I am writing on Saturday, and my goal for today is to finish reading Self-Employed Tax Solutions: Quick, Simple, Money-Saving, Audit-Proof Tax and Recordkeeping Basics for the Independent Professional, by June Walker. Do you know why I want to finish it? Mainly to get it off of my Reading Now list, as tracked by GoodReads.com. Do you think that is a silly reason for wanting to finish a book?
No, really, the book has been hanging around on my bookshelf for far too long this year already. This is my second read-through. When Michael was first dismissed from his job a year and a half ago, I borrowed a copy from our friend, Damon, who runs Greenhorn Gardening, a blog/podcast which teaches Organic Gardening methods for beginners***. It's a great book. Very, very readable. Not like any other tax book I have ever read. I got through it in a week, and promptly asked for a copy for Christmas that year.
This year I decided to re-read it in the midst of preparing taxes for ourselves and for our business. I made a note in the calendar to start working on taxes in January, placed Ms.Walker's book on my shelf, and then put off getting started until approximately the middle of March.
The book provides all kinds of information about deductions and such, with lots of clarifying examples. The first deadline for filing your taxes has come and gone, but there are still plenty of people who have filed for that automatically-granted extension allowing you to continue working on your 2011 taxes until mid-October. Self-Employed Tax solutions can help.
The part of the book I find most helpful is all of the information on good record-keeping practices, and the worksheets she provides for keeping track of all your stuff. She keeps it simple for those of you who aren't mathematically inclined, as many of her very creative clients are not.
I noticed when I visited her site on Saturday that she has an ebook available with forms and information you can use for your 2011 taxes. I don't know what the ebook is like, but if its anything like the longer book, it is imminently practical.
And, yes, I am finishing this post on Monday, and I did succeed in finishing with the book on Saturday. I'm already trying to get a jump start on our taxes for next year.
Why is it that my tax return, the tax and tag on my car, and my auto insurance all come due in the same month?
***Damon's podcasts are easily downloadable through iTunes. Just go in and do a search on "organic gardening," visit this link, or you can find his latest offerings on the blog. But this post isn't about that.
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