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Guides for freelancers on taxes, expenses, and staying organized.
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Schedule C
See all 54 posts →Every Schedule C line item explained — deductions, limits, and documentation rules for freelancers filing in 2026.
2026-06-11
Statutory Employee on Schedule C: What the W-2 Box 13 Checkbox Means for Your Taxes (2026)
A statutory employee gets a W-2 with Box 13 checked but reports that income on Schedule C — the rare best-of-both-worlds tax status. Learn which four job categories qualify (commission drivers, full-time life insurance salespeople, home workers, and traveling salespeople), why statutory employees skip self-employment tax while still deducting business expenses on Schedule C, how to fill out the Line 1 statutory employee checkbox, why this income needs its own Schedule C separate from other freelance work, and how the QBI deduction applies for 2026.
2026-06-10
Schedule C Line 32: At-Risk Rules, Boxes 32a vs 32b, and What Happens When You Have a Loss (2026)
Schedule C Line 32 only matters when Line 31 shows a loss — it asks whether all of your investment in the business is 'at risk.' Learn what the at-risk rules mean for a sole proprietor, the difference between checking Box 32a and Box 32b, when Form 6198 is required, why nearly every freelancer checks 32a, and how a Schedule C loss flows to Schedule 1, offsets W-2 income, and can become a net operating loss for 2026.
2026-06-09
Schedule C Lines 28 & 29: Total Expenses and Tentative Profit Explained for Freelancers (2026)
Schedule C Line 28 totals every business deduction from Lines 8–27a; Line 29 subtracts that total from gross income (Line 7) to give your tentative profit. Learn exactly what flows into each line, why Line 29 isn't your final net profit, how the home-office deduction on Line 30 finishes the math on Line 31, and the common errors that misstate your self-employment tax for 2026.
Profession Guides
See all 45 posts →Profession-specific tax deduction guides for photographers, designers, drivers, tutors, notaries, and more — mapped to Schedule C lines for 2026.
2026-06-11
Self-Employed Plumber Tax Deductions: 2026 Schedule C Guide to Tools, the Van, and Your License
Every write-off a self-employed plumber can claim for 2026, mapped to the right Schedule C line — drain machines, press tools, and inspection cameras under Section 179 on Line 13; pipe, fittings, fixtures, and solder as supplies on Line 22 (or Cost of Goods Sold when materials are bid into a fixed price); the work van at $0.725/mile or actual expenses on Line 9; liability insurance and bonds on Line 15; master or journeyman license renewals and permit fees on Line 23; PPE, code books, and continuing education on Line 27a. Plus why plumbing isn't an SSTB for the QBI deduction.
2026-06-10
Self-Employed Electrician Tax Deductions: 2026 Schedule C Guide to Tools, the Van, and Your License
Every write-off a self-employed electrician can claim for 2026, mapped to the right Schedule C line — testers, benders, and threading machines under Section 179 on Line 13; wire, conduit, breakers, and fittings as supplies on Line 22 (or Cost of Goods Sold when materials are bid into a fixed price); the work van at $0.725/mile or actual expenses on Line 9; liability insurance and bonds on Line 15; journeyman or master license renewals and permit fees on Line 23; arc-flash PPE, code books, and continuing education on Line 27a. Plus why electrical work isn't an SSTB for the QBI deduction.
2026-06-09
Freelance & Mobile Welder Tax Deductions: 2026 Schedule C Guide to Rigs, Rod, and Your Welding Truck
Every self-employed and mobile welder write-off for 2026, mapped to the right Schedule C line — welders, plasma cutters, and rig trucks under Section 179 on Line 13; rod, wire, gas, and grinding discs as supplies on Line 22 (or Cost of Goods Sold when you bid materials into a fixed price); your welding rig at $0.725/mile or actual expenses on Line 9; CWS certification and rig insurance on Line 15; hood, leathers, and PPE on Line 27a; and local licensing on Line 23. Plus the supplies-vs-COGS decision and why welding isn't an SSTB for the QBI deduction.
Comparisons
See all 52 posts →Side-by-side comparisons of CentSense vs. FreshBooks, Wave, Expensify, and other tools for 1099 workers.
2026-06-11
CentSense vs FreeTaxUSA (2026): Year-Round Expense Tracking vs Budget Tax Filing
CentSense vs FreeTaxUSA compared for freelancers and 1099 workers in 2026. FreeTaxUSA is filing software — free federal returns (Schedule C included) with state returns around $15 — but it only works if you arrive with your totals already organized: it has no receipt scanning, no mileage log, and no expense categorization. CentSense Solo ($5/month) is the year-round half: AI receipt scanning tagged to the exact Schedule C line, $0.725/mile mileage logging, and a CPA-ready CSV that gives you the numbers FreeTaxUSA asks for. Here's why most freelancers need one of each kind of tool, not one or the other.
2026-06-10
CentSense vs TripLog (2026): Mileage-First Tracker vs a Full Freelancer Schedule C Tool
CentSense vs TripLog compared for freelancers and 1099 workers in 2026. TripLog is a mileage-first tracking app with automatic GPS trip detection and company reimbursement features, built for both individual drivers and fleets — but receipts are secondary and there's no Schedule C line categorization. CentSense Solo ($5/month) covers the whole Schedule C workflow: AI receipt scanning, expense categorization to the exact line, $0.725/mile mileage logging, and a CPA-ready CSV. Here's the honest breakdown of which fits a self-employed filer.
2026-06-09
CentSense vs Veryfi (2026): Receipt-Data API vs a Freelancer Schedule C Tool
CentSense vs Veryfi compared for freelancers and 1099 workers in 2026. Veryfi is a developer-focused OCR and document-data API — it extracts line items from receipts and invoices for companies to build into their own apps, priced per document and aimed at businesses with engineers. CentSense Solo ($5/month) is the finished product a freelancer actually uses: AI receipt scanning, Schedule C line categorization, $0.725/mile mileage logging, and a CPA-ready CSV. One is raw data plumbing; the other is your tax workflow. Here's who each is for and why a sole proprietor doesn't need an API.
Tax Strategy
See all 50 posts →Quarterly taxes, estimated payments, retirement accounts, deduction limits, and filing guides for self-employed professionals.
2026-06-11
The Premium Tax Credit for Freelancers (2026): How ACA Marketplace Subsidies Work on Self-Employed Income
Freelancers who buy health insurance on the ACA marketplace can have much of the premium paid by the Premium Tax Credit — but self-employed income makes the credit tricky. Learn how the credit is computed from MAGI and the federal poverty line, why the enhanced subsidies expired after 2025 and the 400% FPL cliff matters again in 2026, how the credit interacts with the self-employed health insurance deduction in a circular calculation (IRS Pub 974), how to estimate variable 1099 income for the marketplace without a repayment surprise, and how Form 8962 reconciliation works at filing time.
2026-06-10
The Saver's Credit for Freelancers (2026): How Form 8880 Pays You to Fund Your IRA or Solo 401(k)
The Saver's Credit (Retirement Savings Contributions Credit) gives lower- and moderate-income freelancers a tax credit of 50%, 20%, or 10% on up to $2,000 of retirement contributions ($4,000 married filing jointly) — worth up to $1,000 ($2,000 MFJ) off your tax bill on top of any deduction. Learn how a 1099 worker qualifies, which contributions count (IRA, Roth IRA, and solo 401(k) employee deferrals — but not employer-side contributions), how Schedule C deductions can pull your AGI into a credit band, how to claim it on Form 8880, and why 2026 matters: the credit is scheduled to become the Saver's Match in 2027.
2026-06-09
1099-NEC vs 1099-MISC (2026): Which Form You Get, What's the Difference, and How Each Lands on Schedule C
Confused about 1099-NEC vs 1099-MISC? Since 2020, freelance and contractor pay goes on the 1099-NEC (nonemployee compensation), while the 1099-MISC now reports rents, royalties, prizes, and other miscellaneous income. Learn which form you should receive, why both still feed Schedule C gross receipts, the $600 thresholds, what to do when a form is wrong or missing, and how the IRS matches every 1099 against your return for 2026.
Receipts & Mileage
See all 35 posts →How to track receipts, organize expenses, and log mileage for IRS compliance — guides for 1099 workers.
2026-06-11
Odometer Readings and Your Mileage Log: What the IRS Actually Requires (2026)
Do you need odometer readings for every business trip? No — the IRS requires year-start and year-end odometer readings to establish total annual miles (Schedule C Part IV asks for the split), but per-trip records only need the date, miles, destination, and business purpose. Learn exactly where odometer readings are required, why the January 1 dashboard photo is the single best mileage habit, how oil-change and inspection records corroborate (or reconstruct) your totals, how the business-use percentage is computed, and what auditors actually check a log against in 2026.
2026-06-10
Are Handwritten Receipts Valid for the IRS? What Freelancers Need on Paper (2026)
Yes — handwritten receipts are valid to the IRS, as long as they show the payee, date, amount, and what was purchased. The IRS cares about content, not format. Learn when a handwritten receipt holds up (cash payments, market vendors, landlords, day labor), what must be written on it, how to strengthen it with a signature, a bank record, and a same-day photo, why a receipt you write for yourself is the weakest kind of evidence, and how the $75 rule and the Cohan rule fit in for 2026.
2026-06-09
How to Log Mileage for Multi-Stop & Multi-Client Days (2026)
Gig drivers, mobile service pros, and freelancers who hit five clients a day need a mileage log that holds up — but logging trip-by-trip gets messy fast. Learn how to record multi-stop routes for the IRS, which legs count as business miles and which are nondeductible commuting, how the home-office rule changes your first and last trip, what each entry must contain, and how automatic GPS tracking turns a chaotic day into a clean, contemporaneous log at $0.725/mile for 2026.