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If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that I absolutely despise doing my own taxes.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade freelancing or running a small business for the world.
The benefits of freelancing are numerous. I work on my own schedule, get to be my own boss and I set my own rates.
But if you asked me to describe what I thought my personal Hell would be like in the afterlife, I would imagine it would at least partially involve a mile-high stack of 1099s.
That’s why I prefer to hand the “dirty work” off to someone else.
Over the years, my husband (who is also an independent contractor) and I have thrown good money after bad overpaying large accounting firms.
Those overpriced firms were supposed to have our backs but instead largely ignored us and put in a minimum effort.
At the height of my tax-related frustrations, I saw an ad for Collective (formerly Hyke).
The ad made the bold claim that they would make taxes “easy”. They also claimed they save their members an average of $16,845 on taxes annually.
To be honest, it sounded too good to be true.
Regardless, I made the phone call.
I won’t bore you with the details in this article, because I’ve already done so in my full-length Collective review. But it’s not at all an exaggeration to say it was a call that would forever change my tax-hating life.
As advertised, the crew at Collective immediately set us up with a bookkeeper and had us ready to file as S Corps within weeks.
Just like that, our self-employment taxes were virtually cut in half. Our bookkeeping was on autopilot. And my husband and I no longer spent tax time bickering about QuickBooks reconciliations.
But you likely didn’t come here today to hear about how Collective improved my marriage. You came here for some discounts. And I’m here to deliver.
But first, for the uninitiated, I wanted to provide a brief overview of exactly who Collective is and what services they offer.
What does Collective do for freelancers and self-employed individuals?
Collective is the first-of-its-kind online back-office platform. It’s designed to help self-employed individuals with their company formation, taxes, accounting, bookkeeping and compliance.
Their base subscription includes:
Full-service bookkeeping
Help with LLC formations, S Corps, operating agreements and Tax ID numbers
Quarterly tax estimates and salary recommendations
Business and individual income tax returns
Year-round tax and accounting support
QuickBooks Online Essentials (a $40 per month value)
QuickBooks setup and training
A Gusto payroll subscription (a $45 per month value)
Payroll training and support
Collective’s ideal clientele are full-time freelancers who make over $80,000 per year. Individuals who earn over $80,000 per year tend to benefit the most from S Corp status.
And as of December 2022, Collective is now available in all 50 states.
What the heck is an S Corp and why is it such a big deal?
I’m so glad you asked! S Corp is short for “S Corporation”.
It’s a corporation that elects to pass income, losses, deductions and credits to their shareholders (aka you pass it to yourself, the business owner) for tax purposes.
This allows you, the business owner, to report flow-through income and losses on your personal tax returns. That income is assessed at an individual income tax rate which prevents double taxation.
In layman’s terms, you basically pay yourself like your own employee via payroll.
This practice effectively reduces the overall amount of self-employment taxes that you are required to pay.
If you’d like, you can read additional riveting details about S Corps on the IRS’s website.
Collective promo codes and discounts
At the time of this writing, Collective is offering their base service for $254 per month when you pay annually or $299 per month when you pay month to month. And if you use the referral code MORGAN you’ll get your first month free.
It’s really not a bad deal at all, especially if you factor in the $85 worth of subscription services (QuickBooks and Gusto) that are included with your Collective subscription.
And, if your spouse is not self-employed and you are filing jointly, Collective will file their W2 free of charge.
Morgan has almost 20 years of professional experience in graphic design and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. Her successful freelance business has been featured in articles that have appeared on Upwork.com, Refinery29 and Business Insider Prime.
