You're asking what?

June --

I am an illustrator. Where to begin? There is no site or book I have found yet that just starts from the ground up. I got limited advice from H&R Block, who printed out 2 voucher forms for me - fed. and state estimated tax vouchers and said "here" and "send in a ballpark amount"!

I really don't even know if I need to file anything quarterly, beside 2 vouchers and a check? Any forms? What do I need to do to START filing quarterly?

Karen


Hello Karen,

A big part of getting the right advice is going to the right source. Did you ask the H&R Block person if he knew anything about self-employeds? The other part of getting the correct answer is asking a question with enough information. You need to put time into framing your question. I talk about this on my website at How to ask a question:"Quick Advice" or, "What is the meaning of Life" .

You see, when you say "where to begin, " I ask, begin with what? If you've been an illustrator for a couple of years and you're asking how and when does an illustrator make estimated tax payments, then the answer is here Estimated Tax: How much to plan for .

If you're saying that this is the first year you've been a freelance illustrator and wonder what your first tasks should be regarding recordkeeping. The answer to that would be very different.

Best regards,
June