Setting up shop as self employed in the US

2 points by opminion 277 days ago | 1 comment

Moving to the US from Europe as software developer, with an ongoing contract with a customer abroad.

What kind of professional help should I look for? I've seen that I need a CPA (Accountant) and I'm reading up on tax resources in Freelancer's Union web site.

Should I try to use a web app such as TaxAct or should I make sure I speak with a human accountant, even if my set up, once ongoing, should be quite straightforward?

ahdanggit 277 days ago |

I would strongly suggest speaking with a human accountant. I did this recently after doing some contracting on-the-side for a couple years and I should have done it sooner. It cost me something like $50 for an hour of their time and had I done it sooner I'd easily have saved $5000 in taxes. They can help you understand things like how to pay estimated quarterly taxes so as to avoid the penalty of not doing so. What you can and can't deduct (there was a TON of things I could have deducted) and how to track and log it.