With just under a month left to file taxes, Cheddar News is keying in on freelance workers and wants to provide some tips so those Americans maximize either their refunds or what they have to pay back to the IRS.
Matthew Frankel, CFP and writer at the Motley Fool, joined Cheddar News to dish some insight into what freelancers can expect at filing time and how they can better plan in future filing years to avoid paying huge sums to the government.
"Freelancers are more responsible than the average person for keeping track of their own taxes and part of that requires putting money aside," he said. "It's important to know that you need to set money aside if you're just starting out as a freelancer or you will possibly get caught owing money."
The landscape of the U.S. labor market has shifted since the onset of the pandemic. 39 percent of Americans were freelance workers last year, which was a three percent jump from 2021.
Frankel noted that there are some breaks available to freelance workers that the general public is not allowed to take advantage of. Some of those include home office deductions, retirement accounts, self-employed health insurance and using your own vehicle for work can also be deducted.
"Honestly, the biggest mistake I see is people not asking for help when they need it. Not everyone is certified financial planner or tax attorney or anything like that," he said. "Being disorganized is definitely a big problem. I found this out the hard way early on in my career: to keep important records."
The U.S. Federal Reserve is working with other central banks around the world to ensure dollars are available to stop any liquidity issues related to the ongoing crisis in the banking sector.
Blue check marks are coming to Instagram and Facebook. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday announced the expansion of a premium subscription service for $11.99 per month on the web and $14.99 on mobile. The service launched in Australia and New Zealand last month.
New York Community Bank has agreed to buy a significant chunk of the failed Signature Bank in a $2.7 billion deal, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said late Sunday.
Swiss authorities pushed for UBS to take over its smaller rival after a plan for Credit Suisse to borrow up to 50 billion francs ($54 billion) failed to reassure investors and the bank’s customers.
Companies continue to announce fresh rounds of layoffs and hiring freezes so far this year. Teresa Lusk, life coach, joined Cheddar News to discuss what you can do to protect your job.
Michele Schneider, partner and director of trading research & education for MarketGauge.com, joined Cheddar News to discuss the market after stocks closed lower again as banking concerns continue.