Mileage and estimated taxes

Two things a self-employed filmmaker always needs at tax time: a mileage log and a sense of what you owe. Books keeps both.

Log your trips

Go to Books > Mileage and press Add Trip. Enter where you went and why, or use Calculate from start and end to work out the distance. Tick Round trip if you came back the same way.

To save typing:

• Manage favorite locations keeps the places you drive to often, like your studio or a regular venue.
• Manage mileage rules and Apply mileage rules sort trips for you.
• Import trips brings in trips you logged elsewhere.

Download my trips gives you the full log. Mileage is valued at the standard IRS rate.

Let your iPhone log your drives

Turn on Track drives automatically in Settings > Mileage in the Cutvey app on your iPhone and each drive lands on this page as Unreviewed, with who drove. Mark it business or personal, pick the vehicle, add the purpose, or combine two legs. The path you drove stays on your phone. See Track drives automatically with the Cutvey iPhone app.

Estimated taxes

Go to Books > Taxes. The Annual tab shows a Schedule C summary for the year, including your vehicle, a simplified home office, healthcare and business assets. The Quarterly tab shows what to set aside each quarter.

When you pay an estimate, press Record payment so the next figures account for it. Email tax details and Print tax summary send the numbers to your accountant.

Fill in Settings > Books first: your tax profile, vehicles, home office and healthcare all change the estimate.

Not a sole proprietor?

The Taxes pages are built for Schedule C. If your tax profile says your business is a partnership, an S corp or a C corp, Books hides Taxes, the estimated tax card and the tax reports, since they would not apply to you.