Self-Employment Clinic

Did you earn over $6,000 from self-employment or contract work?  Was your total gross income $55,000 or less?  If so, we have a free tax prep clinic specialized for those who are self-employed. It’s located at our main office and is available by appointment.

Self-employment Online Scheduling Will

Re-Open At The End of January! 

How to get an appointment

We’re busy doing taxes year-round and appointments fill up fast.

Note: All Self- Employment appointments take place at our main office. Please allow for about 2-4 hours to have your taxes completed.

You can schedule your appointment online or over the phone. Call our Self-Employment line at (651) 262-2169 or click the button below to schedule.

Prepare + Prosper Main Office

Eligibility

  • Total annual household income of $55,000 or less (gross income from all sources).
  • Sole proprietors, independent contractors, and single-member LLCs only.
  • We do not prepare returns for corporations, partnerships, businesses with employees, taxi drivers, clergy, day trader, returns with income from rental property including renters in your home, or returns with any cryptocurrency transactions.
    If your self-employment income was less than $6,000 

    You can go to our general tax clinic at our main office. The only exception is if you had a home office or operated a home day care.

IT’S YOUR BUSINESS, TAKE CHARGE

As someone who is self-employed, you are a small business owner. We’re here to help you understand and meet your tax filing obligations. We can also help you get organized before your appointment if you call our self-employment line. While you’re at your appointment, we’ll have information on resources in the area to help you grow your business.

What is needed for your tax appointment:

Our Self-Employment Tax Organizer (SETO) is based on Schedule C, Profit or Loss from a Business or Service. Use this tool to record your income and expenses from your self-employment.

  • The SETO must be completed before your appointment.
  • Photo ID for the taxpayer (and spouse if filing jointly). Both spouses must take part in the process for a joint return.
  • Social Security card or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) card/letter for all persons listed on the return.
  • Birthdate for all persons listed on the return.
  • Income statements and forms: W-2, 1099-NEC, 1099-K, or any other tax document.
  • Copy of last year’s return – this is important for self-employed taxpayers as it may have needed information about business or service necessary for this year’s return.
  • For direct deposit or direct debit – routing and account information.

We must have proof of your Social Security number (and everyone else on the return) by way of a Social Security card, a digital image of it, a previous year’s return, or a document from the IRS or Social Security Administration.

You do not need to bring supporting documentation to your appointment: Invoices, receipts, bank or credit card statements, and mileage logs, but do keep them for your records.

Self- Employment FAQ

Our regular tax appointments can handle most simple self-employment situations with self-employment income of up to $10,000. You need to schedule with our self-employment services if:

-you have more than $10,000 of self-employment income; or,
-you have an inventory of goods; or,
-you have a business use of your home; or,
-you operate a daycare; or,
-you purchased equipment that must be depreciated.

There may be additional circumstances where we ask you to use our self-employment services due to the complexity of your return, but these are the common situations.

You can call 651-262-2169 for additional screening.

The SETO is our Self-Employment Tax Organizer. It is a tool to assist you in getting organized for your tax appointment. It will ask you to total all your self-employment income for the year and try to total your various receipts so we don't need to spend time adding everything up during the appointment.

Everyone who uses our self-employment services must have a completed SETO to bring with them to their appointment. If you do not complete a SETO before your appointment you will be provided with a SETO and asked to reschedule when you arrive.

If you have a question about a particular expense, you can call 651-262-2169 before your appointment or bring the question to your preparer.

SETO Tax Year 2023

SETO Day Care 2023

 

The SETO is a recordkeeping and organizational tool to help you gather your records before your tax appointment. You will gather your business records and use them to fill in the various sections of the SETO. We have a detailed Cheat Sheet to assist in completing the SETO.

We also had a Lunch & Learn on recordkeeping. We recommend setting aside adequate time to complete the SETO as it can take time depending on how organized your business records were beforehand.

If you need assistance completing your SETO before your tax appointment, call 651-262-2169 or email patrick@prepareandprosper.org.

SETO Cheat Sheet (English)

SETO Cheat Sheet (Spanish)

In general, a nonpersonal expense that is helpful for the business will be deductible. Cars are usually deducted based on your business miles. We created a handout and had a virtual Lunch & Learn on this topic. If you have a question about if a particular expense will be deductible, you can call 651-262-2169 or email patrick@prepareandprosper.org.

Business Expense Handout

We don't do any ongoing accounting services. If your business is looking for an accountant, you will want to check out the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Find more information here: www.mncpa.org

Estimated tax payments are due in April, June, September, and January, typically on the 15th. The exact due date changes if the 15th falls on a weekend or holiday. You can learn more about estimated tax payments by reading our handout or watching our recorded Lunch & Learn on the topic.

Estimated Tax Payment Basics

Lunch & Learn Estimated Tax Payments

Unfortunately, we don't do any business advising, however, there are many resources and business organizations out there to assist. We have collected some resources available in the twin cities area.

Small Business Resources

If your original tax return was prepared elsewhere, you will need an appointment with our self-employment clinic. Because of the high demand for our current year services, we will only be amending Tax Year 2020 tax returns during the 2024 tax filing season. We will amend other year tax returns when our summer sessions begin in June.

If Prepare + Prosper prepared the original tax return that needs to be amended, you do not need an appointment. You just need to complete an amendment request form and bring it to our offices.

Amendment Request Form

We do not have the ability to file sales tax returns. However, we do have a handout about sales tax basics and had a Lunch & Learn on the topic. The Minnesota Department of Revenue also has information on how to file and filing requirements.

Sales Tax Basics Handout

Lunch & Learn Sales and Use Tax Basics

Find more information here: www.revenue.state.mn.us/sales-and-use-tax

 

We cannot file a form 1099 for your business. The IRS has a free online portal to generate and issue 1099s to your contractors. You need to create an irs.gov account but do not need any additional software.

If you are required to issue a 1099 to a contractor, you typically must issue it before January 31st.

Find more information here: https://www.irs.gov/filing/e-file-forms-1099-with-iris