Work out how much to set aside for taxes on side income
A simple set-aside plan for taxes on side-gig or freelance income, with questions to confirm and payment reminders.
The prompt
Help me plan how much of my side income to set aside for taxes so I'm not surprised at tax time.
Country and state or region: [LOCATION]
Main job income: [YEARLY AMOUNT, and whether taxes are withheld]
Side income so far this year and expected total: [AMOUNTS]
Type of side work: [e.g. "selling crafts online", "freelance writing", "delivery driving", "renting a room"]
Business costs I pay: [supplies, mileage, software, equipment, home office]
Have I paid any taxes on this income yet? [yes / no / not sure]
Give me:
1. A plain explanation of which kinds of tax may apply to side income where I live (for example income tax and self-employment tax), stated as general information with [CONFIRM] markers where the rules vary.
2. A conservative set-aside percentage range to start with, the reasoning behind it, and how to adjust it once I know more.
3. Whether I may need to make estimated or advance payments during the year, and what to look up to check.
4. A list of common deductible costs for my type of work to ask about, and the records to keep for each.
5. A simple routine: a separate savings account, moving the set-aside on every payment, and a quarterly check-in.
Don't state exact tax rates, thresholds, or due dates as fact; mark them [CHECK OFFICIAL GUIDANCE]. Remind me that a qualified tax professional can confirm my real liability.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Finance & Accounting prompts
What to fill in
- LOCATION
- YEARLY AMOUNT, and whether taxes are withheld
- AMOUNTS
- supplies, mileage, software, equipment, home office
- yes / no / not sure
- CONFIRM
- CHECK OFFICIAL GUIDANCE
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the Few-Shot structure (Few-shot prompting). A few-shot prompt includes one or more worked examples of the input and the output you want, so the model can copy the pattern instead of guessing it.
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