Cornered Office
with Mir Kamin
I'm a freelance writer and mother of two working from home, which theoretically means I can set my own schedule so as to best accommodate my family. In reality, "flexible hours" often equals "working too much." Yes, I'm my own boss; no, that doesn't mean life is easy. It's hard to leave the office when you live there. But I love what I do and feel very lucky. And not just because I get paid to work in my pajamas.
To learn more about Mir, check out her profile on Work It, Mom! or visit her blog at http://www.wouldashoulda.com/
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I have an appointment with my accountant today to ready my 2008 tax return.
I have a folder full of stuff and printouts of my Quicken logs and thanks to my plan for increased organization in 2008 I’m totally and completely ready with no surprises whatsoever!
Ahahahahahahaha! I’m funny. Okay; I’m in much better shape than I was last year, that part is true. But my hopes for a completely painless readying for taxes were dashed when I started gathering up my 1099s. And I was so close, too.
I think it’ll all be fine. But I can’t escape the feeling that perhaps I’m just not meant to have organization in my life when it comes to my money. Excuse me while I just bang my head on the desk a couple of times….
Let’s recap: This past year I started using Quicken to log my invoices and cash flow, so that I’d stay on top of my accounting. On the whole I really like my new system; I always know how much money I’ve received, what invoices have been sent out, and what payments are still outstanding (and therefore, which clients I need to hassle). I’ve spent the year quite pleased with myself, really. At the press of a button I’ve known exactly what was going on, when. I totally won at bookkeeping!
Except.
Well, let me tell you what happened last night when I sat down to gather up my paperwork for my accountant. I sat down with a pile of 1099s and my Quicken reports and discovered that…
… I know exactly how much money I earned from sources who aren’t obligated to send me a 1099, for once. (This was a small but happy victory.)
… one client still hasn’t sent me a 1099 who should’ve. Whoops.
… another client I’m pretty sure should’ve sent me a 1099 and didn’t, but maybe they don’t have to and I’m confused.
… I need a 1099 I should be able to access online, but I can’t seem to figure out how to get it. Possibly because I’m a moron.
… one client had a merger mid-year and my 1099 came to me from their new controlling management, which is fine. What is less fine is that they appear to have lost the first half of the year’s books, because the 1099 they sent me only reflects about half the year’s earnings with them. Hrm.
… for a couple of the sources through which I earn affiliate revenue, the number I have in my records and the number on my 1099 do not match. They’re close! So close! But not the same. On one I think I made more than they claim; on the other I think I made less. This is likely related to payments made right around the beginning or end of the year, and isn’t a big deal, but I may be just a wee bit anal retentive and it’s driving me insane that I cannot make the numbers match. Gah!
I trust that my accountant will happily take my folder and my notes and my explanations (and—let’s not forget—my money) and make it all work out. But I find myself frustrated that it doesn’t all line up neatly.
Maybe 2009 is going to be my hassle-free tax year. I can dream.
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this is why as a freelancer I am so glad I married P — he’s also a CPA.
(hey, it was that or an auto mechanic)
sure you don’t want to have lunch today?
Melissa D | February 17th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Keeping a good accounting thought for you today. Good luck!
Sharon | February 18th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Ech. 1099s never seem to be 100% OK, and I am totally freaked at doing my own taxes, but the only times we tried bringing it to “professionals”, they knew less than I did about it! Double ech. Good luck!
Brigitte | February 19th, 2009 at 5:46 am
The affliliate revenue issue maybe due to the fact that the 1099 will only report actual checks remitted during the year, while your billing may reflect money earned but not yet paid to you during the year. Clear as mud?
And don’t worry about missing or incorrect 1099s. If you want to be absolutely honest with the IRS (of COURSE you do!), go with what your records show to be accurate.
RuthWells | February 23rd, 2009 at 3:08 pm