Working for Yourself

Law & Taxes for Independent Contractors, Freelancers & Gig Workers of All Types

Stephen Fishman

• Publisher: NOLO
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781413325829
• Edition: 11
• Topic: Betriebswirtschaft
• Subtopic: Kleinbetrieb

AUDIENCE FOR BOOK:
Anyone who is self employed, either full time or on the side—including independent contractors, consultants, freelancers, and gig workers (people who sell their services through online hiring platforms, like Uber and Upwork). REASONS TO BUY THIS NEW EDITION:

• The audience is huge. The 2017 Kauffman Index of Startup Activity shows that there were a record number of new businesses started in 2017, with more than half a million businesses created in the U.S. each month. Many of these people are older adults. According to the Kauffman Index, individuals ages 55 to 64 made up 26% of all new entrepreneurs in 2016 (compared to 15% in 1996). Immigrant entrepreneurs also are a growing segment, comprising 30% of all new entrepreneurs in the U.S. in 2016 (up from 13% in 1996).
  According to Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends (published in October 2015), there are nearly 14.6 million self-employed Americans, representing 10% of the nation's 146 million workers. Including jobs provided by the self-employed adds an additional 29.4 million people, accounting for 30% of the U.S. workforce.
  There are many reasons people start their own businesses – it may be by choice, necessity, or a little of each. The strategies and information in Working for Yourself will give entrepreneurs the best chance of success by explaining how to structure their business, what to include in their contracts, how to make sure they get paid, how to save on taxes, and much more.
  
• The book will help independent contractors avoid costly legal problems by staying on the right side of the law. The U.S. Department of Labor has devoted more of its resources to enforcement of workplace laws, often focusing on the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Workers who want to be contractors need to be especially careful to structure their work relationships in accordance with the law, as clearly explained in this book.
  
• Working for Yourself will help ICs avoid tax problems. IRS statistics show that self-employed people are far more likely to be audited by the IRS than other individuals, partnerships, or corporations. This book contains extensive information on how to figure out and pay your taxes and avoid IRS scrutiny—particularly in the area of deductions.
  
• The 11th edition provides full coverage of how all the changes brought about by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act affect the self-employed. The Act is the most significant new tax law in over 30 years and the self-employed are among its biggest winners. The new edition of Working for Yourself will show how the self-employed can benefit from new tax rates for individuals and businesses and new rules on deducting business property. It will also show how self-employed individuals are impacted by new limits on deducting entertainment and meals, and business losses. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also created a brand new deduction for pass-through businesses, which includes almost all the self-employed. As a result of this new deduction, which will be covered in detail in the new edition, it's now possible for self-employed individuals to pay up to 20% less income tax than employees performing the same work. The 11th edition will also explain how the new tax law has changed choice of business entity for the self-employed--is it now time to form a corporation?