Welcome to the tax jungle, independent contractors! In this week’s tax tip we offer you a survival guide against the most dangerous of predators, the IRS. This article, provided by Forbes Advisor, instructs how to calculate the federal taxes you may be dealing with, including: self employment tax and income tax, and all the essentials you need to survive next tax season.

This week’s tax tip is for all of our traveling business people and the deductions you can get for business trips. Ironically, this week’s tax tip is brought to you by the very same people who want you to pay your taxes, the IRS! The article includes the various deductions one can list on their taxes due to business including food, gas, transportation tickets, and most importantly, how to document all of that so it is easy to file your taxes when the time comes.

The people who want your taxes, the IRS, have ways to ensure you are able to pay and offer avenues for avoiding penalties depending on your circumstances. However, even if you manage to dodge the penalties, you should always pay your taxes as soon as possible, as the longer you wait the worse things can get.

We all complain about the crazy and sometimes foolish behavior of the Internal Revenue Service. But, other taxing entities such as states, school districts and municipalities can be just as bad. These other taxing entities have no qualms in spending $100 to collect $10 in extra taxes. They are also quick to charge interest and penalties on anything and everything.

If one of these notices comes your way, please check immediately with your tax advisor. This piece of mail is not to be ignored.

Can you imagine a world where you have to pay tax to get a tattoo? That’s the case in the US state of Arkansas, where a 6% “beautification tax” goes to the treasury.