Tax talk… It’s almost that time!

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I know, the dreaded TAX word. As an Accountant, this is the time to gear up for the new season that is coming in only two weeks. 2020 was a crazy tax season with extended deadlines, call meetings and lots of questions. Let’s hope 2021 goes smoother.

But, as a author, there are many things to think about. If you’ve earned royalties, then you’ll need to file that. I do have some light at the end of that tunnel though, expenses…

Here are some of the expenses that an author can claim:

Writing Programs
Educational courses to help with writing
Office supplies – pens, paper, ink, notebooks, etc.
Subscriptions to writing sites or programs
Fees for book signings (Hopefully you were able to get some in before things changed)
Advertising
Computers (Remember to delegate the percentage you use it for writing.)

That’s just a small list. But, hopefully you did great this year and need to claim some expenses.

So, good writing and May God Bless You…

Taxes & Writing on my!

Good morning, it’s already the 6th day of the year, wow times flying. If you’re an author then you’ll want to read this post, and even if you’re not and you file taxes, take a few minutes to check this out.

Here’s a list of expenses that you can claim as a published author if you have royalties to claim as income.

Expenses:

Writing program expenses (Ex. Word, Powerpoint, Scrivener, etc.)

Subscription Fees (Ex. Writing Magazines, Writing Site fees, etc.)

Dues (Ex. Romance Writers Associations, Writing Associations, etc.)

Computers/Laptops/Printers

Pens/Pencils/Paper/Journals/Notebooks

Postage (Used to mail books, letters to editors, etc.)

Advertising

Swag expenses

Book Signing expenses

Labor paid to a writing assistant

Editing fees/Cover Design Fees

Website design fees/Domain fees

These are just some of the expenses that some authors forget when they sit down to do their taxes.

Now remember to make sure you get all of the 1099 forms from all the places where you sold books this year. I always print a summary of sales report on all of the sites my books are on, that way I don’t leave out anything.

If you have any questions as you prepare to do your return, email me and I’ll help. Check out my accounting website for more information at http://hurtsbusiness.wix.com/hurtsbusiness

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

It’s that time of year…Are you ready?

This is a step away from my normal writing post, or is it? Well, this is a twofold post. As you may have figured this out, we only have three days left in 2014. Of course if you’ve been off work for the holidays you might not realize what day it is. Anyhow, this is a reminder post of sorts. I want to remind you of some tax deductions that might need to made in the next three days.

If you’re a published author then you’ll need to claim those wonderful royalties you hopefully received during the year. That means that you have income to claim and need deductions to help ward off a nasty tax bill. Since I’m an accountant as well as published author I’m here to help. So here’s a couple of last minute tax helps to get you on the right track…

1: Go through and add up your royalties to make certain of your income. Why is this important? Well, even a couple hundred extra dollars can put you in another tax bracket and that means extra taxes. SO make sure you know what you’re looking at.

2: After you’ve figured out your income level, then go through all those receipts to make sure you grab every expense. Even those notebooks you make notes in are writing expenses. Make sure you start 2015 off right by putting these in a folder marked ‘Writing Expenses’ and then next December you’re writing not searching.

3: Maybe you did really well on royalties this year, I’m hoping you did, but that means taxes. So, if you need a big item to help with taxes this is the time to splurge. It’s actually a good time to do this with all the end of year sales. You could purchase a new writing program, laptop, printer, dragon speak type of program, or any type of electronic/program that you use for writing.

4: Don’t forget last minute advertising. This could be a good time to get your name out to all of those new e-reader owners and get a tax deduction in the process.

5: Stock up on notebooks, pencils, pens, paper and any writing supplies that may be needed in 2015. It’s a mini shopping spree in the making.

I’ve mentioned only five things to help, but you get the picture. It’s important to your wallet to be tax savvy and get the best bang for your tax buck. So many authors don’t think about the little things, but you now have three days to think about it.

If you have questions, just message me and I’ll help.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Monday, Monday, Monday

As I sit here sipping my 2nd cup of coffee trying to get my eyes to stay open, I notice the clouds moving in. Yep, we’re expecting rain here in the south today. I had a busy but wonderful weekend. Saturday was the Easter Egg hunt at our Church. That was really fun, but lots of work. It was worth it. Then yesterday was my hubby’s birthday. Also after Church several members (including my family) got the sanctuary ready for Easter and the Spring season. Considering our Church is three stories, yep I got my exercise. No need to work out today.

For all my American friends tomorrow is the last day of non extension tax season. That means I’ll be slammed with tax work today and tomorrow, but I’m taking the last three days of this week off. I plan to get some writing in that has been put to the wayside for the last couple of weeks.

This is a reminder to all my writer friends. Make sure that you claimed your royalties and the expenses that you had. Don’t forget all those advertising sites, production fees, programs purchased to help with your writing, computers and printers, website fees, dues and subscription fees for all those sites you joined, and the many more expenses we writers incur in a year. If you received a 1099 for your royalties, don’t ignore them because the IRS won’t.

Hope everyone has a blessed Monday and don’t forget to smile today, it’s your day so make it over the moon!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Authors don’t forget to claim your royalties…

I know how gratifying it is when you start earning those royalties. You get all excited and look forward to checking your sites daily to see how much you’ve earned. Well their is something else to keep in mind.

As most of you know, I’m also an accountant and in the middle of the start of tax season. I’m reminded how easy it is to forget to claim those royalty payments. You may be groaning and going ‘why did you have to remind me’. Well as your friend I feel it’s my duty to nudge you just a little. It’ll save you lots of penalties and interest later.

But along with this don’t forget the expenses you’ve incurred over the year. They range from advertising, posting fees, software purchased to publish you work, yearly fees for your website, website set up fees, office supplies, and the list goes on. If you purchased a new computer this year to use to write you can claim it up to the percentage you use it for writing. Don’t forget those miles used to go promote your book.

Hope this helps some. If any of you have a tax question regarding your writing, just let me know. I’d be glad to help.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…