If you are a contractor then you DO own your own business. At least that is how you are treated for tax purposes. You will need to consult with an attorney or an accountant to see if you would benefit from creating or becoming a corporation.
For purposes of filing taxes for yourself today you are what is referred to as a "sole-proprietorship" which is just a small business designed to make enough money to pay you.
You will need to gather all of the records that you have for the year showing all of the income that you were paid (these amounts should be on your 1099s but should also match the amounts that you received. Make sure to double check!) as well as all of the expenses that you had.
Your expenses should be divided up by categories. Office supplies, meals, travel, etc. The TurboTax system will walk you through the different categories of expenses. Since this is your first year make sure that you go through all of them! There are a lot and there may be some that you haven't thought of.
Paying estimated taxes as a contractor is a good idea. The IRS expects your taxes to be paid just like they were when you had them taken out of your paycheck. You'll be expected to make estimated payments next year in four installments (which beats making one big payment in April). The IRS has this article on estimated payments which is really useful.
When you have finished entering all of the information for your 2024 taxes into the system then you will have a chance to use TurboTax to calculate your estimated payments for next year. It can even set up automatic payments if you like!
Lastly, this "business" as a contractor is really just another page in your tax return. You can still file jointly with your spouse and enter all this information with no problems. Good luck!
@Burtonemily2
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