I am in the midst of completing my taxes. This blog post is just a friendly reminder that authors need to have an LLC (in my opinion) and complete tax forms for your business each year. Be sure if you don’t have one to at least read all the information on the internet about them so you can make a wise decision.

I’m sure you’ll agree that your taxes are a lot easier to do, if you keep records of your expenditures. The easiest way to do this is to have a separate business credit card that you don’t use for anything else. That way, you’ll have a running record of every purchase. Also get a separate checking account in the business name so all of your statements will show your writing/publishing direct deposits and payments to your credit card.

Your yearly credit card fee, as well as checks purchased are deductible in certain cases. Check out for yourself.

Still keep all of your receipts from things purchased with cash (which should be rare).

If you have a dedicated home office, measure it. Your tax person will be able to calculate how much of it will be tax deductible, along with a percentage of your heating, cooling, and electricity.

The point of all this is to get those taxes out of the way so you can devote your time to something more enjoyable—like writing!!!

Disclaimer: I am not a tax consultant, so run everything I’ve said by your own tax person.