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Tax season in Kansas City does not start in April. For anyone with a small business, a side gig, or a cross-state commute, the smoothest filings begin in December. Here is a month-by-month plan. December: last chance to change the numbers* Estimate your profit and decide on any year-end purchases or retirement contributions * Open a Solo 401(k) now if you want one for this year * Make charitable gifts before December 31 Details: The Best Tax Break Kansas City Freelancers Igno

Every tax season, someone brings me a shoebox. Sometimes it is an actual shoebox; sometimes it is 4,000 unsorted photos on a phone. Either way, the cost is the same: hours of cleanup, missed deductions, and stress if the IRS or the state ever asks a question. Here is a recordkeeping system that takes about 20 minutes a month. The monthly 20-minute routine1. Download statements for every business bank and card account. 2. Snap or forward receipts into one folder or app as you

When self-employed clients ask me how to lower their tax bill, the answer that gets the least attention is often the biggest: put money into your own retirement plan. Every dollar you contribute to a SEP IRA or Solo 401(k) can reduce your federal income tax, and because Missouri and Kansas both start from federal adjusted gross income, it lowers your state tax too. Why it works so well for freelancers* No employer is offering you a 401(k) match, so you have to build your own

Kansas City small businesses straddle two states, and that makes a first hire a little more complicated than the national checklists suggest. Here is the local version: what to register, where, and what is different on each side of State Line Road. Everywhere: the federal basics* EIN from the IRS * Form W-4 and Form I-9 for each new hire * Withhold and deposit federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, plus your employer match * File Form 941 quarterly, Form 940 yearly

If you live in Overland Park and work downtown, or live in the Northland and commute to Lenexa, tax season comes with extra questions. Here are the eight I hear most from Kansas City metro commuters. 1. Do I really have to file in both states?Usually, yes. Your home state taxes all your income, and the state where you work taxes what you earn there. Kansas and Missouri do not have a reciprocity agreement. 2. Will I be taxed twice?Not fully. Your home state gives you a credit

From the Plaza to Overland Park to the Northland, thousands of Kansas Citians drive for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and Amazon Flex. Most of them are surprised by their first tax bill. Here is a local, no-jargon game plan. The five-minute version1. You are self-employed, so nothing is withheld. 2. Every dollar you earn is taxable, even without a 1099. 3. Your miles are your biggest deduction, so track them. 4. Set aside about a quarter of every weekly payout. 5. Pay estim

Kansas City has more home-based businesses and remote workers than ever. The question I hear most from both groups is simple: "Can I deduct my home office?" The honest answer depends on how you are paid. If you are a W-2 employee working remotelyUnder current federal law, employees cannot deduct a home office, even if their employer requires them to work from home. That surprises many people in the metro who went remote. What you can do instead: ask your employer about an acc

Working for yourself in the Kansas City metro means juggling federal tax, a state return (or two), and possibly a city earnings tax. Here is a practical checklist for freelancers, contractors and one-person businesses on both sides of State Line Road. Federal: the big three* Self-employment tax (15.3%) on about 92.35% of your net profit. I explain the math step by step in How Self-Employment Tax Works. * Income tax on profit after deductions, including half of your self-emplo

"Should I be an LLC or an S corp?" is one of the most common questions small business owners ask, and it is a little bit of a trick question. An LLC is a legal structure created under state law. An S corporation is a tax election made with the IRS. Many small businesses are both: an LLC that elects to be taxed as an S corporation. Here is how to think about it. 1. What an LLC doesA limited liability company separates your business from you personally, which can protect your p

Every January, small business owners scramble to send 1099s to the contractors they paid. Recent federal tax law changed the rules, so the checklist you used last year may not match this year. Here is what to know before January 31. 1. The 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC threshold went upFor years, you had to send a Form 1099-NEC to any contractor you paid $600 or more for services in a year. Under the 2025 federal tax law, that threshold rises to $2,000 for payments made after Decemb

The last six weeks of the year are when small business owners have the most control over their tax bill. Once January 1 arrives, most of these choices are locked in. Here is a practical checklist to work through before December 31. 1. Get your books current firstYou cannot plan around numbers you do not have. Reconcile your bank and credit card accounts through October or November, clear out uncategorized transactions, and run a year-to-date profit and loss. Then estimate Dec

Most new business owners put off bookkeeping until tax season, and that is when it hurts. Cleaning up twelve months of mixed-up receipts is slow and expensive. Setting things up in the first month takes a few hours and saves you far more. Here are ten steps in a sensible order. 1. Open a separate business bank accountDo this first. Mixing business and personal money is the most common bookkeeping mistake, and it makes everything harder: figuring out profit, claiming deduction

Say you run a mobile pet-grooming van business, or you're a real estate agent driving to showings. You put 15,000 miles on the car this year. At tax time you ask, "What can I deduct for the car?" That's the wrong first question. The right one is: which method are you using, and did you pick it correctly the first year? Choose wrong and you can lock yourself out of the better option. The two methodsStandard mileage rate. For 2025, the rate is 70 cents per mile. That single rat

Say you're a freelance web designer who left a W-2 job in March. For the first time, no one is taking tax out of your checks. You earn well that year. In April of the next year you owe $11,000, and the return also includes an underpayment penalty. You didn't do anything shady. You just didn't know the IRS wants its money during the year, not all at once. The fix is simple, and it has a built-in shield. If you pay the right amount, the penalty can't touch you, even if you stil

Filing status is one of the first boxes on your tax return, and one of the most expensive to get wrong. Head of household gives you a bigger standard deduction and wider tax brackets than filing single, which can mean a noticeably lower tax bill. But the rules are specific, and the IRS checks them. Here is how to tell whether you qualify. The three testsTo file as head of household, you generally must meet all three of these: * You are unmarried, or "considered unmarried," on

Who is Robert Allen Bautista?Robert Allen Bautista is an independent tax preparer and accountant based in Kansas City. He helps individuals, self-employed workers, and small businesses with tax preparation, IRS notices, bookkeeping, and financial planning, in English and Spanish. What is his professional background?Robert spent close to four years as a tax associate at PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) in Dallas, working on partnership and corporate tax engagements. He later serve

Si usted trabaja y gana un ingreso bajo o moderado, puede tener derecho a créditos de impuestos que le devuelven dinero, aunque no deba impuestos. Muchas familias en Kansas City no los reclaman porque no saben que existen. Crédito por Ingreso del Trabajo (EITC): Es para personas que trabajan, con o sin hijos. El monto depende de su ingreso y del número de hijos que califican. Si tiene hijos, el crédito puede ser de varios miles de dólares. Crédito Tributario por Hijos (CTC):

If you live or work in Kansas City, Missouri, you may owe a city tax that surprises a lot of newcomers: the 1% earnings tax. Who owes it: Residents of Kansas City, Missouri owe 1% on their earned income, no matter where they work. Nonresidents owe 1% on the wages they earn for work performed inside Kansas City, Missouri city limits. Living in Kansas City, Kansas or another suburb doesn't exempt you from tax on work done in KCMO. How it's usually paid: Most employers inside th

An envelope from the IRS is stressful, but most letters are routine and can be resolved by mail. Here's how to handle one. Confirm it's real: The IRS starts contact by mail, not by text, email or social media, and it never demands payment by gift card or wire transfer. If in doubt, find the phone number on IRS.gov rather than using the one in a suspicious message. Find the notice number: Look in the top or bottom right corner for a code like CP2000, CP14 or LTR 525. Search th

Many amended returns start the same way: something was missing at the first appointment. Here's a checklist that gets it right the first time. Identification: A photo ID for you (and your spouse if filing jointly), plus Social Security cards or ITIN letters for everyone on the return. Names and numbers must match Social Security records exactly, or the return can be rejected. Last year's return: It shows carryovers (capital losses, depreciation, credits), your prior-year AGI