Guides

The work around the work.

The directory describes what you could sell. These guides cover what comes with selling it on your own: tax payments, coverage, registration, permits, insurance, records, scope and getting paid. Each guide cites the official pages it was written from, and tax guides carry a visible tax-year note.

• The estimated tax calendar for self-employed work

  How IRS estimated tax works when nobody withholds from your pay, the 2026 tax year payment dates from Form 1040-ES, the $1,000 rule of thumb and how to set up a payment routine.

• Self-employment tax and net earnings, explained without the jargon

  What self-employment tax covers, the 2026 tax year rate, the $400 filing threshold and wage base from the IRS, and why net earnings rather than invoices drive the figure.

• The home office deduction: who qualifies and the two ways to figure it

  The IRS tests for regular and exclusive use and principal place of business, the simplified option at $5 per square foot up to 300 square feet, and how the regular method differs.

• Health coverage when you work for yourself

  How HealthCare.gov describes Marketplace coverage for self-employed people with no employees, estimating net self-employment income for savings, special enrollment after losing job-based coverage, and spouse plans.

• Retirement plan types for self-employed people

  The plan types the IRS lists for self-employed savers, including SEP, one-participant 401(k), SIMPLE IRA and defined benefit plans, how each is set up, and why contribution limits must be checked each year.

• Sole proprietor, LLC or corporation, and when you need an EIN

  How the SBA describes sole proprietorships, LLCs and corporations, why structure affects liability and paperwork, what a DBA does, and how to get a free EIN directly from the IRS.

• Licenses, permits and zoning for a home-based business

  Federal, state and local licenses as the SBA describes them, why zoning can apply even at home, lease and HOA questions, and a step-by-step way to find what your own work requires.

• Business insurance types for people who work for themselves

  The six common types of business insurance the SBA lists, what each is meant to cover, what is required when you have employees, and questions to ask before you buy a policy.

• Contractor or employee? How the IRS looks at the relationship

  The three categories of evidence the IRS uses to decide worker status, why a contract label does not settle it, how Form SS-8 works, and what self-employed people should check both as workers and when hiring help.

• Separating business money from personal money

  Why the SBA recommends a business bank account once money changes hands, what banks usually ask for, fees to compare, and a simple weekly routine for keeping business and personal spending apart.

• Writing a scope of work that prevents disputes

  A practical structure for a scope of work, including deliverables, exclusions, revision limits, client responsibilities, acceptance and change requests, with plain language you can adapt.

• Chasing late payments without burning the relationship

  How to set payment terms that make late payment less likely, a reminder sequence from friendly to firm, what to record along the way, and the formal options to look into if a client still does not pay.

Pair the guides with the startup sheet and the quote floor, which use only the numbers you enter.