Benefits of Being Self-Employed

Health insurance, financial planning, and tax deductions for self-employed people are some of the most popular topics we get asked about.

As a self-employed person, traditional "benefits" have to be secured individually and many people often think it's a negative side of working for yourself. However, there are a ton of resources available to support you, as there are plentiful upsides to self-employment, such as better tax deductions and more freedom over your financial choices.

We put together a list of resources below that you can utilize to determine your needs and assist you in your search.

• Looking for health insurance? Check out the following:

  • Health coverage info if you're self-employed

  • Search coverage by state

  • Best health insurance for self-employed

• Interested in financial planning or interested in setting up an individual retirement option? Check out the following:

  • Planning for finances when self-employed via Forbes

  • How to determine what type of financial planning or advisor you need

  • Finding an advisor:

    • The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors

    • Zoe Financial

  • The Business ATvantage Podcast on personal finances

• Need information and support filing taxes and determining deductions? Check out the following:

  • How to file taxes as a self-employed person

  • How to determine what type of tax return preparer you need

  • How to use business to write off your life

  • Find a tax preparer

    • National Association of Tax Professionals

  • The Business ATvantage podcast on taxes

The greatest benefit to self-employment is that you can use costs you otherwise would have to pay (BOC dues, continuing education, driving to and from work) to reduce your tax liability. This means you don't have to owe taxes on it!

See what one of our contracted ATs had to say about this:

"With the rising cost of gas, if you are self-employed you can deduct $0.55 per mile on your daily commute. This includes going to and from your site. You can also deduct any CEUs and BLS certifications. Working through ATvantage you must have your liability insurance, and that is also deductible. Being self-employed is great for someone who is interested in expanding their business in PRN AT services. You can write off any expenses such as buying materials. This includes AT bag and AT supplies; but, it also includes anything that is needed to run your business. You can deduct some of your cell phone bill, a purchase such as a computer, and even deduct for home office use. If you are interested in retirement there are options available outside of a ROTH IRA. A self-employed worker is also eligible to contribute to a SEP IRA which will reduce taxable income, and most importantly not impact your ROTH or Traditional IRA contribution limits." - Franz Abellon MS, ATC

If you're interested in taking your self-employment one step further, by starting a business to run it under (which we highly recommend for liability reasons), check out our owner, Alisha's course Start-Up Incubator for more info. If you're an ATvantage AT, DM her here for a coupon code.