Tax Time for Freelancers

I've just started putting together my taxes for the 2006 year. OMG! Its a tad complicated...

Lets just say for my first year as a freelance writer I didn't do too badly. I made more than $5,000 but less than $10,000--so I'm still way under the poverty limit but can actually earn some cash with this writing thing...FYI...writing a romance novel. I'll tell you when I finish it..LOL! Yes, I am using a lot of really out of date techno/high school abbreviations.

So far I've found out I earned enough that I'm required to fill out my taxes as a self-employed personage and I get to pay double taxes for being a freelancer.(Not really its just that I get to pay the half of my social security that would normally be covered by an employer.) Here's what I've got to fill out:

Form 1040
Schedule C or Schedule c-ez
Schedule SE
Schedule A
Possibly some other stuff I haven't come across yet.

By the way here's a link to Writer Unboxed which has a post filled with lots of informational links to articles on tax time for writers.

In previous years I'd been using the 1040EZ but now I've got to switch to the 1040 because its the only form that has a place to declare self-employment income from the Schedule C, which is where I would basically report my income as a writer since I don't get a W-2 from clients. Kind of a weird feeling.

I fill out Schedule SE to find out how much social security I owe on my self-employment income. Not clear yet on whether or not I can affect that with credits and deductions or if I have to pay it anyway.

On Schedule A I get to itemize deductions on my earned income-but I'm not sure yet if I need to use it or if I can make some deductions on Schedule C or if I should just take the standard deduction.

And I may or may not need to start making quarterly tax payments this year.

Kudos to Freelance Writing for a great opening line to start tax time-Oh Joy! Very Helpful Tax Form explanation on Wiki The IRS also has a one-stop resource page for self-employment and small business tax information. And here's a great article on About for Freelancers dealing with tax time