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Originally Posted by Sil_liS
So the title "Special Tax Breaks for Writers" should have been "Self Employment Tax Breaks That Apply to Writers"? Or is it that all self employment tax breaks apply to writers?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kali Yuga
Yes.
If I'm a house painter and I incur travel expenses, research costs, or require equipment specifically for my business, I can deduct those from my taxes in the year they were incurred.
Hobbyists -- iirc, those who earn less than $500 in sales, or have not lost money on their sole proprietorship for 3 years in a row -- do not get those tax breaks.
Hobbyists are also entitled to the exact same copyright protections as professional authors.
So yes, authors are paying taxes just like everyone else.
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Kali Yuga summed it up nicely, but I just wanted to add that "tax breaks" is a misleading phrase whenever it's used in this context. It's really all just standard business deductions. In fact, sole proprietors who work alone are rarely eligible for actual "tax breaks" - incentives such as tax credits and rebates - because they usually only apply to businesses with employees or have other requirements that an individual does not fulfill.