Tax Prep Top 10, Biz Insurance, and upcoming marketing seminar

You’ve probably been collecting 1099s from your clients throughout January, and I wanted to just go over a few of the other things you can be gathering, now that we’re in February. There can definitely be more items than this, depending on your circumstance, but I’m going to use the example of a single person, no kids, freelancing.

Here’s what you need to find/sort out/file:

If you just started freelancing in 2023, you can take a startup cost deduction of up to $5000. Gather receipts or records of the expenses.
Home office deductible. Measure the square feet of your dedicated office space, and multiply it times $5. You can deduct more here, but you’ll have needed to keep track of all home repair costs, rent/mortgage, and utilities throughout the year.
Business travel. You were keeping a mileage log all year, right? Noting the mileage on Jan 1, and Dec 31, and any business miles in between? Can also deduct costs for parking and other modes of transportation, if you kept the receipts. Depending on the personal/business use of the vehicle, the gas, insurance and maintenance bills may be deductible, too, so keep those throughout the year. And preferably, charge them to your business credit card to make things neat and clean.
What’s 100% deductible? Health insurance, business insurance, business subscriptions, and marketing/advertising costs. Retain records of all of your marketing expenses.
Listing of the estimated tax payments you made for state and federal taxes throughout the year.
Statements for any qualified retirement contributions you made into a SEP IRA or other pre-tax retirement investments.
All of the 1099s sent to you, and any W-2s.
A record of the owner’s draws that you took in 2023 (to clarify, these are transfers you made from your business checking account to your personal account- it’s what you paid yourself as owner).
These forms should come either in the mail, or digitally to you, if they apply, so keep them in one place: Form 1099-NEC (sole proprietors or single-member LLC), 1099-K (credit card processing), W-2s, Form 1095A (health care tax form), Form 1098-E (student loan interest), and 1098 (mortgage interest).
Reconcile all your business checking, savings and credit card accounts through the end of 2023.

I’ve had my business since the last century. And I’ve been paying for insurance the entire time. Even though I’ve never had to make a claim, I’ve often had to have it:

to rent equipment from production houses
to sometimes bid on contracts/sub-contracts
to be listed with staffing agencies that require it
to rent locations
It’s a necessary evil, and you don’t need to scramble at the last minute when you come across an opportunity that asks for your CoI. CoI? That’s your Certificate of Insurance, that your insurance company can easily (and freely) provide to you, when you ask. It’s a summary that says:

1) yes, you have insurance,

2) this is what it covers, and

3) if something happens, the company named on the CoI knows the insurance company can pay them for the damage you, or something related to you, caused while working.

If you don’t have insurance yet, a good place to start is www.simplybusiness.com. They specialize in providing insurance for small businesses, and they check all the top national carriers FOR you.

Whether you need:

Professional liability (for damages/legal costs when you might screw up with something you produce for a client)
General liability (if nothing else, get this coverage). It covers costs from property damage- like rental gear; bodily injury to others- like if you drop a jib weight on someone’s foot; and third-party accidents- like other freelancers who end up implicating you in something they did
Errors & Omissions (aka E&O)- Similar to professional liability, it’s the most common insurance requested by clients who may be considering hiring your company as a production company for their video project. If they end up suing you, this insurance can help cover your court costs or settlements, so your business isn’t bankrupted.
Business insurance isn’t something you want to be without- it’s a sure sign you are a credible, trustworthy small business that others can feel comfortable hiring.

There’s a great Women in Film and Video event happening next Wednesday evening from 6:30-8 pm (Feb 7), and you should attend!

It’s called “Marketing Yourself”. It’s about networking, establishing your brand on social media, and sharing your work periodically to build and maintain your network. Cost is $15 for students and WIFV members and $30 for non-members.

It’s on Zoom, so you can attend from whereever you find yourself!

Here’s the link to register.