This post was originally published on Sept 25, 2015, and updated on December 20, 2018.

Being self-employed is one of the best-kept secrets in the tax code.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s a matter of fact, the self-employed individuals have their own tax code; a lot of hidden deductions, a treasure trove of deductions that are for the self-employed individuals. I will show you what you can deduct as a self-employed person.

During strategic tax planning, I will show you how to take these deductions based on your unique vision, and that’s really the key. We have to have your unique vision written out to discover the deductions that are unique to you. We are going to be deducting a portion of your mortgage; perhaps a portion of your rent, home expenses, car expenses, travel expenses, entertainment, computers, software, cell phones, printers- and guess what? Even your kids’ allowance. That’s really important, especially in my world because I have four kids, and getting those kids’ allowance deductible is really important to me.

So, what does it take to be self-employed? A lot of you may be thinking, I want to be self-employed but I really don’t know where to start. I hear about self-employment. Is it for me? Is it the thing for me to do?

From a tax perspective, I can certainly tell you that self-employment is a golden goose- from a tax perspective; but let’s be realistic.  Self-employment does have some other caveats associated with it. There are certainly long hours in the beginning with very little money, a very little revenue coming in. It can be a one-man show. As they say, it’s lonely at the top. It can certainly be stressful at times but even in the most stressful times, I wouldn’t give up being self-employed.

Strategic tax planning can help you optimize all of your efforts. All of your long hours, all of the stressful times can turn into gold when it comes time for taxes. Through strategic planning, we can teach you how to maximize the benefits, and get those great deductions, and minimize the burden because that’s really the key. We want to minimize the burden of being self-employed.