By Helena Swyter. Photo by Julie Remizova.

Now that your readership has grown, you may encounter some new tax situations as you maintain your blog.

Saving for Tax Season As you begin earning income from your blog, you should be setting aside 30% for tax purposes. This may result in you saving more than you need, but it’s always better to be prepared than to owe Uncle Sam for unpaid taxes! Some people find it helpful to set up a business savings account and move 30% from checking to savings each month so the tax money is set aside and ready for April 15th.

Estimated Taxes As a self-employed individual, you are required to pay estimated taxes on the amounts you earn. These amounts are due quarterly and represent an estimate of the taxes owed on the income you will earn for the year.

Forms 1099 If you hire a contractor to help with an element of your blog – say a social media consultant to help you with your online strategy, or a brand consultant to make your site look sharp – you may have certain tax responsibilities.

By Helena Swyter. Image by Amy Borrell.

Before your readership takes off, it’s important to get your blog-related finances in order. Taking the time to set a good foundation now will help you as you grow into new readership and bigger opportunities.

Open a Business Bank Account
As you grow your readership, you will likely incur more costs associated with maintaining such an awesome blog – web hosting, graphic design, supplies, etc. Your blog is becoming a business. The first and most important thing you can do is get a separate bank account. Worried about fees? See if your bank will waive the maintenance fees if you keep all your accounts (personal and business) with them. If not, shop around for a local credit union that can meet your needs.

Once the bank account is in place, you should be using a related debit card or business credit card to make all your blog-related purchases. This will make things much easier as you begin tracking the income and expenses associated with running your blog.