Taxes for self-published authors?

I just declare it as miscellaneous income and pay the tax. There may be better ways to do it but as I have no expenses to deduct this is good enough for me.

I'm curious about this as well, and I hope the mods don't just close the thread like they did before, saying we should just talk to a tax attorney. We can't all afford one, we should be smart enough to take everything we read with a grain of salt and do more research, and I live in Azerbaijan where I can't talk to an attorney anyway (doing so by email doesn't thrill me in the slightest). I don't see why it's a bad thing to have experienced authors give us some insights as to their process for doing taxes related to this business. For example, if I have sales here at the end of the year but I don't receive payments until next year, does that count as income for this year or next?

Tax rules vary by country, so the advice for someone living in Canada isn't likely to help much in Azerbaijan.

HannahWing said:

Also, sorry to the mods if I've asked a stupid question that you're going to have to delete/move. I never set out to make your job more difficult!

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You've not asked a stupid question, Hannah, so don't worry about that. The problem is that you're asking for professional advice which we can't give; and if you get bad advice and follow it, you could end up in trouble.

You need to speak to a suitably qualified professional, not ask the advice from a random bunch of people on the internet. So I'm going to lock this, just as I lock all the other threads which are started on this subject. Sorry.

knight_tour said:

I'm curious about this as well, and I hope the mods don't just close the thread like they did before, saying we should just talk to a tax attorney.

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If you disagree with a mod's actions take it to PM. Don't derail threads by complaining about it out in the open.

We can't all afford one,

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Proper accounting is one of the basic requirements of any business. If you can't afford to make sure you're doing things right, then you have to question the validity of your business plan.

we should be smart enough to take everything we read with a grain of salt and do more research,

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You should be smart enough to realise that unqualified people on the internet can't do as good a job as a properly qualified professional.

My husband is a highly qualified professional (not an accountant--he works in a different field) and he makes a substantial amount of his income by cleaning up the messes people make by trying to work without appropriate professional services. It's astonishing how costly it can become.

and I live in Azerbaijan where I can't talk to an attorney anyway (doing so by email doesn't thrill me in the slightest).

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Are there phones in Azerbaijan? And why is email not an option for you? I'm not being snarky, it just seems odd to me.

I don't see why it's a bad thing to have experienced authors give us some insights as to their process for doing taxes related to this business.

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Because, as Polenth has already pointed out, tax rules vary by country; and there are all sorts of variables depending on your business or employment status, your personal situation, and so on, so the advice you get might not be appropriate for your situation and will therefore be worthless--but you won't know, and so you could easily get yourself into a pickle by following it.

It's a complex situation, which is why tax advisors make so much money. They have to work hard and long to know what they're doing, and in my experience are worth every penny they charge.

For example, if I have sales here at the end of the year but I don't receive payments until next year, does that count as income for this year or next?

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As I am not an accountant I am not going to attempt to answer that.

Locking this.