Self-employed and side income

Self-employed tax preparation that sets up next year, too.

Schedule C, 1099-NEC and 1099-K sorted, your PA and local business income reported, and the quarterly estimates for next year worked out before you leave. One price on the pricing page: $575, illustrative.

Sound familiar?

  • A side business started as a favour and turned into real money.
  • An April bill arrived that nobody warned you about.
  • The receipts are in a shoebox, a glovebox and three email folders.

Or call (412) 555-0163. January to April: Monday to Friday 9 am to 7 pm, Saturday 9 am to 2 pm.

Book a 30-minute sit-down

Three details. A preparer calls within one business day to set a time, at the office or by video.

The sit-down costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Your price is in writing before any work starts.

How it works

Three steps from shoebox to filed.

  1. Step 1

    Sort the income

    We match every 1099-NEC and 1099-K to your bank deposits and pick up the cash and card income no form reported.

  2. Step 2

    Find the expenses

    Mileage, the home office, supplies, phone and software, worked out from what you have, with a list of what to keep next year.

  3. Step 3

    Set up next year

    Federal, PA and local estimates calculated and calendared, so the next April is a filing and not a bill.

What we sort

Every form, and the income that came without one.

Income is taxable whether or not a form arrives. The 1099-K threshold is back to $20,000 and more than 200 transactions, so many sellers and drivers will not get one at all.

1099-NECFreelance and contract workReady
1099-KPayment apps and marketplacesReady
Cash and cardIncome with no form at allReady
Mileage logBusiness miles, rebuilt if neededReady
Home officeThe space you use only for workReady
Schedule CFederal, PA and local versionsFiled

Quarterly estimates

Three sets of estimates, one calendar.

Self-employed City residents pay the local earned income tax quarterly as well. We put all three on one calendar. More on the local side on the local tax returns page.

  1. April 30

    First local quarter

    Pittsburgh self-employed earned income tax, first quarter, alongside your federal and PA first estimates.

  2. July 31

    Second local quarter

    Adjusted if the business had a big or a slow spring.

  3. October 31

    Third local quarter

    A check-in call if your income has moved by more than a quarter.

  4. January 31

    Fourth local quarter

    The last payment for the year, then the return.

Fair questions

What people say before they book.

“My side income is small.”

Small income still needs reporting, and small businesses have the most to gain from the expenses they forget. If it really is tiny, the family tier may cover it.

“I already use a bookkeeping app.”

Good. Export it and bring it. The app tracks; it does not decide what is deductible or file your local return.

“I have not kept receipts.”

Most people have not. Bank and card statements get us most of the way, and we show you how to keep the rest from now on.

How we do it

Built so next April is a filing, not a bill.

The return is half the job. The other half is setting the estimates so the money is put aside as you earn it. Elliot works them out from this year's numbers and sends a reminder before each date.

If you also have a W-2 job, we look at whether extra withholding is simpler than quarterly payments. If a letter arrives about a 1099 you did not expect, that is notice help, and you bring it to the same person.

Who you will work with

Elliot Varga, senior preparer, on a Brookline street with hillside rowhouses behind himElliot VargaSenior Preparer

Elliot leads every self-employed and side-income return.

Elliot Varga, senior preparer, on a Brookline street with hillside rowhouses behind him

Where we work

Brookline first, then the whole city.

Our office is at 1031 Brookline Blvd, Suite 2, Pittsburgh, PA 15226. Most clients live within twenty minutes of it; plenty never visit at all and do everything by secure upload and a phone call.

  • Brookline
  • Beechview
  • Overbrook
  • Carrick
  • Banksville
  • Bon Air
  • Dormont
  • Mt. Lebanon
  • Castle Shannon
  • Baldwin
  • Whitehall
  • Bethel Park
  • Green Tree
  • Mount Oliver
  • Anywhere in Pennsylvania, remotely

Before you book

Self-employed questions, answered plainly

Something else? Call (412) 555-0163 and a preparer will answer.

Do I have to report income if I did not get a 1099?

Yes. Income is taxable whether or not a form arrives. We help you total it from your deposits.

What is the 1099-K threshold now?

Back to $20,000 and more than 200 transactions. Below that you may not get a form, but the income still counts.

Do I pay local earned income tax on business income?

Yes, City residents pay it on net profit, quarterly. The rates and dates are in our earned income tax guide.

I have two small businesses. What does that cost?

Each extra Schedule C adds $125 to the $575 self-employed price (illustrative). See pricing.

Can you help with last year too?

Yes. If last year's return left the business out or got it wrong, we correct it as an amended return.

Next step

Bring the shoebox. We will sort it.

Book a 30-minute sit-down, bring last year's return and whatever you have for this year, and leave with your price in writing.

Book a 30-minute sit-down

or call (412) 555-0163

Call (412) 555-0163 Book a sit-down