You write. You don't track home office square footage and kill-fee accruals. We deduct the office, time the income right, design a Solo 401(k), and use the FEIE when you write from abroad.
Writing is not a Specified Service Trade or Business under §199A in most cases, so the full 20% QBI deduction is on the table. But writers chronically under-deduct the home office, miscount research subscriptions, and treat kill fees as already-taxable. The right return for a six-figure writer looks nothing like the cookie-cutter Schedule C TurboTax produces.
Regular and exclusive use of a defined workspace gives you the home office deduction under §280A(c). We compare the simplified method ($5 per sq ft up to 300 sq ft) against actual expense plus depreciation. For most full-time writers, actual wins by $2K to $5K. We document the floor plan and depreciation properly.
IRC §280A(c)(1); Rev. Proc. 2013-13 (simplified)NYT, WSJ, Nexis, Substack subscriptions, Scrivener, Grammarly Premium, AI writing tools, books for research, transcription software, laptop, monitor, ergonomic chair, and a backup drive all deduct as ordinary business expenses. Equipment over the §179 threshold expenses immediately rather than depreciating over 5 years.
IRC §162(a); §179(b); §168 MACRS 5-yr propertyCash-basis writers do not recognize income on an assignment until they are paid. A kill fee paid on a spiked piece is income when received. An accepted-but-unpaid invoice at year-end is not income yet. We keep the books on cash basis so a December assignment paid in February belongs to next year, not this one.
IRC §451; Treas. Reg. §1.451-1; §61 gross incomeIndependent journalism, ghostwriting, and copywriting are generally not SSTBs under §199A. The full 20% QBI deduction applies even above the $383,900 MFJ threshold for 2024. If you write for a publication that brands you (on-camera correspondent, named columnist), the SSTB rules can apply on those receipts and we segregate them.
IRC §199A; Treas. Reg. §1.199A-5(b)(2)(xiv) reputationTravel writers, foreign correspondents, and digital nomads who pass the physical presence test (330 days abroad in a 12-month period) or bona fide residence test can exclude up to $126,500 of earned income for 2024 under §911. Self-employment tax still applies. We pair the FEIE with a foreign housing exclusion when the numbers work.
IRC §911(a), (b)(2)(D)(i); Form 2555A ghostwriter or freelance journalist netting $150K+ can shelter up to $69,000 in 2024 in a Solo 401(k) between employee deferral and employer profit sharing. Roth solo 401(k) is available. We design the plan, set the deferral, and time the contribution against estimated payments.
IRC §401(a), §401(k), §415(c); Notice 2023-75Ghostwriter, age 44, $180K net writer income on Schedule C, working from a 220 sq ft dedicated home office. Prior preparer skipped the home office and never proposed a retirement plan.
$14,000 savedFederal income tax savings on $46K Solo 401(k) contribution at marginal rate, home office deduction (actual method with depreciation), and re-categorized research subscriptions previously left off. State savings on top.