When you're a freelancer, gifts of money are very tricky. You may give me a gift from the fullness of your heart, and I may receive it as such, but in the eyes of the IRS, what I will be receiving is income. Even things like gift cards to BN or Hannaford or whatnot are kind of risky. You can hardly blame the IRS -- as far as they're concerned, I do more or less nothing to receive income. If people start sending me money for doing more nothing, then -- income's income.
And, honestly, the fees aren't the worst of the deductions from the Patreon pledges -- it's that 33% off the top for our Gentle Uncle that really chews up the check.
Which is how we got into the mess in the first place. Simply put, and according to the lights of the IRS and the ACA -- we made too much money last year, and at an inconvenient time. Thus, the money we would normally be living on for the first quarter of this year went, not into the house checkbook, but largely to the Gummint. Which now wants estimated taxes for this year at a rate that...eek.
It's a stupid system we have, but it's the system.
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And, honestly, the fees aren't the worst of the deductions from the Patreon pledges -- it's that 33% off the top for our Gentle Uncle that really chews up the check.
Which is how we got into the mess in the first place. Simply put, and according to the lights of the IRS and the ACA -- we made too much money last year, and at an inconvenient time. Thus, the money we would normally be living on for the first quarter of this year went, not into the house checkbook, but largely to the Gummint. Which now wants estimated taxes for this year at a rate that...eek.
It's a stupid system we have, but it's the system.