Taxes, Demystified
The thing everyone dreads, in plain English. What you owe, when it's due, and how to keep it from biting you.
- Income tax: you're taxed on profit, not everything you take in: Start with the relief: as a sole proprietor or single-member LLC, your business doesn't pay income tax on its own — the profit 'passes…
- Self-employment tax: the one that surprises everyone: This is the one nobody warns you about. At a job, your employer quietly paid half of your Social Security and Medicare. Now you're both the…
- Estimated taxes: pay as you go, four times a year: Because no employer withholds tax for you anymore, the IRS wants its share throughout the year instead of one giant bill in April. If you…
- Employment taxes: the moment you hire someone: The day you bring on your first employee, a new layer shows up — payroll taxes. You withhold income and Social Security/Medicare from their…
- State and local taxes: know your own backyard: Federal is only half the story. Depending on where you operate, you may owe state income tax, sales tax, city or county taxes, and maybe a…
- Record keeping: the boring habit that saves you: Nearly every tax headache traces back to messy records. Good records mean you claim every deduction you've earned, you can prove it if the…
- Accounting basics, without the jargon: You don't need to become an accountant — you need just enough to make good calls and talk to one. Two ideas cover most of it: whether you…
- Where to get real answers (free): When you have a specific tax question, you want the source — not a random forum thread. The good news: the IRS and the SBA/FDIC publish…
More playlists on money
- Cash is Tight This Week: Collect what's owed and raise your floor — two moves that buy you breathing room fast.
- Money Basics: New to the money side? Start here — separate your accounts, see what's really happening, and price so you actually get paid.
- Take Control of Your Money: Got the basics handled? Go further — know your numbers cold, build a cushion, and keep more of every dollar.
- Fund Your Business: Need money to start or grow? Figure out how much, learn your real options, build business credit, and find the right lender.
- Get Funding-Ready: Turn a nervous ask into an approval: know what lenders check, understand SBA loans and grants, and steer clear of the money that sinks businesses.
- Scale Up Your Business: Ready to grow bigger? Know when you're truly ready, fund it without sinking, add capacity without breaking, protect your profit, and build systems so it doesn't all rest on you.
- Buy or Sell a Business: Grow by buying instead of building, weigh a franchise, or plan the exit that pays you back. Vet a deal, value and fund it, and get your own business ready to sell.
- Protect & Recover From Disaster: A flood, hurricane, fire, or storm closes more small businesses than any recession. Prepare before, insure against the real gaps, move fast after, tap SBA disaster loans, and reopen stronger.
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