Tax Prep Tips for Self-Employed Creatives
If you work for yourself, whether that means tattooing, painting, designing, creating content, or running a small shop. Tax season can feel like a nightmare that creeps up right when business starts rolling. You’re juggling clients, projects, and bills, and suddenly the IRS wants its cut. But taxes don’t have to be the yearly panic attack that most creatives experience. The key is to treat them like part of your business plan, not a once-a-year problem.
At Nomadica, we work with artists, shop owners, and independent creators across the country who live this reality every day. Here’s how to make tax time easier, cleaner, and less stressful, and how to actually plan ahead for 2025 instead of just scrambling in April.
1. Separate Business and Personal Finances
This one’s super simple, but super critical. The number one mistake we see from self-employed people is mixing personal and business funds. If you’re using one bank account for everything, you’re setting yourself up for confusion, missed deductions, and potential trouble with the IRS.
Set up a separate business checking account and debit card. Run everything business-related through it: supplies, advertising, booth rent, travel, continuing education, even the Spotify subscription you use while you work. This keeps your records clean, makes bookkeeping easier, and helps you see the real picture of what your business earns versus what you personally take home.
It’s about being organized, and protecting your business and yourself.
2. Track Income and Expenses Year-Round
If you wait until March to dig through your Venmo or CashApp history, you’re already behind. Start tracking now. You don’t need fancy software. You can manage, or we can help manage, through QuickBooks, or Wave. The bottom line is that you do need consistency.
Every dollar that comes in should be logged. Every expense should be categorized. That includes mileage to conventions, booth rent, travel, lodging, meals (50% deductible), insurance, and even your business cell phone bill. Even with great tools, we know this can feel like it gets cumbersome at times, which is why we’re here to do these things on a consistent basis for you, so that YOU can concentrate on your business, your skills, your craft.
When you keep up with these things monthly, your tax prep becomes a simple review instead of a full-blown forensic investigation.
3. Understand and Pay Your Estimated Taxes
Here’s the harsh truth: if you’re self-employed, no one is withholding your taxes for you. That means you’re responsible for paying quarterly estimated taxes four times a year, just to stay caught up.
These payments cover both income tax and self-employment tax (which includes Social Security and Medicare). Skipping them can lead to penalties, interest, and one extremely ugly surprise bill come tax season.
If you’re not sure how much to pay, a good rule of thumb is to set aside about 25–30% of your net income for taxes. It sounds like a lot, but it saves you from scrambling later. Better yet, we can help calculate exactly what those numbers should be for your unique situation.
4. Know What You Can (and Can’t) Deduct
Deductions are the lifeblood of small business taxes! But they only work if you track them properly. Some commonly overlooked write-offs include:
Supplies & Equipment: Needles, inks, tools, or digital gear like iPads and cameras.
Travel & Lodging: Conventions, training events, seminars, and business trips.
Home Office: If you have a dedicated space for your work, you may qualify for a home office deduction.
Vehicle Expenses: If you drive for business purposes, you can deduct mileage or actual vehicle expenses.
Marketing & Advertising: Websites, social media ads, business cards, sponsorships, etc.
Here’s more examples of what you can write off for your business that you might not have known considered. The true key is documentation. Save receipts, keep invoices, and note the purpose of each expense. We can help you setup a plan, a living and breathing system to make these things easier. The better your records, the more you can legally deduct, and the more money stays in your pocket.
5. Plan for the Future. Not Just for the Deadline
Most self-employed people only think about taxes once a year. That mindset keeps you stuck in survival mode like we’ve talked about in this article already.
We’ve witnessed time & time again that real growth happens when you start planning. What are your goals for next year? Do you want to expand your shop, expand your brand or your clientele, expand your skills, hire an apprentice, travel to more conventions, or finally start a retirement account? Those choices all have tax implications, and the smartest move is to start planning before the year ends.
We like, and are passionate about, all that we do. But planning & prepping for folks future just hits different. We LOVE this part. A 2026 planning session with Nomadica isn’t just about taxes. It’s about building a strategy, providing comfort, supporting your art, your business, and your life. We’ll help you understand your numbers, create a tax plan that works, and make sure next year starts off strong instead of stressful.
6. Don’t Go It Alone
Taxes can be complicated, especially if you’re juggling multiple income streams, 1099s, or LLC expenses. Working with a professional who actually understands your industry, and not some corporate accountant who’s never set foot in a tattoo shop or studio, makes all the difference.
We’ve built Nomadica around that exact idea. We speak your language, we understand your grind, and we know how to turn the chaos of self-employment into something that actually works for you and your brand.
Final Thought
Your art deserves to thrive, and that starts with getting your money right. Tax prep doesn’t have to be painful. Future planning can be a realistic goal and something that starts sooner rather than later. With the right systems in place, it becomes just another part of running your creative empire.
Don’t wait for April. Book your 2026 planning session with Nomadica Solutions and get your business on track before the new year hits.
