Financial Tips 5 Tax Tips for the Self-Employed It’s that time of year again! The self-employed estimated tax deadline for the 3rd quarter has arrived. But don’t fret – between our QuickBooks and TurboTax communities, we have an arsenal of support and resources for you self-employed pros out there to get you filing in no time. Here are a few last minute things Written by Intuit Blog Team Published Sep 14, 2018 - [Updated Nov 9, 2022] 2 min read It’s that time of year again! The self-employed estimated tax deadline for the 3rd quarter has arrived. But don’t fret – between our QuickBooks and TurboTax communities, we have an arsenal of support and resources for you self-employed pros out there to get you filing in no time. Here are a few last minute things for you or the self-employed folks in your life to know, to feel prepared, confident, and empowered to handle taxes like the pros you are. +++++ 1. Home Offices Do you work at home? Working from your house can help you maximize your write-offs. If you regularly, and exclusively, use a home office for the purpose of your business, you can claim tax deductions on that space. Expenses that may be deducted include a portion of real estate taxes, mortgage interest, rent, utilities, insurance, painting, and repairs based on the square footage of your home used for your business. 2. Vehicles Are you using your car to get to and from work? If you’re self-employed and driving to see a client, heading to a meeting, or going to work from another location, make sure you write down how far you drove. You can claim 54.5 cents per mile for 2019, plus the cost of parking and any tolls you paid. Be sure to track your business mileage so that you have substantiation for your mileage deduction. 3. Business Trips Do you travel a lot for work? Good news, if you’re flying to another U.S. city and making the trip primarily for business you can deduct 100 percent of the cost. On top of that, if you’re traveling for work, you can also expense your hotel or lodging and 50 percent of your meals, though this can only be deducted for the days you’re spending on business. Yay business trips! 4. Kids Do your kids help you out on the job? If you pay your kids, you can deduct the amount you are paying them. A child’s tax rate is generally much lower than yours. 5. Legal and professional fees A good way to keep your business on track is by having advisors offer professional help. Seek out attorneys and accountants to make sure all your finances and business operations are running smoothly. Good to note – you can deduct legal and professional fees that are ordinary, necessary, and relate to your business. Previous Post #FutureProof: Focus on Growth, Not Grind, with Business Application Integration Next Post Enhancing the Digital Financial Life of Consumers, Small Businesses, and… Written by Intuit Blog Team More from Intuit Blog Team Browse Related Articles Social Responsibility Intuit partners with The Farmlink Project to address climate change and combat food waste Life at Intuit How to become a better trans+ and non-binary ally Life at Intuit Here’s how women at Intuit inspire inclusion Taxpayer Empowerment Powering prosperity for women means addressing gender inequities in the tax code Job Readiness Powering prosperity, one community at a time Taxpayer Empowerment Setting the record straight on tax preparation Small Business Intuit acquires IP and hires talent from Proper Finance Canada Growing with Intuit Social Responsibility Intuit and Khan Academy team up to offer free financial education to students and teachers Innovative Thinking A new tool to make taxes more transparent