Before I even begin, I’m going to include a legal disclaimer: I’m NOT an accountant. But in working with my accountant for the six years I’ve been in business, I’ve slowly started to understand how my clients, who can pay anywhere in the range of $1,500 to $5,000 for my editing services, can write off the cost of these editing expenses on their taxes.
This is advice I’ve gotten directly from my CPA, but I’d encourage each and every one of you to contact your own tax professional for advice and information on how and when to write off the cost of editing services.
Let’s get started!
Any client who is using my editing services for an income-generating venture can write off my services as a business expense. This means that if you hire me to edit your book for the purpose of selling your book to make money, you can write off the cost of my editing services.
But how do you do this? You must file your business on your personal return as a schedule C business or have a separate business return (Corporation, S-Corp, Partnership).
Generally, you’ll have to file something with the secretary of state depending on what type of business entity you want to set up. Consult an attorney, a CPA, or the secretary of state to determine what type you should set up.
Once you have all this done, send me a W-9 form to fill out. I’ll provide my business name and tax information for your records. Your tax professional will use that to decide how to file payments for my services.
Book editor Kristen Hamilton is the owner and sole employee of Kristen Corrects, Inc., where she provides manuscript editing services for traditionally and self-publishing authors. Several authors whose books she has edited have won awards and have topped Amazon’s best sellers lists.
Reading is Kristen’s passion, so when the workday is over, she can usually be found curled up with a good book alongside her four cats. She loves watching cat videos and scary movies, eating pizza, teaching herself French, and traveling, and she is likely planning her next vacation. She lives outside of Boise, ID.