Lower Taxes

June,

I have been self-employed in program and logistics management for a year and a half. Besides deductions and placing money into an IRA or 401K plan for the self employed, what are other ways to bring my tax burden down?

Thanks. Teresa


Hello Teresa,

If you want to be good at lowering your taxes you need to use the same method as you would to be good at anything else. You need to learn about the subject from the right sources and then act on the information that you get.

There are several different kinds of pensions for indies. The most flexible and least expensive for those under 50 years old is a UNI-K -- also called a solo-K. It's structured like a combination SEP plus 401-K.

In order to take advantage of every possible deduction you need to know what those deductions are. Click here for a complimentary copy of the Self-employed Business Expenses List and also read Is it a deductible business expense? on my website.

If you like what you read there, I encourage you to buy a copy of my book, Self-employed Tax Solutions, featured in BusinessWeek. The book will give you the basics for understanding how to lower your takes. It also tells you how to set up a recordkeeping system and prepares you for an audit -- all in the same easy-to-understand style you'll find in my columns.

I wish you much success.

Best regards,
June Walker