Internal Revenue Service Small Business And Self-Employed: Fill & Download for Free

How small is the “small” business? Unless it’s really small (say, net income of less than $25,000 or so), the resource that I generally recommend is to hire a good CPA firm. Many CPA firms will provide an initial meeting at no charge to provide initial guidance and provide recommendations. I highly recommend that you start with that step.With that said, the IRS, with all of its shortcomings, provides excellant publications for taxpayers. The link below is to the IRS site, Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center.Small Businesses Self-Employed | Internal Revenue ServiceAnother resource is CPAacademy.org, a web-based learning center that provides a large array of tax and accounting webinars. Many of their webinars are free, and the ones that are not are reasonably priced. I’ve taken about 6 or 8 of the courses, and thus far they have all been excellent.I assume that registration is open for pretty much anyone, not just licenced professtions, but I’m not certain.A plethora of publications on small business taxation can be found with a quick web search or a quick visit to the bookstore or a library. The best resource depends on the type of business, plans for growth and expansion, and the projected capital requirements. If you narrow the scope of your needs, I can provide more specific resources.

Businesses are established. For instance, in Texas, if you want to run something that has a special name, like “Apple Computers,” then you will have to register that name with the local county clerk; and it’ll be styled <your name> doing business (DBA) as Apple Computers.However, in Texas, if you just want a sole proprietorship, and it has your name in its title somehow — there are rules to this; I’m just simplifying — as long as no one else is running this type of enterprise under that name in your county — you don’t need a DBA.For instance, if my name is John Doe, then I might be able to run the sole proprietorship:Doe’s Computers;John’s Super Computer Store;John Doe Construction; etc. —without needing anything filed with the county clerk.It might still be a good idea; and, if you want to have a business checking account, a local bank may require you to have a DBA filed even if the State law does not require it.—Broadening a bit (to include all forms of business structure) — a self-employed person may choose to use his social security number as his tax filing number.A business, for many reasons, may NEED or WANT to have a special tax identification number (TIN) — the one you file with the IRS is called an FEIN (federal employer identification number).As seems obvious this is what you’ll need in order to process regular payroll; collect payroll taxes; remit these plus your matching employer payroll taxes, including FUTA and (in Texas) TWC → aka federal unemployment and state unemployment taxes.—One other interesting this may be if your company is required to collect sales tax. Here in Texas you can get the State Comptroller to issue you registration to be able to collect sales tax, as prescribed by law, using either your social security number (TIN), or your FEIN. The funny thing is that this must be posted somewhere evident in your business, office, etc.If you use your social security number, then you’re posting your SS# on the wall for anyone to see. Since FEIN’s are free, not a bad idea to get one. Takes only a minute or so, usually, to get one online from the Internal Revenue Service.

I have been self employed for the majority of the 18 years since I graduated from college. Only for a total of about 3 years have I been a permanent, full-time, “W2” employee. ( a situation wherein my employer was paying most / all of my monthly health insurance premiums, as well as my social security tax)In the 2005–2009 time frame, I had basic health insurance for $159-$179 / month. At that time, the National Association for the Self Employed was able to offer “Group” plans by state, and I bought in to a plan with thousands of other self employed people in Arizona where I lived at the time. The costs stayed relatively stable during that period of time.in 2010, post- ACA, the premiums for basic healthcare almost DOUBLED for me. The NASE was no longer able to offer group plans for self- employed people.Fast forward to 2018. The premiums for minimum basic coverage have been increasing almost every two years since 2010. Currently I am part of an HMO plan here in Ohio (through the “Marketplace” of course).It is:$424 / month, and has a $7900 deductible (That is for a single person / non-smoker). It is basically useless to me.A decent health insurance plan -without a high deductible- is about $750.00 / month for someone like me through the “Marketplace”. ( By the ACA’s / IRS own definition- a “High Deductible” health coverage is a plan with a deductible of $1350 per annum or more).In broader terms- here is why the ACA sucks:The Affordable Care Act did NOTHING to reduce the cost of healthcare in America- it just subsidized the costs to the middle class, and eliminated options for individuals within the broader market.…And does nothing effective to prevent healthcare costs from going up indefinitely.Pre-existing Conditions is only part of the picture.If Obama wanted to do something altruistic and truly beneficial for all Americans, he would have worked - as he did- to mandate coverage for pre-existing health conditions…..that alone would have been a significant contribution.That could have happened WITHOUT imposing fines on average working people, WITHOUT restricting and eliminating competition, WITHOUT setting up a huge governmental framework, and WITHOUT permanently coupling our healthcare to the Internal Revenue Service.What is the purpose this structure??? ( see # 1)The entire Affordable Care act pricing system is set up on subsidies. Those subsidies “fall out” at about the $51,000 / year earnings mark. That means that everyone who makes more than $51,000/ year, is paying for ( or helping to pay for) everyone else’s health care— as well as their own.People are FORCED to pay. I HAVE TO pay the $424/ month for insurance. In 2015, I didn’t carry health insurance for all 12 month of the year…guess what? I paid a penalty of $2,400.00 on my federal income taxes. Dumb mistake- but It literally makes me fighting mad.The ACA is destructive to independent business peopleThe ACA primarily benefits individuals with long term health conditions, and large insurance companies/healthcare corporations. The subsidies primarily accommodate the working class / working poor- particularly those with children.Independent contractors, sole proprietors, freelancers, and small businesses carry the weight of this plan. Independent people - who operate outside of the “norm”- bear the brunt of a governmental blueprint like this.Small business is a significant economic engine in this country, and there is an increasing trend of self employed individuals who work at all levels within business: 57 Million U.S. Workers Are Part Of The Gig Economy.The US needs to be facilitating entrepreneurship and innovation - NOT inflicting penalization.Independent thinkers / problem solvers are a key part of how our economy works. Think about it: Was Steve jobs working at a big software corporation when he started Apple? Did Elon Musk leave a job with NASA to start SpaceX? No and no.In many ways, the lifestyle we enjoy in the US is dependent upon people who operate independently and think / solve problems outside of the norm:America’s Looming Creativity CrisisAlso- think about this:There is effectively NO safety net for self employed people:In 2009, my business imploded- almost overnight. There were NO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS available for me because I had been self-employed. This- in spite of the fact that as a self employed person I pay my own social security tax ( your employer normally pays for yours) , and a “self employment” tax.In 2010, I had two large companies default on invoices from me, for over $15,000. I needed the money in a very bad way but had no effective recourse. There was NO state or federal agency which “regulates” a scenario like this, or that could step in and litigate on my behalf.I am from a family of working class people. Neither my mother or father were college educated. There were no benefits waiting for me when I attended college. My first year I didn’t even qualify for a subsidized loans.I have been working since I was 14 and I have never collected unemployment benefits, workers compensation, medicaid, etc. It’s possible that I may never see Social Security benefits.So at some point, people like me start to ask:Why? Why should I support another plan which imposes sweeping regulations- but doesn’t provide anything which myself or my family needs? To top it off it and requires that I finance and pay for it.