Search Results for: blog benefits for the self employed part 2 retirement

The Tax Man Cometh

If you spent all or part of 2011 working part-time or less, you may be wondering if you even have to file taxes this year. Many self-employed workers wonder the same, especially if they didn’t generate much money in the last 12 months. To determine whether or not you earned enough cash to warrant filing taxes, you must first consider your age, employment status, and total earnings. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) defines “earnings” as wages, salaries or tips paid to you by an employer (or yourself, if you are self-employed). In addition, the IRS also counts long-term disability benefits … Continue reading →

The A B C’s of Finance Part 4

Continuing on in our discussion of finance from A to Z, here are more words from the language of finance that I did not know and would like to share with you. A joint and survivor annuity is a type of annuity that two people open together. It makes payments for the entire lifetimes of both beneficiaries, even after one of them dies. Keogh plans are pension accounts in which taxes are deferred. This type of pension plan is available to people who are self-employed, which is great because self employed people often do not have the same type of … Continue reading →

Are You Thinking About Becoming A Freelancer?

If you are looking to start a home-based business and you have a skill like web design, graphic design, event planning, or writing, then you have the option of providing your services as a freelancer. A freelancer is a skilled professional who is self-employed, and is not committed to working for one particular company or organization. Before deciding whether a career as a freelancer is for you, there are a few benefits and drawbacks of the freelance life that you may wish to consider. The best way that I can describe the benefits of being a freelancer is to simply … Continue reading →

Benefits For The Self-Employed Part 3: Two More Retirement Planning Options

For the last installment of this series on benefits for the self-employed, I am going to explore two additional options for retirement planning, the SEP IRA and the individual 401k. It is good that there are a few options available to home-based business owners when it comes to retirement planning. Of course, the fact that there are differences between the various options that are available means that you will have to invest some time in learning about your options and choosing the one that will work best for you. The SEP IRA and the individual 401k both offer flexible annual … Continue reading →

Benefits For The Self-Employed Part 2: Retirement

We have already discussed some of the options available to home-based professionals for one of the benefits that they often give up when they leave a traditional job. While health insurance is probably the most common benefit received by people in the world of traditional work, retirement plans are a close second. Not every job offers a retirement plan, but many do, and people that are thinking of making the leap to self-employment often wonder how they will plan for their retirement on their own. Fortunately, there are a few retirement planning options that self-employed people can choose from. It … Continue reading →