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So You Want to be A Freelancer

samuelmullen.com

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Re: So You Want to be A Freelancer

#11

Post by anu_gupta »

michaelochurch wrote: post #5

Oh, there is one more tiny matter: taxes. Make sure to take a 1/3 of each invoice you are paid and put it into savings for taxes. Seriously, you don’t want to make this mistake. Also, you will have to pay taxes quarterly (well, more specifically, to make estimated payments each quarter). Withholdings at day jobs abstract away the quarterly obligation, allowing you to file once a year (and, usually, get a refund) but…

> Also, you will have to pay taxes quarterly

If you're in the US. In other countries, different tax regulations apply.

Re: So You Want to be A Freelancer

#12

Post by danso »

Nursie wrote: post #10

I'd love to go freelance. Luckily here in the UK there is a thriving(ish) market in contract work. Short time, usually project-based, better paying than perm work. So far it's been quite fun.

Related question...all other things considered, do Europeans (well, anywhere with strong universal healthcare) find it easier to do freelance/contract work because of the healthcare guarantees?

Re: So You Want to be A Freelancer

#13

Post by jasonkester »

michaelochurch wrote: post #5

Oh, there is one more tiny matter: taxes. Make sure to take a 1/3 of each invoice you are paid and put it into savings for taxes. Seriously, you don’t want to make this mistake. Also, you will have to pay taxes quarterly (well, more specifically, to make estimated payments each quarter). Withholdings at day jobs abstract away the quarterly obligation, allowing you to file once a year (and, usually, get a refund) but…

you will have to pay taxes quarterly

Have you ever tried not paying your taxes quarterly? The penalty is only a few hundred dollars. As in, one or two billable hours. As in, not enough to justify taking time off from paying work to do them those extra three times a year.

In years where my memory is especially good and I remember that I'm supposed to do quarterly taxes, I'll send off an enormous check at some point over the summer for about what I paid in taxes the year previous, with my SSN scribbled on it. That's actually surprisingly effective.

Most years, I let it slide and simply tack on an extra 0.4% to my total tax bill in April.

Re: So You Want to be A Freelancer

#14

Post by mmastrac »

danso wrote: post #12
Nursie wrote: post #10

I'd love to go freelance. Luckily here in the UK there is a thriving(ish) market in contract work. Short time, usually project-based, better paying than perm work. So far it's been quite fun.

Related question...all other things considered, do Europeans (well, anywhere with strong universal healthcare) find it easier to do freelance/contract work because of the healthcare guarantees?

As a Canuck I can whole-heartedly: yes. I pay for supplemental health care (~300/mth for a family of 3) on top of universal, but we've been considering ditching it.

Re: So You Want to be A Freelancer

#15

Post by k-mcgrady »

danso wrote: post #12
Nursie wrote: post #10

I'd love to go freelance. Luckily here in the UK there is a thriving(ish) market in contract work. Short time, usually project-based, better paying than perm work. So far it's been quite fun.

Related question...all other things considered, do Europeans (well, anywhere with strong universal healthcare) find it easier to do freelance/contract work because of the healthcare guarantees?

I've been freelancing for 5 years (since I was 18) and I'm positive I couldn't have done it living in the US. I don't have to worry about health care and I know that if I were unable to get work for a while (not happened so far) I could apply to receive housing and job seekers benefits among other things.

Re: So You Want to be A Freelancer

#16

Post by k-mcgrady »

anu_gupta wrote: post #11
michaelochurch wrote: post #5

Oh, there is one more tiny matter: taxes. Make sure to take a 1/3 of each invoice you are paid and put it into savings for taxes. Seriously, you don’t want to make this mistake. Also, you will have to pay taxes quarterly (well, more specifically, to make estimated payments each quarter). Withholdings at day jobs abstract away the quarterly obligation, allowing you to file once a year (and, usually, get a refund) but…

> Also, you will have to pay taxes quarterly If you're in the US. In other countries, different tax regulations apply.

Glad this was clarified. I'm in the UK and pay taxes once per year (and National Insurance every few months). Thought I'd been missing something for a moment :)

Re: So You Want to be A Freelancer

#17

Post by jdminhbg »

jasonkester wrote: post #13
michaelochurch wrote: post #5

Oh, there is one more tiny matter: taxes. Make sure to take a 1/3 of each invoice you are paid and put it into savings for taxes. Seriously, you don’t want to make this mistake. Also, you will have to pay taxes quarterly (well, more specifically, to make estimated payments each quarter). Withholdings at day jobs abstract away the quarterly obligation, allowing you to file once a year (and, usually, get a refund) but…

you will have to pay taxes quarterly Have you ever tried not paying your taxes quarterly? The penalty is only a few hundred dollars. As in, one or two billable hours. As in, not enough to justify taking time off from paying work to do them those extra three times a year. In years where my memory is especially good and I remember that I'm supposed to do quarterly taxes, I'll send off an enormous check at some point ov…

This is the strategy I also employ -- generally by the 1/15 date I send a check for what I sent the year before. I don't even bother sending estimated state income tax, that works out to like a $25 penalty by the time they get back to me.

Re: So You Want to be A Freelancer

#18

Post by mcdougle »

swamp40 wrote: post #8

Anyone have advice on how to handle health insurance for a family? I've always been worried that once you stray from the protections offered in a group plan, the insurance will just dump you if you have any major issues. And then once you're dumped it's a "pre-existing condition" and now no one will cover it but a group plan - forcing you to join a company again.

There are many options for individual (as in non-group, not as in non-family) health insurance, although to avoid the hassles of what you're talking about you might have to think outside the box. A typical major medical policy will increase premiums if you start to have medical problems, and if you try to switch you have to deal with "pre-existing conditions."

There are other options, but they work differently and seem scary to most people who are used to letting the company deal with it at a first glance.

Source: I was a health insurance salesman for a short period of time, and was licensed to sell for most of the insurance companies out there. It's part of why I'm not scared of going out on my own and freelancing -- I know enough about how insurance works not to worry about it, and can even sell myself a policy and get commission. However, it's been a couple of years, and I probably can't give you accurate, detailed information -- many of the insurance companies are revamping their business models and policies in anticipation of Obamacare.

Re: So You Want to be A Freelancer

#19

Post by bpatrianakos »

I can relate so much. This is so true. Three years ago I was in a position where the only way to get into the business was freelancing. I quit my job at a place that I'm so embarrassed to have worked for I won't mention it (it was fast good) and started freelancing. I did it for two years and still take on side work now after getting a full time position as a developer at a tech company. I was lucky to make that transition and even luckier to have survived as a freelancer.

The Internet using public is changing. Websites are commodities to most people. They don't want to pay and its a huge hustle to get a gig that pays what you're worth. People see the free website they get with hosting and assume you should be able to do it as cheaply, quickly, and the only reason they come to you sometimes is because they just don't want to use the free website builder. They think your job is as valuable as the free site builder and often see you as a mechanical Turk that would just do what they'd do with the free tool.

I see the future of indie web dev being in services, not website design and development.

Re: So You Want to be A Freelancer

#20

Post by [deleted] »

davedx wrote: post #9

Taking your annual salary and dividing by 1000 could be a sure fire way to sell yourself short and pick up terrible clients. I would suggest instead to look at what the better freelancers charge (in the US, somewhere in the 50-100 USD range) and figure out where you fit in that based on your skills, experience, portfolio and available work.

[deleted]
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