How can I prepare for tax season? [Tax Prep Checklist]

The best way to approach tax season is to organize and prepare ahead of time! Save yourself last-minute stress by going through our handy checklist before the end of the year:

Step 1: Check each page under the Payment Info tab in your dashboard

Review the information on each page and make any updates, if needed. If you have multiple sites with us, you’ll need to do this for each one.

Address: 

• Email Address: We’ll send your 1099 electronically to the email address in your dashboard — make sure the one you’ve entered is the one you’d like it sent to.
  
  
• Contact information: Make sure your current address is correct. If you haven’t claimed your electronic 1099 by a certain date, we’ll mail it to this physical address.

Payment method:

• Review your payment method and account details and make any changes, if necessary. 

Tax forms:

• Look over the tax information you have on file. You might need to submit a new tax form if:
• Your name or business name has changed
• Your address has changed
• You’ve made a change in your business organization (such as going from an LLC to an S-corporation)

Done: 

• Click through to the final page to save everything in our system.

Step 2. Grab your payment information for the year from the Payment History tab

In your dashboard, go to Payments, then Payment History where you can click “Export to Excel” to download a spreadsheet of payment details for your records. Do this after receiving your December 15 payment to have your full payment history for the year!

Step 3. Find out if you’ll receive a 1099 from AdThrive

You’ll receive a 1099 if all of the following is true:

• You have a W-9 on file in your AdThrive dashboard
• You were paid at least $600 in the year
• Your business is NOT listed as an S-corporation or C-corporation
• The IRS doesn't require us to issue 1099s for S-corps or C-corps — you can use your Payment History tab to calculate the total amount you were paid for the year
• You did not receive ALL of your payments via PayPal 
• PayPal handles tax forms on their end, so if ALL of your payments were sent through them, we won’t be sending you a 1099 for the year.
• If you received some payments via PayPal, your 1099 from AdThrive will only reflect the payments that were received in another way.

This flow chart will help you learn whether or not you should expect to receive a 1099 from AdThrive:

More helpful tips

Your 1099 will be sent out electronically via Track 1099 in mid-January.

Keep an eye out for an email from Track 1099 with the subject line: 1099-MISC from AdThrive, LLC.

Remember: your 1099 form reports payments, not earnings.

Your 1099 will reflect your total payments for the year, so make sure you are comparing the amount to your payments, not earnings, in the dashboard.

If you have multiple sites with us, you may receive different 1099s.

Get a headstart on keeping track of next year’s finances.

While tax prep is top of mind, it’s a great time to plan ahead and start keeping track of income and expenses throughout the year, so you’re ready for next year’s tax season! 

• Create a new email folder on January 1 for all of your receipts and invoices for the year. Keeping everything in one place will make it easier to find everything later on!
• Label, scan, and file receipts and invoices as they come in to stay organized.
• Use bookkeeping software or a spreadsheet to keep track of your accounts, income, and expenses throughout the year.
• Check with a tax professional to make sure you’re tracking and reporting everything for your business using best practices and retaining the most of your hard-earned money!