For freelancers, contractors & app-based drivers
Paid through an app? The IRS already got a copy.
Straight answers on 1099-K and 1099-NEC income, self-employment tax, quarterly estimates, mileage, and Schedule C audits. Written by Tampa tax attorney Darrin T. Mish, in plain English, with the Code sections to back it up.
Six topics. Thirty guides.
Pick the problem you actually have
1099 Forms & Reporting
Form 1099-K, 1099-NEC, wrong or missing forms, and income no one reported for you.
024 guidesSelf-Employment Tax
How the 15.3% tax on your net earnings works, the wage base, and the Additional Medicare Tax.
034 guidesEstimated Payments
Quarterly deadlines, the underpayment penalty, and juggling a W-2 job with a side gig.
044 guidesRideshare & Delivery
Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart drivers: mileage, logs, tips, and app income.
054 guidesAudits & Records
What the IRS looks at when it audits a Schedule C, and the records that win the argument.
067 guidesDeductions & Worker Status
Hobby or business, home office, QBI, health insurance, and whether you were really a contractor.
No employer is withholding for you. That part is your job now.
When you work for yourself, nobody takes tax out of your pay. The apps and clients that pay you send information returns to the IRS, and the IRS matches them against what you file.
That is not a reason to panic. It is a reason to understand the rules. Every guide here cites the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury regulations, or IRS publications by number, so you can check the work yourself.
Fresh guides
See allBackup Withholding on 1099 Pay: Why a Client or App Took 24% and How to Make It Stop
Contractors normally get paid in full. If a client or app suddenly starts holding back 24%, it is almost always a taxpayer identification number problem, and it is fixable.
Rideshare & DeliveryDelivery Driver Taxes for DoorDash, Instacart and Other Apps: Multi-App Income, Miles and Tips
Delivery drivers often work two or three apps at once. That is good for income and bad for records. Here is how to keep the taxes straight when the apps do not talk to each other.
Deductions & Worker StatusDirect Sellers and Home Party Reps: How IRC 3508 Makes You Self-Employed and What That Means at Tax Time
Direct sellers are treated as self-employed by statute, not by guesswork. Here is what that means for income, inventory, self-employment tax and the losses many sellers report.
1099 Forms & ReportingForm 1099-K for Gig Workers: Who Gets One, What It Shows, and What the IRS Does With It
Payment apps and card processors report what they pay you on Form 1099-K. Here is who has to send one, why the number looks too big, and how the IRS uses it.
1099 Forms & ReportingForm 1099-NEC: What It Means When a Client Treats You as an Independent Contractor
A Form 1099-NEC tells the IRS a business paid you as a nonemployee. That one label decides who pays the Social Security and Medicare tax. Hint: you do.
Self-Employment TaxHow Self-Employment Tax Is Calculated, Step by Step, With 2025 and 2026 Numbers
Self-employment tax is the Social Security and Medicare tax you pay on your own business profit. Here is the actual math, with worked examples and the year-specific limits.