Sunday, May 6, 2012

Tax Tips for Internet Marketers

If there is anything at all that makes you feel overwhelmed with your online business, then that just means you have to learn a bit more and get more comfortable. Web businesses smart enough to give Internet marketing tax a try and have stood the test of time will tell you the same thing, too. 

There are several reasons why those who are making money with their business tend to outsource as much as possible. We understand if you are not quite at that point, though, but there is much available that is very low cost or no cost. It is never a good idea to run straight ahead before you really know the ins and outs of any technique or approach. All anyone in business can do is make their best efforts to minimize bad judgment calls and errors, so do what you can and just get it done.

The misconception that Web Marketing is a tax free industry is pretty much the worst and most dangerous misconception in the market. People get into IM believing that because they are generating an income online and being paid through, mostly, PayPal--they don't need to pay taxes on that money. This is completely bogus! More to the point, failure to pay taxes on this income could land you in a lot of trouble. You don't have to panic, though: Web Marketing taxes don't need to be stressful. Below are a few hints and tips that can help you.

Set up a meeting with the local Small Business Association. Each community has a Small Business Association (ordinarily working through a community college) that has experts on both starting your business and making sure that all of the details (like taxes) are taken care of. The best thing is that this resource is almost always without charge.

Monitor every single thing. Let's say it once more: keep an eye on just about every last detail. This is certainly easy enough to do via Excel. Create a spreadsheet and report every last cent you earn with your Internet Marketing business in addition to one that tracks every single cent you spend on your IM efforts. Don't forget to keep each and every receipt and invoice for the money you spend.

Keep an eye on everything. This is well worth echoing: record everything. You can do this simply enough with the help of Excel. Start a worksheet of each and every penny you make through your Internet Marketing efforts and another that documents every single penny you spend on your Internet Marketing efforts. Be sure to keep receipts and invoices for all of the money that you fork out.

Pay in toward the taxes you will be owing at the end of the year. 30% of every single sale is the fundamental guideline you need to follow. This can be accomplished every quarter or even every month by making Estimated Tax Payments to the IRS. The IRS is now set up well enough that they can receive estimated tax payments from you when you feel like making them. This will save you from paying out a truly distressing amount of money all at once which, if you haven't been saving up for it, can be extremely stressful. What's even better is that if you overpay through your estimated tax payments, you will get a refund exactly like you would by paying taxes with a traditional job. It's vital to talk to someone at the IRS so that you can get this set up correctly.

Pay toward the taxes you'll owe throughout the year. A good principle is to pay 30% of each and every sale. You can do this quarterly through Estimated Tax Payments with the IRS or you could even do this every month. The IRS is set up now to receive estimated tax payments whenever you want or think you need to be making them. In this way you will not have an eye popping number that you owe at the end of the year (which will be particularly stressful if you haven't saved up for it). Better yet: if you have overpaid in your estimated tax payments, you will get a refund -- just like you would if you were working for a business! Make sure you talk with someone at the IRS to make sure you get set up correctly.

Becoming intimidated by the tax process if you are an Internet Marketer is quite common. The good news is that there are quite a few resources that will help you ensure that you don't get in trouble with the IRS and that you can continue to keep a healthy portion of the profit that you generate.

It is not difficult to get intimidated by the idea of paying taxes as an online marketer. The great thing is that there are a lot of resources to help you make sure you follow the law and keep a healthy share of the profit you make!

It is fun to find out about new things in IM because it fills you with hope and dreams, but just be sure you pull your self out of it and use that knowledge.


About the Author:

0 comments:

Post a Comment