Making Expression Less Taxing: A Freelancer's Tax Resource

by Walt Eddy

Death and certainties, as Ben Franklin said. And taxes keep getting more complicated. New writers, artists, and craftsmen desire to derive all or part of their income from "expression activities" like writing, performing, or another art or craft. These people have special requirements when it comes to understanding how federal taxes apply to them. At last, this amusing how-to book provides "freelancers of expression" with information necessary to get the most out of unique tax situations, from how to determine if their activity is "for profit", to recordkeeping, to filing, to appealing determinations. Walt, a retired Enrolled Agent, worked for the IRS over 30 years, mostly as an Appeals Officer and manager in Appeals. Now he passes on expert insider advice to the writers and artisans who want to turn their hobbies into careers, or just learn the best strategies for managing their freelancing activities as they express themselves, making their crafts less taxing.

254 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2008

About the author

Walt grew up in the Great Basin in the United States of America. He graduated from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in German. He also has many credit hours from various universities in accounting and business. He has lived in Germany, Illinois, California, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming.

He belongs to The League of Utah Writers.

For Walt and for everybody else in his homeland, tax season is always approaching. It’s a certainty of life, as Benjamin Franklin put it. Franklin “married” the terms death and taxes. We can’t escape either one.

For writers, like everybody else, accounting for income taxes comes up annually, without fail. Death . . . well, it just comes up once per lifetime, thank goodness. So whether or not you made money writing last year, you probably paid taxes. As writers who desire to derive income from writing, it becomes necessary to get the most one can out of writing situations relative to taxation. It requires planning and knowledge. Walt decided he could help writers do just that. After all, he worked as Santa Claus for the IRS.

No, really. For twenty-six years, Walt, as an Appeals Officer for IRS, considered the appeals of disgruntled taxpayers--both individuals and businesses, often providing them relief from the exactions of ornery revenue agents, gung-ho auditors, and ruthless collectors. Within the IRS bureaucracy, such enforcement folks (the agents, auditors, and collectors) called Walt and his ilk Santa Clause. Not as a compliment.

So Walt knows what he’s talking about relative to taxation. Additionally, Walt is a retired Enrolled Agent who was authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS.

Walt can provide a workshop tailored to the needs of those contemplating getting into or just entering the writing trade or business. He can help such individuals see how taxation can enhance their writing careers and decide what benefits writers are entitled to under the tax laws. He can help:

• Learn basic principles of taxation pertaining to businesses.
• Figure out how to take advantage of writing losses.
• Find out if your writing activity qualifies as a trade or business.
• Make certain you know what it takes to convince the taxman that you engage in writing for profit.
• Know about the business expense umbrella.
• Know what tax forms you need to file and how to fill them out
• And much, much more.

Walt wrote Making Expression Less Taxing, a Freelancers Tax Resource, which is available at Amazon as a trade paperback or as a Kindle eBook.