Taxes and Bookkeeping with Eric Nisall
With just a few weeks left to go before tax filing time, my friend, and one of my favorite CPAs, Eric Nisall, joins me to answer, quite frankly, lots of my and my clients tax-related questions. He also talks about his awesome new course that is perfect for bloggers, freelancers, Instagrammers, influencers, entrepreneurs, or pretty much anyone who is considering becoming any one of these. It’s a great show, and if you haven’t filed your taxes yet, you’re scared to file, or maybe you haven’t filed in a few years, grab some paper and take notes.
What are we drinking?
Eric — Ice water
Shannon — Coffee
Podcast Notes
Shannon did her own taxes when she started as an entrepreneur.
Eric said that approximately 3% of people who file a Schedule C get audited. Typically, it is people with an adjusted gross income of $2 million or more. He said to make sure you are honest and have back up for all of your numbers. Most of the time it is just a letter in the mail asking for more information or documentation.
If you file an extension, make sure you do it before the deadline. It is easy - there are only four things you will need to put on the form and the extension is automatic.
What would you say to people who haven’t filed in a long time? If you make less than the standard deduction, you don’t have to file a tax return. If you are getting a refund, you can file it two years later and you won’t get penalized. If you meet certain qualifications, you must file a return by a certain date or you are going to face penalties.
Everything you do financially is fixable.
If you haven’t filed in a while, don’t be afraid to do it. There are people that specialize in back taxes and you can get on a payment plan. You will not go into bankruptcy because you owe back taxes. Search for IRS negotiation attorney. Stay away from people who charge you to interview them. Eric doesn’t specialize in back taxes.
Nobody’s life is perfect. Everybody has messes, you just don’t see it on social media.
Closing a checking or savings account at a bank will not affect your credit score. If you are declined for a bank account, it is usually because you didn’t answer the questions right and they aren’t able to identify you, or it’s because you bounced too many checks or had insufficient funds in the past.
Don’t worry about the tax changes for next year.
Contributions to a SEP IRA are based on your annual net income, adjusted for self-employment taxes. This number is difficult to figure out until you know how much you will be making for the year. Accountants are not able to tell you how much you are able to contribute, until the end of the year when they know your annual income. You have until the date that you file your tax return to make a contribution for the previous year.
SEP IRAs and solo 401(k) contributions are great ways to lower your tax liability. If you want to get the best service, go to a pension administrator. There are firms set up specifically to do the legwork to figure out the best option for you and your business.
What if you already filed your taxes and realized you forgot something? Don’t be in such a hurry and rush to get your taxes done. Take your time. You cannot file an amended return electronically - the IRS does not permit it. You will need to do it online, print it out, attach the documentation, and mail it.
In Eric’s course, there is a session where he makes participants write out all of their payees. They can use this list to verify they receive all of the necessary forms before filing their taxes.
Eric has a new online course called Bookkeeping for Bloggers. He talks to a lot of people who are bloggers and podcasters that want to hire him, but they are making little to no money after expenses and he cannot ethically take them on as clients. He created this course to help those who are self-employed and have very few transactions per month.
The course is written conversationally and includes videos and worksheets to help entrepreneurs understand and create best practices for their business. It is for both those just starting out as well as more established entrepreneurs who want to know more about the finance side of their business.
The course covers the basics - income and expenses and how you account for them, deductions, travel, working with contractors, etc. It is recommended for those who have a freelancing type of business and want to have a good grasp on how to manage their business better.
These are great foundational practices. Shannon said previously she would have to figure everything out on January 1, for the previous year. She now has a bookkeeper who handles her business and it is a lot less stressful.
The course costs $300, but listeners get 20% off! Use coupon code FINGYM at the time of purchase. This is applicable to all levels of this course.
TAKEAWAY: Remember that if you run your own business, no matter what it looks like, make sure you take the steps to build a really strong foundation of best practices when it comes to the finances of your business. Please take my advice and do what I say and not what I did. I really wish I did it myself. If you need help doing that, I highly recommend investing in Eric’s course.
Random Three Questions
If you weren’t doing what you are currently doing, what would you be doing?
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
What do you do to relax?
Connect with Eric
Website: ericnisall.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ericnisall/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BloggingAsABusiness/
Course website: http://bookkeepingforbloggers.com (Coupon Code FINGYM for 20% off)
Twitter: @ericnisall
Instagram: @ericnisall
If you need someone to hold your hand and help you lay a strong financial foundation, whether you work for yourself or someone else, I hope you’ll reach out to my team at the Financial Gym. We have clients achieving their dreams every day that they never could have realized on their own. You can schedule a free call here to find out more. No matter where you are in your financial journey, my financial trainers can help you get where you want to go. So head over to or send friends to financialgym.com/friends to sign up today!