Oh yes it is that time of year again. Tax time. I personally love this time of year because clearly I am insane. Honestly, I stay insanely organized all year so it doesn’t freak me out come January when the forms come in the mail and panic sets in for most. Today I want to share my tips for blogger taxes and the things that you should know and be doing. These tips will not only help you right now when it’s time to get taxes together, but they will help you feel prepared in the years to come. Note I am not an accountant. I have an accountant I have been working with for seven years and these are tips that she has helped me with and that I have learned make a blogger’s life a lot easier. So I am no expert! Just wanted to put that out there!
- Stay Organized All Year: I keep a blog finance tracker in my Google Drive. It’s a pretty simple spreadsheet. It tells me what product I am doing a sponsored post for, is it direct or through a blog network, what I am promising them (blog post, social media, etc), how much I am getting paid, and then when I got paid. This is not only great for tax purposes, but this is great too for knowing what you are bringing in. Another great way to stay organized during the year is if you are traveling for blogging (conferences, blog trips, etc you are keeping receipts for everything you spend).
- Things You Didn’t Know You Could Write Off: I will sing the praises of my accountant to the day I die for pointing out very obvious things I could be writing off that I was not. For instance, if you are making money from your blog and you are blogging in your home or apartment you can write off a portion of your rent/mortgage. You can also write off your internet, electric bill, phone bill, etc. Anything you are using that contributes to you making money from your blog. Do you meet people at Starbucks and talk blogging? I do ALL THE TIME. So I write those coffees off. Do you blog full time? Do you buy K-cups? K-cups are an office supply AKA write it off! Did you buy a new laptop? iPad? Planner this year? All write offs. I could go on and do an entire post about this, but guys just really think about it. You can write so much off. Did you pay for a blog design? Facebook advertising? Spend money on giveaways to promote your blog? All write offs! Obviously your accountant will tell you if you are wrong on something. For instance, buying clothes for blog posts not a write off. Makeup however is if you are a beauty blogger. It’s tricky. So ask your accountant.
- What to bring with you: Last year was the first year Andrew and I did our taxes together while he has a normal office job and just brought his paperwork for that. I had my student loan forms (interest on student loans is a write off), all of my 1099’s from brands I have worked with and blog agencies. I also had a LONG list of write off’s some listed above. We bought our house this year so we will be bringing all of that information as we get a tax credit woohoo! I keep a massive file folder with sections and section everything off. That way it’s easy for our accountant to make her way through blogger taxes and the nightmare they can be! Don’t forget to bring any stocks, savings, and mutual fund information!
- Where do you start? I personally use an accountant. For the past seven years I have been going to the same place in DFW and I found them honestly one day driving past their office. I called, they were nice, and it’s been a beautiful relationship ever since. There are things you can use like Turbo Tax, but for someone like me with tons and tons of forms and accounts that’s too complicated. However, it’s what Andrew used when he filed only his own taxes. Google is your friend, so is Yelp, just look for accountants in your area and shop around for the ones with good deals.
Don’t let blogger taxes scare you. I promise it’s not as scary as it sounds. The first year was horrifying for me because I was very ill prepared. Ever since it gets easier and easier. Now is the time to start getting organized. I love getting my taxes done as early as possible because waiting until April is not a good idea. Plus, the sooner you file the sooner that nice refund comes into your bank account.
Please let me know if I left anything out!
Do you like this post? Please LIKE it on Bloglovin too!
These tips were so helpful! I haven’t really ever tried to earn money blogging in all my years doing it, but I’m finally giving it a shot and I know that, if I’m successful, these tips will be so incredibly helpful next year.
Oh my gosh I had NO idea I could write all of that off! Thank you so much for sharing this. As I’m planning on started to monetize my blog this year, this is really great advice to keep in mind in my future taxes.
These are great tips! I’m hoping I can utilize them next year! 🙂
Yes, I love this post. I’ve worked from home for over 10 yrs and the tax write offs from my home business has helped me stay in business.
Neely- THANK YOU FOR THIS POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m keeping this saved away. Honestly blogging taxes scare the hell out of me because this is the first year I had my blog, thus making an income. I’ve been literally dreading it all year. I’ve always done my taxes myself through Turbo but this makes me think maybe I should hire an accountant….or at least look into it. Not sure how expensive they are but I really don’t want to make mistake. Plus, they know their stuff! I had no idea I could write off things like coffee or buying a laptop. I actually just bought a new laptop so that’s good news!!!
Awesome, thank you so much for this! I haven’t gotten to the point where I’m making money yet, but like you, I am a huge fan of being prepared and organized.
This is insanely helpful. Thank you so much!
Great information. Thanks
REALLY?! It’s already that time of year… AGAIN? ha!
Yay !!!! So glad I saw this thanks so much I would have never thought !! Laci
Wow, this post was so helpfuly! I’m not at the point where I make money from blogging yet, but when I do – this is going to come in handy. Thanks!
xx Lauren
It’s definitely a great point! I sometimes think that since I’m not a “big blogger” (whatever that means) that I don’t “deserve” write-offs for blog related things even though I DO make money from my blog…my dad has always been my accountant but after taking a BIG fundraising tour between 2014 and 2015, I hired an accountant to do my taxes and it feels so much scarier then my dad doing it, even though I know the accountant knows what he’s doing and will be sure I’m getting the write offs that I need and deserve!
Um. I totally needed this post! Pinned and sent to my husband :). Thanks so much for sharing, this is a huge help!
Erin, Attention To Darling Blog
http://www.attentiontodarling.com
I never thought about this! I am still too small of a blogger to have much to worry about but hopefully I will need these tips next year! xoxo, Jessie
https://citybelles.wordpress.com
I didn’t keep track of things as well as I should have last year for my fiction writing (which I finally earned an income on) and blogging. Luckily, all of my earnings and expenses were pretty small last year, but I’m determined to keep better track from the start this year so that I don’t have as much work when tax season rolls around to put it all together like I did this year. 🙂
Taxes make me nervous! Especially as a blogger. But these tips have calmed my nerves down a ton! Thank you so much for sharing these!
I’m not quite at this level yet, but I’m hoping 2016 will be the year I start bringing in some extra cash from blogging! I’m also hyper-organized all year long, so I’m sure these tips would be great to have on hand throughout the year in case I need to come back to this post 🙂
Bless this post! I was wondering about this because I completely forgot about taxes. So helpful!
I’m so glad I read this! Great information, thank you!
These tips are amazing! Such great information, I’m always so surprised by the things you can write off for businesses. It’s great. xx Merisa | Monogrammed Magnolias
This is insanely helpful for new bloggers(and soon to be college grads who have never filed taxes in their lives before haha). Since we are also both from Dallas do you mind giving us the name of the tax office you use? Thank you! <3
P.S I love your blog!
Great tips!
I kept track of my blogger income this year with a spreadsheet in google drive also.
xoxo, Jenny
How do you know if you have to file taxes on your blog? I get products for free or discounted in exchange for reviews. Does that mean I have income coming in?
Hey girl I tried to respond and answer your question but it bounced back
Misspelled email address, sorry.
[email protected]
This is such a helpful post for newbie bloggers. Thanks for sharing these great tips 🙂
This is great. First year as a full-time blogger. This will be really helpful. Thank you! I did not know clothes for shots were not a write off!
Seriously great tips! I am definitely saving this!!
So many great tips! I’m terrified to do my taxes this year. It’s the first year I’ll be doing them for my blog and it’s so scary haha I’m definitely saving this for future reference!
Such great tips, thank you for sharing!
This post is GREAT. I was definitely trying to figure out what expenses I could write off for my blog, so thank you so much because this is super helpful and will also help me be better organized this year
Such good information! I didn’t realize you could write off electric bills! I’ll need to look into that a little bit more!
I haven’t monetized yet but I’m hoping to in this next year. I will definitely be coming back to this because I’m sure I’ll need to start remembering all this! Thanks for these tips!
Pinning this! Thanks for sharing 🙂
XO
Kara
Great tips, thanks for sharing! I definitely need to get better about keeping track of things throughout the year. I think it’s time I put in a call to my accountant too!
This is great! I just started my blog this year and I want to make sure I’m keeping track of everything to make taxes easier. This was so incredibly helpful! Thank you!
Great tips! In my former career, I was always looking at taxes and it is really amazing what you can write off. Honestly, it is one of the best parts of being self-employed.
These are great tips. As this industry continues to grow, the IRS will certainly be watching more closely!
Thank you for sharing all of your tips! Tax season seems a bit daunting for my first year making money from my blog, but this helps to put me a bit more at ease.
xx, Emily from Something Gold, Something Blue
I’m not quite ready for taxes yet because I don’t really make any money, but these are great tips for when I do. We also use an accountant to do our taxes. She’s found us so many credits and things we never knew we could claim. Totally worth it!
This was so helpful!! I’m hoping I can put these tips to use next year!