your return, and the line between a closet cleanout and a business.
Streamer and creator taxes: Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon
Subs, ads, tips, and sponsorships are all one business to the IRS. What creators owe and what they can deduct.
How to keep a mileage log the IRS will accept
What Publication 463 actually requires, the commuting trap for gig drivers, and the 2026 rate of 72.5 cents per mile.
The 20% QBI deduction for side hustlers
How Section 199A cuts your income tax, the 2026 thresholds, the new $400 minimum deduction, and the misconceptions that cost people money.
Hobby or business? How the IRS decides
The factors the IRS weighs, the 3-of-5-years profit presumption, and why hobby classification means tax on gross income with no deductions.
Etsy seller taxes: 1099-K, Schedule C, and sales tax
When selling becomes taxable, what Etsy collects for you under marketplace facilitator laws, and the deductions makers forget.
SEP-IRA vs Solo 401(k) for the self-employed
The 2026 contribution limits side by side, and why a Solo 401(k) usually wins below six figures of net income.
The estimated tax penalty explained (Form 2210)
It is daily-compounding interest, not a fine: the 2026 rates, the three safe harbors, and the withholding trick that cures a missed quarter.
LLC vs sole proprietorship: what changes on your taxes
For federal tax, a single-member LLC changes nothing. What an LLC actually buys you, and when the S-corp election starts to matter.
The self-employed health insurance deduction
Premiums as an above-the-line deduction, the employer-plan eligibility trap, and how it ripples into QBI and your quarterlies.
Is gig work worth it? The real 2026 take-home math
Per-platform earnings data, IRS mileage deduction math, and worked examples for Uber, DoorDash, Etsy, Airbnb, and more.
How much to charge as a freelancer
Why salary ÷ hours is wrong, and how to set rates that account for self-employment tax, benefits replacement, and realistic billable hours.