Sasha, I have had a small business on the side for a few years, and this is what I learned:
1) If you count hardware as deductions, you MUST pay property tax on it through the county. They may send you statements to report it, and even if you are not counting anything you still must report $0.00. 2) When setting up a business you are asked your annual estimated revenue. The state uses this to assess your business tax and if you don't file otherwise THEY STILL BILL YOU FOR THIS AMOUNT. If you have $0 profits, or a loss, you MUST REPORT YOUR EARNINGS, EVEN IF $0. I made the mistake of thinking I did not make any profits one year, so there was nothing to file, and it was a HUGE MESS to get everything straightened out. File all of your taxes whether you owe or not, because the State estimates. 3) Auditors at the State Tax Comission can be very helpful in helping you decide what is taxable and what is not. But I highly recommend you read the state tax code first (http://www.le.state.ut.us/~code/TITLE59/htm/59_0D003.htm), because they tend to want to include more than is necessary, as they do not understand "tangible personnal property" as it relates to IT consulting. Basically, code added to software to make it more valuable counts, but configuration of existing components does not. You can also stop in and visit with them (appointment preferred) at their office at: 150 East Center #1300 Provo, Utah 84606 Phone (801) 374-7070 Fax (801) 374-7089 Hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Mon - Fri BTW, I think you have an AWESOME billing structure. A very high standard that I wish more people adopted. M. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Sasha Pachev Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 9:18 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Taxes Hello, everybody, This is going to be less OT than some of the threads have been. If you are a Linux hacker, you might have a consulting business. And if so, figuring out how you pay your taxes is a part of it. So this is somewhat on topic :-) As some of you may have noticed or heard, I am now a full-time independent consultant for the first time. Things are going well so far, except I need to figure out how I am paying taxes to make sure IRS does not hit me with a fine, and also to make sure I do not pay more than I have to. Questions: Does anybody know of a calculator that will tell me based on my expected annual income, family size and estimated deductions how much tax I owe per quarter for both state and federal taxes? I have found one on Intuit site that kind of does it, but it does not do deductions/child tax credit/etc, nor does it do state taxes. (And to keep this on topic, it has to be Linux-compatible). If I did fine without a CPA when most of my income came from a W-2 type job, do I need one now? Any other tips? -- Sasha Pachev AskSasha Linux Consulting http://www.asksasha.com .===================================. | This has been a P.L.U.G. mailing. | | Don't Fear the Penguin. | | IRC: #utah at irc.freenode.net | `===================================' .===================================. | This has been a P.L.U.G. mailing. | | Don't Fear the Penguin. | | IRC: #utah at irc.freenode.net | `==================================='
