How US self-employed taxes work: a beginner's guide
What changes the moment nobody is withholding tax for you, and what the IRS expects instead.
Writing
Notes on US tax, in plain words
Short pieces on the parts of the US tax system that catch people out, written for anyone meeting it for the first time.
W-2 vs 1099: what independent contractors need to know
The two classifications, what each one means for your tax bill, and the one real advantage of the harder path.
What Schedule C is, and why freelancers end up knowing it well
The form where your business income, your expenses and your actual taxable profit meet.
Tax write-offs by job: a freelancer and gig worker's guide
Deductions are not one size fits all. What a driver can claim and what a developer can claim have almost nothing in common.
Why tax prep feels like an interrogation, and why that helps
Blank forms ask you to already know the answer. Questions do not.
1099: a guide for self-employed people and independent contractors
What the number actually means, and whether 'self-employed' and 'independent contractor' are the same thing.