New freelance remote worker based in the state of Georgia

[LAZGENE]

I have been unsuccessful at putting money aside for taxes. I was thrust into giving English language courses through the language platform Preply in about January of this year and was released from my employer in the month of March. My total gross earnings from both my former employer and freelance work are estimated to be about $12,000.00 - $13,200.00. What should I anticipate or prepare for as an individual tax filer?

[Gabriella_EA]

Hello LAZGENE!

Thanks for joining us for the event today, and for your questions!

As a single filer, it sounds like your income will be below the federal standard deduction for 2023, meaning you wouldn't have federal income taxes to pay for 2023. However, you'll want to consider self-employment taxes for the portion of that income that was due to freelance work. 

One of the easiest ways to estimate your federal tax liability for 2023 when you've had both employment and self-employment income in the year is to use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.

If you're a Georgia resident, you'll likely need to pay Georgia tax as well. While I don't see that Georgia has announced the standard deduction for 2023 yet, it was $5,400 for single filers in 2022, meaning the first $5,400 of income is not subject to Georgia tax. After that, there may be other deductions and credits to take into account to further reduce the amount of income taxed by the state, and ultimately the amount of tax paid to the state.