It’s January and the time of year when you need to prepare your taxes or gather the information together to take it to a tax professional. Before January 31 you are required to file 1099-MISC forms for income you paid to independent contractors during the last year. If you paid more than $600 to an individual or a contractor for professional services related to the business of being an author, you need to prepare and mail this form along with Form 1096 which lists the 1099-MISC forms you filed. In order to complete these forms you need to have this individual’s W-9 form completed and on file. It includes a social security number (SS#) or an employer identification number (EIN#) for tax reporting purposes. This information is confidential and you need to keep it in a secure location like a safety deposit box. Even if you do not itemize your deductions as a professional writer, it is important to keep tax records. Even more important if you do file your income tax with more than $600 annual income from your professional writing efforts. If someone has paid you more than $600 in the past year for your work as a professional writer, than you should expect to receive a 1099-MISC early in February. If you worked as an employee and social security and income tax has already been taken out of your payments, then expect to receive a W-4 which declares your income and taxes paid to the IRS. If…

The calendar has flipped over to another year, yet the more things change, the more they stay the same. The change in tax forms isn’t much of a change, unless you don’t know there’s been a change. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. January 31 is the due date for you to mail your 1099-NEC forms to any independent contractors or freelancers you hired during 2021 for professional services in your work as a writer. I am not a tax consultant and recommend you speak to a certified professional, but I wanted to bring this deadline to your attention. The IRS reintroduced Form 1099-NEC as the new way to report self-employment income instead of Form 1099-MISC, as has traditionally been the case. The “gig” economy of independent contractors and freelancers circumvents the traditional ways in which taxes and other federal benefits are deducted from payments to employees. Workers who are not employees are obligated to report their income to the IRS and so are those who pay them for goods and services. If you are a writer or author who has paid independent contractors or freelancers for professional author services, then you will need to send the IRS and the contractor a 1099-NEC Form by the end of January 2022 for work in 2021. Did you hire a website designer? Writing coach? Editor? Publicist? Report payments totaling $600 or more to a nonemployee from your business to the IRS and provide a copy to the professional you paid.…

January begins a new fiscal year. It’s also the best time to organize your tax information for last year. Whether your book has been out for more than a year, or you’re more than a year out before you finish writing your book, this is the best time of year to gather the information together for tax purposes. On the income side, identify the sources from which you have received payment. If you received royalties or an advance on royalties, you will need to file this as income because taxes have not been paid on this amount. You pay income tax on the full amount of the check or checks received during the fiscal year from royalties or an advance on royalties. Your agent or publisher will send you a 1099-MISC which you should receive in early February. If you worked as an independent contractor and someone paid you more than $600 in the past year for your work as a professional writer, than you should expect to receive a 1099-MISC early in February. If you worked as an independent contractor but were paid less than $600 in the last year, you still need to declare this as income, but don’t expect to receive a 1099-MISC form. If you worked as an employee (writer, editor, teacher, workshop leader) then social security and income tax has already been taken out of your payments. Expect to receive a W-4 which declares your income and taxes paid to the IRS. On the expense…