I have been unemployed since July 2021, but I was able to take on independent contractor work with the Appen platform for the past 6 months. I make about $1.2k/month working as an independent contractor. My income from Appen is transferred through Payoneer and received in my PayPal account. No taxes or fees are collected from this income. I have never had to file taxes for this kind of unemployed work, so I'm not sure how to estimate the percentage of my income I should set aside to save so I am prepared to pay my dues when required. I heard that some independent contractors have to file taxes 4 times a year rather than solely before tax day, too... So my first two questions are:
How do I calculate the amount I should save from my income to actually afford to pay taxes, and how would I know if I'm included in this bunch who have to pay 4 times a year?
Lastly, I am an artist that accepts commission payments through PayPal. This is more of a side-hustle hobby to keep me afloat while I continue my job search since I only make about $100-400/month with it. Some months I earn nothing at all.
So, my last question is would I be required to report my art commission income as well-- if so how would I report it?
😳Thank you for the help
