Thanks for checking out our series on taxes. This post wraps up our tips on getting your taxes in order. If this is your first visit to the series check out the previous posts Part 1( insert link) & part 2 ( insert link).

This is by far the most unpopular subject I will probably ever talk about. The faster you get it taken care, organized, and out of the way, the better your year will be.

A majority of people who work in the varioius creative fields have had to freelance at one time or another. Working for yourself definitely has it’s benefits, but also contains a lot of responsibility. A key part of maintaining your finances as a freelancer entail taxes.

Having the basic skills to manage your taxes in the beginning will save you a lot of pain. I would venture to say that taxes are even a benefit if you do them right, and continue staying on track.

Want an easy way to keep your records without devoting your full attention or shelling out big bucks to an advisor? Follow these simple steps below to turn your taxes and record keeping in the right direction.

So you are about ready to file taxes. You have your Evernote and Dropbox ( insert link) accounts all set up, know your percentage to withhold from each check, and you are getting a hold of the different types of write-offs ( insert Wiki link) that you may have acumulated over the past year.

What could possibly be next? Not a whole lot, there are just a few more tips to think about before you send them off.

Get a Second Set of Eyes

If you still find taxes overwhelming, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Your parents have been doing them for the better part of their lives, and that is always a good place to start.

Hiring someone is definitely a good option. Despite being confident in my knowledge of my personal taxes I still hire someone.

Kogen’s Financil Services LLC is the compmay that does my taxes. The personality behind the paperwork is huge for me.

Get this, they specialize in preparing freelancers taxes. So they know all the ins and out of freeelance income. This is great because they know of things I can and can’t write-off, and why.

Plus everytime I need to pay estimated taxes, they automatically send me an email reminder. Can’t get much easier than that for one price a year.

If you are interested in contacting him you can view his website and list of services here. I am reciving zero compensation for referals, just want to pass along a good place.

Open a Separate Bank Account

One way I have combated the tempation to spend that extra 30-35% you should be setting aside is to open an entirely serperate bank account.

You can go as far as opening an account in another financial institution to make it even harder to touch that money on an impulse buy. For me, I just opened another savings accout online with my bank. Then every time I get a check at least 30% goes directly into that account for quarterly estimated taxes.

File Online

Wether you decide to file your taxes yourself or through a service, do yourself a favor and file online. You not only save money, time, and your own wits, you get a confirmation that it has been recieved.

Then while you eagerly await your return you can even check on your return status. Not to mention filing online, is the fastest way to recieve your return if you are expecting one. I usually get my return in about 2-3 weeks.

Start Today

Taxes are never a fun thing to have on your to-do list. Getting them crossed off is a huge sigh of relief for anyone.

If you have been bad with doing your taxes in the past, get a head and start on next years now.

Everytime a check comes in, I set the 30-35% aside, log in my net and gross income into my spreadsheet. Its that easy to stay ahead of the game. I recommend doing the same with your write-offs.

Keep a spreadsheet, and as they trickle in you can log them.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TAX MYTH THAT HAS BEEN BUSTED?

*None of this content is considered to be taken as professional tax advice. Please consult a reputable tax advisor to insure you comply with proper state and federal tax laws.*

“I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs

We have all heard hundreds of amazing quotes from the late Steve Jobs since his passing. I came across this one while reading One Big Thing: Discovering What You Were Born to Do by Phil Cooke. I had never seen this quote before from his famed Stanford Graduation Speech. You should check out the speech in its entirety below, it’s powerful stuff.

Not only is the book a great read, but very inspiring. I will post a full review here when I finish the book. Along your film journey you may see it take you somewhere other than you had expected, this book will ask some big questions to help you hone in one what you are meant to do today.

Thanks for checking out our series on taxes. This post is going to dive deeper into what it means to take care of your taxes involvling a tax professional. If this is your first visit to the series read the first post on Taxes as a Freelancer

This is by far the most unpopular subject I will probably ever talk about. The faster you get it taken care, organized, and out of the way, the better your year will be.

A majority of people who work in the varioius creative fields have had to freelance at one time or another. Working for yourself definitely has it’s benefits, but also contains a lot of responsibility. A key part of maintaining your finances as a freelancer entail taxes.

Having the basic skills to manage your taxes in the beginning will save you a lot of pain. I would venture to say that taxes are even a benefit if you do them right, and continue staying on track.

Want an easy way to keep your records without devoting your full attention or shelling out big bucks to an advisor? Follow these simple steps below to turn your taxes and record keeping in the right direction.

Understanding Write Offs

One of the biggest tax terms just thrown around is “write-offs”. However write-offs are very misunderstood. I’ll be the first to admit that I wouldn’t be able to give you a technical definition. So here is the real definition below -

“In income tax calculation, a write-off is the itemized deduction of an item’s value from one’s taxable income.” (via Wikipedia)

Such a simple definition still lacks a lot of practical meaning for most of us. Let’s break it down even further.

Use gasonline as an example:

There has to be gas in your tank in order to get somewhere. So lets say you fill your tank. Paid for the entire tank, say $100 in order to deliver goods to your clients. Once a year you recieve $25 back from the initial $100. Making the net cost of the gasoline just $75.

That is just a simple way to see how a write can work. Keep in mind there are different types of write offs, and the amount will always depend on your income and tax bracket.

The Wikipedia article goes on to explain that “…a reduction of taxable income as recognition of certain expenses required to produce the income”

So make sure what you are writting off, enabled you in some part to produce that income.

Questionable Write-Offs

Write offs can be a very grey area when it comes to taxes. You should use caution. People that write off everything are bound to have it come back to bite them in the end. My father always told me that if you have to question twice weather or not to write-off something, then you shouldn’t.

Some of the more questionable write offs that will red flag the IRS are:

- car millage/gas
- home office space

The later is something you need to be very careful about. You must remember that you can indeed write off a home office space, but there can’t be anything else done in that room other than work. The IRS takes that very seriously.

Know Your Percentage

Many freelance jobs require you to invoice them for your goods or services. When you recieve the check for your hard work, you might notice a lot of times no taxes have been taken out.

This varies from company to company. Many films use payroll services that do take out taxes for you if you elect so in your startwork.

If that isn’t the case then what are you supposed to do? I faced that same question myself as I started freelancing.

You should be taking out a percentage of that money and set is aside for quarterly taxes. I know, it is much easier said then done, but it has to be done. Otherwise when April 15th rolls around you may end up owing money, and that is never a good thing.

What percenatage should you take out? Well that depends on a few things. Here are the factors you should look into:

- State Tax Rate
- City Tax (if applicable, NYC does do this)
- County Tax (if applicable)
- Federal Tax Rate (base it off of your tax bracket from the previous year)
- Social Security Tax Rate
- Medicare Tax Rate

Each of these can very depeneding on your location, how you filed (single, married, etc) and even your employment status (self employed or employed)

A good place to start would be to ask your local tax advisor. Living in New York City, my tax preparer advises me to take out 30-35% of each check to set aside for taxes. That is a huge number, but it also gives a little bit of a cushion incase something unexpectaed happens.

HOW DO YOU FILE YOUR TAXES? ONLINE? MAIL? PREPERATION SERVICE?

*None of this content is considered to be taken as professional tax advice. Please consult a reputable tax advisor to insure you comply with proper state and federal tax laws.*

This is by far the most unpopular subject I will probably ever talk about. The faster you get it taken care, organized, and out of the way, the better your year will be.

A majority of people who work in the varioius creative fields have had to freelance at one time or another. Working for yourself definitely has it’s benefits, but also contains a lot of responsibility. A key part of maintaining your finances as a freelancer entail taxes.

Having the basic skills to manage your taxes in the beginning will save you a lot of pain. I would venture to say that taxes are even a benefit if you do them right, and continue staying on track.

Want an easy way to keep your records without devoting your full attention or shelling out big bucks to an advisor? Follow these simple steps below to turn your taxes and record keeping in the right direction.

Know Your Dates

Half of the battle is not know how to, but when to file your taxes. Most people who work a 9-5 job file their taxes once a year. When freelancing you should be filling and paying estimated taxes quarterly. This seems like a hassle, but in fact its actually great.

Filing quarterly is not only compling with the law (and avoiding quartely late fess) but it actually makes filling at the beginning of the year easier.

Here are the dates you will want to remember to file for your quarterly estimates:
April 15
June 17
September 16
&
January 15th of the next year.

Your income tax liability accrues on income as it is earned, rather than being due on April 15 of the next year.

As a freelancer if you collect several 1099-MISC forms you will certianly want to itemize deductions. In order to qualify those deductions you are going to want to have records of job related purchases.

Keep Everything

Now I would not normally ever suggest that you keep everything on most topics. With finances though, you can’t keep enough. If you have heard the term “leave a paper tral” then thats what it means.

Keep reciepts, bank statements, check copies, etc. If you hate keeping papers like me look into some software to help you stay organzied. My preference is a combination between Evernote and Dropbox.

If any of you know me, then you are aware of how big of a promter I am for Dropbox’s service. Many of you do already use their service, but if you don’t check out my article on how and why I use Dropbox. I was not a user of Evernote as of writing the Dropbox article, so you may see some of my workflow has changed with the addition of using Evernote.

Evernote

While a lot of people will a lot of peoplw will directly compare the two (Evernote & Dropbox) you just simply can’t. The two services share a lot of similarites but the way they work is different.

Up front Dropbox will make sense. It uses a file and folder system just like on a computer. Evernote uses a system involving notebooks, and notes. It is similar, but in Evernote you have a ton of data you can add to your note. For example, you can add tags, photos, audo recording, location, etc. within each individual note.

Uisng Evernote for the first time can be a little overwhemling. I highly recommend looking into The Evernote Bible  and Evernote Essentials by Brett Kelly or other tutorials online to get jumpstarted. It’s a small price to pay to master the tool and save time later.

Getting Evernote set up right the first time will save you a lot of effort going around on the back end. I failed to do this and after using Evernote for a year finally figured out the workflow that works best for me.

How I use Evernote and Dropbox

You can use the two programs however you like, but this is my personal recomendation

Filetype:

The way I decipher between the two is by what type of piece of information I am trying to store. If it is a media file, such as a photograp, or video I tend to store that into Dropbox.

A free Dropbox account comes along with 2.5GB of storeage. There are many ways you can get more storage for free or for a small monthly or yearly purchase more storage

If I am looking to store an email, PDF, or reciept I will be processing it through Evernote. If a file has text within it Evernote has an algorithim through their servers that scans the enitre document and allows you to search through every piece of text within that document. This is very handy with PDF files.

Evernote comes with an allowance of 60MB of storage monthly for free accounts and 1GB for premium accounts ($5/month or $45/year). I recommend with starting with the freebie account and seeing by your needs if you require the premium storeage.

Do you have a tax tip to share? Please leave it in the comments below

*None of this content is considered to be taken as professional tax advice. Please consult a reputable tax advisor to insure you comply with proper state and federal tax laws.*

Have you ever wanted to direct shoot, edit, and produce your own independent film? Well you can, and now it’s easier than ever before.

DISCLAIMER: Even though it might be easier than ever before to shoot a film on your own doesn’t make it easy. You still have to write a script, find actors, shoot, beg for gear and edit. Usually most of this costs a good amount of money unless you just happen to have some lying around. How do you find money for your film?

While Kickstarter is still relativeyly new, day by day its becoming more of a household name. Almost anything you think of is being funded on this site. Books, technology, and even films, web series, and documentaries.

I want to stress that you DONT need money to make a film or just go out to shoot something with your friends. However if you want this film to be seen, to really get out that and push through the noise you do need money. Its a fact. In the end the film industry is about money, just like every other industry. If you don’t want to deal with the business side, it might be time to look for another industry to work in.

Kickstarter is a great tool, but that is exactly how you have to think about it.

There are too many “filmmkaers” out there that just don’t get it. A good idea is only going to get you so far. It has all been thought of before, maybe not done, but someone else has at least thought of doing it. So go raise some funding and shoot what you have been dreaming to share with the world.

I have a lot more to be said about Kickstarter, stayed tuned.

Recently The Academy nominated Lincoln for Twelve Oscars. That’s a lot of little guys named Oscar.

While I love Daniel Day Lewis, this film was far off from what I expected. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t see it by any means. Personally I was expecting more of a general biographical-picturesque film.

As I myself hate the famed “Spoiler Alerts”, but also battle being spoiled by reviews or trailers. I will warn you if you read on, you will indeed have part of the film revealed. If you prefer to wait, this is your last chance to stop reading. Although there isn’t a lot on this past president to giveaway, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Clear out a solid three hours of your schedule to fit Lincoln. its a long ride. It’s a very dialogue intense narrative that focuses on not only Lincoln, but on his internal thought processes. Daniel Day Lewis is spot on with his character. Seems silly, but I feel as if I had an accurate glimpse into the past presidents mind and sentiment.

The writing is excellent, and the pacing very on point. You definitely feel the sense of urgency throughout the entire film. Tony Kushner  bring forth his Broadway experience in a noticeable way. The tone is solid and fitting along with the acting moguls that carry the lead roles and the cinematography.

Unlike most action films, there isn’t any fancy camera work. It is calm and hopeful, just as Daniel Day Lewis plays Lincoln. It is almost sort of refreshing amongst the glitz and pressure to invent new filming styles in order to get noticed for cinematography achievement.

However the lighting choices from Speilberg’s long time cinematographer Janusz Kaminski are gorgeous. He takes advantage of harsh natural looking light while indoors, and beautiful moon light motivation while outdoors during the night shots

If you throw away all of you previous expectations, this should be an enjoyable film. Personally I don’t know if I would hand it all twelve nominations, but it will win a few of those little guys deservedly so.

Earlier in a previoius blog post I had mentioned that this was going to be a big year for Skip Film School. A lot of things are happneing behind the scense that I can’t wait to share with you. One step at a time.

First thing I want to share with you is in addition to information about getting on set, and starting a career in film we will be posting film reviews. These will allow readers to engage and discuss.

Being apart of the film industry, I beleive its really important to see films in theatres. I have touted the usefulness of Netflix however going to a theatre is where you garner the entire experience. It is where films are designed to be seen, and visions of directors, cinematographers, writers and more come together.
Which current films would you like to see me write a review for?

Many times I have been very tempted to hop online and impusively purchase a new Thunderbolt external hard drive, but every time I add it to my virtual cart and get ready to check out I talk myself out of it.

Apple & Intel’s joint venture project turned into the newst interface that has the creative industry’s mouth watering: Thunderbolt. The potential speed from these drives could potentially shave hours or even days off our time long term.

The tempation to buy just became a whole lot more tempting. Yesterday Apple slashed the previously steep $49 price tag for the cable alone to just $39. Not only was the price dropped in adition to the 2.0 meter length cable that they are currently selling they added a 0.5 meter lenght cable for $29.

I know $10 doesn’t sound like a make or break deal when you are purchasing new technology for a few hundred bucks, but most of the Thunderbolt drives out there weren’t even including the cables with the drives. That’s a sin in the creative world. Plus owning a few cables to take advantage of the daisy-chain feauture became costly.

As silly as it may seem, this may just be the one thing that pushes me over to take a leap and try it out.

Has anyone out there gone Thunderbolt? If so, how is it?

I often write about the journey of starting out in film. This year I will be taking the journey along with my readers.

Freelancing is a tough business. You alone are responsible for how often you work. When I started Skip Film School last March I was transitioning into a full time job. This was a big change because I was doing less and less freelance work on set. While there are a lot of benefits to having a steady job, it wasn’t something I wanted long term.

So I am transitioning back into freelance work. This is a huge opportunity to connect with my current and future readers at a core level. I am excited to restart this journey with you all.

This year is going to be a big one for Skip Film School. During the last few months posts have been scarce, but this year I am committed to post at regular intervals in order to impart my knowledge of getting into the film business.

I challenge you to look at your goals. Do one thing this year that has been on your list, and do it.

After writing my last post – Analog to Digital – I purchased four rolls of film for my 35mm SLR camera and began taking it around everywhere with me.  In this digital age, you can quickly forget how it feels to only get one chance. However, one chance scares some, but when you see a finished developed photograph most of the time you are delightfully surprised at the outcome.

Many people start a 365 photography project, which entails them taking and publishing one photo a day everyday for the entire year. It is an enormus undertaking. I have seen freinds succeed, and fail. I know myself and  this is something I could do, but do not want to divide my attention on this year.

Twelve Rolls is my personal projectc for 2013. I am going to shoot one roll of 35mm film every month for an entire year. No limitations. I could shoot the entire roll in one day or drag it out over an entire month. At the end of the month I will develop the film, and post it to my Flickr as well as on Skip Film Schoool.

What project are you planning on getting off of the ground this year?

In the wake of a terrible hurricane this past week I was fortunate enough to be safe and cozy, have access to electricity, and a stable Internet connection. The best remedy for being couped up inside for three days turned out to be Netflix.

I took this time as an oportunity to watch many films that otherwise I would not “be in the mood for” normally. Several indie films that I hadn’t had the chance to catch in a theatre have been waiting in my queue for quite some time now. One was “Shrink” starring Kevin Spacey.

The film was shot entirely in L.A. and that setting is something that we are used to seeing frequently without flinching. However this film caught me off guard. It was beautifully shot, and for some reason there is was something about the quality of the image that seemed unique compared to other films I had recently viewed.

The light finally clicked on. This was shot on film. Beautiful 1.85:1 film. A nice blend of Fuji film stocks made this film stand out. All of the technical specs can be found HERE via IMDB. I began to feel a sense of nostalgia washing over me due to an article I had rea earlier in the week. You can read it HERE too ( I highly recommend it).

The article was refering shooting on film, and how that has almost all but dissapeared now in the film industry with the advance of digital cinema. Upon reading the article I was thinking the same thing you probably are right now about this post – “oh great, another article on why film is dead”. It was way more than that. The author ( Art Adams) stated so simply why film was emotionally different than digital, the process that film requires, and how a new generation of filmmakers were likely to never expereince all of these qualities of a project shot on film.

As a filmmaker that has been on the cusp between the analog and digital world for a few years, it really hit me that film is indeed dying. Kodak and Fuji are closing up shop. My hopes a film revival have dissolved. Its not about shooting on film, and the history behind it or just to say you have done it. It is about the process. The trust involved, and knowing that when you understand how the film works you understand it will perform this way everytime.

Now days since digital cinema is so new, and still very unpredictable even the most seasoned verertans are facing challenges with the equipment and the image that they never have had before. A new camera means you have to learn how it performs before you can truly apply it to the filming process. Also the process is changing, and that is breedingin a new generation of filmmakers. Is this bad? Not entirely. This just means there are growing pains in a relatively young industry.

What I want you to take from this post and the Art Adams article is that you need to expereicnce shooting on film as a filmmaker before the opportunity may never present itself again. Do it as soon as you can. Grab some buddies and beg, borrow or steal for a 16mm camera. Scrounge up your money and buy some 16mm stock, and shoot something.

If you can’t get your hands on motion picture film, at least find a 35mm still camera with some still 35mm film, and shoot away. Trust your eye, trust your camera settings, and shoot.

Film is a process.