Stride Health FAQs | Comparably
Stride Health Claimed Company
Today, 60 million Americans work independently, and that trend is only accelerating. But benefits are tightly coupled with full-time, W2-based jobs. As a result, the millions of Americans who work independently are excluded from that financial safety net. Stride is the world’s first benefits platform built specifically for contractors, part-timers, and the self-employed. We provide them all the same benefits you’d expect from a W2 job, like insurance, tax support, and discounts on products and services. In fact, since launching in 2014, Stride has helped more than 3 million Americans save more than $3 billion. We’re partnered with the top employers of non-benefited workers, including DoorDash, Uber, Postmates, MasterCard, Amazon, Aon, and Willis Towers Watson. We’re backed with over $96 million in capital by Venrock, New Enterprise Associates, Fidelity’s F-Prime Capital Partners, King River Capital, Mastercard, and Allstate. read more
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Stride Health FAQs

Stride Health's Frequently Asked Questions page is a central hub where its customers can always go to with their most common questions. These are the 248 most popular questions Stride Health receives.

Frequently Asked Questions About Stride Health

  • Your taxable household includes the primary tax filer,spouse, and any qualifying dependents.Even if they aren't getting insurance on your plan, be sure to mention your spouse and dependents as part of your taxable household when filling out the application.

    Essentially, each dependent in your household decreases the amount of your income that gets taxed, which can help you save money on health insurance and taxes!

    For clarification on how to classify a dependent, here's an example:

    A child living with their parents while going to school would be considered a dependent and would be included in the taxable household. However once that child starts filing their own taxes independently, the parents would no longer claim them as a dependent and would not include them in the taxable household.

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  • On your dental plan you can include your spouse, domestic partner, children under 26, and any additional eligible dependents! If approved, the price will adjust based on how many qualifying people you have on your plan.

    Essentially any memberwho is included on your health insurance application can be added to your dental plan. Most importantly, the primary health plan applicant MUST be included on your dental plan.

    Please navigate to https://www.stridehealth.com/get-dental to see your plan details in your area!

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  • To start recording your mileage, you can press the green "+" button on your Tax Savings screen in the app, then click "Track my miles."

    here's.

    Not sure which miles to record? If you're a rideshare driver, here's where you can read a bit more about which miles are deductible. If you'renot a rideshare, where you can read about your deductible mileage.

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  • Head to https://www.stridehealth.com/reset.

    Enter the email address you used to create your Stride account and click "Send Email". You will receive a password reset link in your email inbox shortly thereafter. If you do not receive an email, try entering any other email addresses you may have used to create your account. If you still don't receive an email, you may want to try creating another account with your correct email address.

    If you do not see the email in your inbox, check your spam folder.

    If the link in the email is not working, copy and paste the url into your browser.

    If this still does not work, try clearing your cache, refreshing your browser, or switching to use chrome.

    Still stuck? We'll manually send you a password reset link.

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  • For our initial launch, we choose to include the most common and most expensive chronic illnesses in the United States. We are continually adding more illnesses.

    Is there a particular option youd like us to add to our list? Let us know: [email protected]. We promise to keep your data safe and confidential.

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  • Your business profit is your business income, minus your business deductions. When you file your taxes, you'll only be taxed on your profit rather than on your total business income!

    For example, if you make $10,000 from your business, and then spend $3,000 in business-related expenses, yourprofit would only be $7,000.

    Since youre only taxed on your business profit, youll pay taxes on $7,000 of income instead of the full $10,000. At an estimated tax rate of about 30%, youre now paying $2,100 in taxes instead of $3,000. Thats a difference of $900 in tax money, right back into your pocket!

    Tip: Is your Stride "Business profit" showing as $0? It sounds like you haven't added your income information into your account yet!

    That "Business profit" number is calculated by taking your business income, and subtracting the expenses that you've saved in your Stride account. If you haven't entered your business income information into your Stride account yet, then you'll see a "Business profit" number of $0:

    You can add your business income information into your account by clicking the green "+" button on your screen, and then "Add income":

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  • Stride's Dental Coverage is provided by Renaissance. The Renaissance Basic plan covers diagnostic and basic services (cleanings, filings, bitewing x-rays, etc). The Renaissance Essential and Complete plans cover diagnostic, basic and major services (root canals, crowns, surgery, etc). More information can be found below!

    For pricing and specific breakdown of coverage in your area head over to our site and get a see which dental plan is best for you here !

    Diagnostic & Preventative Services (Covered by the Basic, Essentials and Complete plans)

    Brush Biopsy

    Bitewing X-rays

    Exams

    Oral Cleaning

    Fluoride Treatment (for patients under 19 years old)

    Basic Services (Covered by the Basic, Essentials and Complete plans)

    Fillings

    Other X-rays

    Emergency Palliative Treatment

    Major Services (Covered by the Essentials and Complete plans ONLY)

    Root canals

    Crowns

    Gum disease treatment

    Fillings

    Other X-rays

    Extractions

    Dental Surgery

    Deep Cleaning

    Bridges

    Implants

    Dentures

    Related Blog:

    Dental Insurance Coverage Explained: 5 Things It Helps You Pay For

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  • Whether applying for a new plan or managing an existing plan, to check if your doctor is in-network you should: 1) call their office and 2) verify their tax ID number with your insurance carrier or 3) use Stride's doctor search at the application page!

    Stride's will allow you to search for your doctor before looking at plan options, however not all doctor's choose to be on that list. This doesn't mean they don't accept insurance, it just means they have opted out of being on that list! The best move would be to call their office directly! See below for more information!

    Although doctors are historically very hard to pin down, and network data changes daily, there are a few things you can do to ensure your doctor is in-network with your health plan:

    Option 1: Call their office

    Not all doctors at one medical practice accept all plans offered by an insurance carrier, so you will need thespecific name of your health plan and thespecific name of your doctor when you call.

    ex: "I would like to check if Dr. Michael Jackson is in-network with the Blue Shield Gold 80 PPO."

    If you qualify for a government subsidy, you can also ask your doctor if they accept marketplace plans from your insurance carrier of choice.

    ex: "I would like to check if Dr. Michael Jackson is in-network with marketplace plans with Blue Shield of California."

    -->

    If you can't get a verdict on whether or not your doctor is in-network with your plan when you call their office...

    -->

    Option 2: Use your doctor's tax ID number to verify they're in-network with your insurance carrier

    Call your doctor's office and ask for your doctor's specific tax ID number. Call your insurance carrier at their general line and give them the specific name of your plan and your doctor's tax ID number. They'll be able to tell you whether or not your doctoris in-network.

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  • Yes! People enrolled in individual and family health insurance plans are able to switch or upgrade plans, but only during Open Enrollmentwhich isNovember 1st to December 15th!

    Log into your Stride account and visit your Stride Dashboard. From there you will be able to change your coverage and start shopping for a new 2020 plan!

    After Open Enrollment ends, only those who qualify for Special Enrollment can switch plans mid-year. However, in order to be eligible for Special Enrollment you must have experienced a Qualifying Event within the past 60 days. So be sure to take advantage of Open Enrollment to get the coverage you need!

    Note:This is related to healthcare coverage only. Dental and Vision insurance can be obtained at anytime throughout the year.

    Here is a quick video explaining the different between Open Enrollment Period (OEP) and Special Enrollment Period (SEP).

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  • A good rule of thumb is: You should record your mileage with Stride when you're actively working.

    The mileage that you incur on your way to your first passenger, between passengers, and back home could all be deductible.

    Here's some more information on each of those mileage types:

    From home (or wherever you start driving from) to first passenger: Whenever you're online with your rideshare app and you have the intention of accepting rides, your mileage is deductible. If you're matched with a passenger, your mileage from your current location to the passenger is deductible since you're actively working!

    Between passengers: As long as you're both online with your rideshare apps and you intend to accept rides, you are still considered to be working--which makes your mileage deductible!

    From your last passenger to home: There are a few different ways you would be able to deduct this mileage. If any of the following circumstances are true, then this mileage is deductible:

    You stay online with your ridesharing app (and intend to accept rides!) until you reach home. Note that if you stay online butdeny all trips, then your mileage would notbe deductible since you don't intend to make money.

    Your home is your primary place of business.If you tend to do administrative tasks for your rideshare business from your home (such as organizing your finances, planning your drivingshifts for the week, etc.), then you could classify your home as your "primary place of business." This means that driving from your last trip to home would have a business purpose.

    You're returning home from a temporary work location.If you tend to work in one area, but drive elsewhere in search of higher fares for a special occasion, then you are technically returning from a "temporary work location," which would make your mileage deductible.

    What this means is that many people only need to open the app twice throughout the day: when they start driving at the beginning of their day, and when they finish driving at the end. You can run the app in the background while you use your rideshare app.

    Questions? Suggestions? Pleasedon'thesitate to reach out via email at [email protected]. We'd be happy to talk through any of these features!

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  • For most of our members, we make thefirst month's payment on your behalf. If we are unable to do so for any reason, we will email you with further instruction on how to pay your bill.

    You can always call your insurance company directly to make a payment over the phone or set up automatic payments if we are not able to do so on your behalf.

    Some insurance companies, will only automatically bill you if you provide them with your checking account for direct debit. This is their preferred mode of payment as they pay lower fees to process this transaction than if you use a credit card. If you are not enrolled in automatic monthly billing, your insurance company will send you a monthly bill in the mail which you can pay by check (or set up direct debit if/when you're ready).

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  • We recommend taking the following steps to resolve any issues you're running into when trying to submit your application:

    Logout of your Stride account:Sometimes the simplest fixes work wonders. Try logging out and then back into your account. Once you log back in, you'll see a green button to "Continue Application". Click there to confirm all your information is correct and submit the application.

    Make sure you are using Google Chrome as your browser:If you are using another web browser, try logging into your Stride account from Google Chrome in order to submit your application.

    Use an Incognito window:Already using Google Chrome? Try logging into Stride and submitting your application from an Incognito window.

    Tried everything suggested above and still getting an error message on the application submission page? Click the "Help" button on the bottom left corner of this page to contact our support team!

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  • An HMO (or health maintenance organization) requires you to select a primary care physician (PCP) who acts as"gatekeeper." Think of your PCP as your personal health-quarterback, strategically coordinating all of your care and providing for your basic healthcare needs. If you ever need to see a specialist or require a diagnostic service (such as a blood test), you will need a referral from your PCP. Your referral will always be to a provider within your HMO network. If you choose to see a doctor outside of the network or without a referral, you will generally have to pay all costs out-of-pocketunless it is a true medical emergency or you have no other options. With an HMO, your physician network is local.

    A PPO (or preferred provider organization) is a health plan with a preferred network of providers in your area. You do not need to select a primary care physician and you do not need referrals to see a specialist. If you see a preferred (or in-network) provider, you will only be responsible for paying a portion of the bill (according to your plan's coverage structure). If you choose to see a doctor who is outside the preferred network, you will generally have to pay a larger portion of the bill than you would for an in-network provider, but most plans will still cover a portion of the bill. With a PPO, you will have access to out-of-state providers that are considered in-network.

    An EPO (or exclusive provider organization) is a bit like a hybrid of an HMO and a PPO. EPOs generally offer alittle more flexibility than an HMO and are generally a bit less pricey than a PPO. Like a PPO, you do not need a referral to get care from a specialist. But like an HMO, you are responsible for paying out-of-pocket if you seek care from a doctor outside your plan's network. An EPO is a good optionif you want to see specialists without a PCP referral within your network.

    A POS (or "point of service) plan is also a hybrid of an HMO and PPO plan. Like an HMO, you will need a referral from your PCP in order to see a specialist. But, like a PPO plan, you will pay less if you use doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers in the plans network, and you will have access to out-of-network providers atan increased cost.

    Check out our handy insurance guide here if you want more health insurance hacks and know-how!

    Ready to shop for the best plan for you? Click here !

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  • Depends on your job type!

    A good rule of thumb is: You should record your mileage with Stride when you're actively working.

    Here's how to determine which mileage is deductible based on your job type:

    Delivery

    The mileage that you incur on your way to your first delivery, between deliveries, and back home may all be deductible.

    Here's some more information on each of those mileage types:

    From home (or wherever you start driving from) to first delivery: Whenever you're online with your deliveryapp and you have the intention of accepting deliveries, your mileage is deductible. If you're matched with a delivery, your mileage from your current location to the deliveryis deductible since you're actively working!

    *Note: If you are delivering with an app that has specific delivery zones, then your mileage from home to that delivery zone would be consideredcommuting mileage. Mileage is only deductible for delivery drivers if you have a reasonable expectation of earning money while you're driving. If you're unable to be matched with a delivery until you reach your delivery zone, then your drive to the delivery zone would be considered commuting.

    Between deliveries: As long as you're both online with your deliveryapps and you intend to accept deliveries, you are still considered to be working--which makes your mileage deductible!

    From your last deliveryto home: There are a few different ways you would be able to deduct this mileage. If any of the following circumstances are true, then this mileage is deductible:

    You stay online with your on-demandapp (and intend to accept deliveries!) until you reach home. Note that if you stay online butdeny all jobs, then your mileage would notbe deductible since you don't intend to make money.

    Your home is your primary place of business.If you tend to do administrative tasks for your deliverybusiness from your home (such as organizing your finances, planning your shifts for the week, etc.), then you could classify your home as your "primary place of business." This means that driving from your last deliveryto home would have a business purpose.

    You're returning home from a temporary work location.If you tend to work in one area, but drive elsewhere in search of higher payfor a special occasion, then you are technically returning from a "temporary work location," which would make your mileage deductible.

    What this means is that many people only need to open the app twice throughout the day: when they start driving at the beginning of their day, and when they finish driving at the end. You can run the app in the background while you use your deliveryapp.

    Independent contractors in industries like real estate, sales, or other contract work:

    The mileage that you incur between two locations that bothhave a business purpose is deductible. The distance to and from a home officeis also deductible.

    A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that the starting and ending locations of your drive should have a business purpose. For example, the mileage from one client meeting to another is deductible. However, the mileage from a personal errand to a client meeting would not be deductible.

    Here are a few examples of when your mileage is deductible:

    From one business meeting to another: Since the starting and ending points of your drive are both for work, your mileage is deductible!

    From home to a business meeting: If your home is your primary place of business (meaning you do the majority of your work there), then your home would qualify as having a "business purpose."

    From a business meeting to home: Same as above!

    Have questions about the above? Feel free to email us at [email protected], and we'd be happy to help!

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  • Our Renaissance Vision plan uses the VSP network. The VSP network is a PPO network, so you can see any provider you want! Keep in mind that it will cost you less to go to a provider who accepts VSP.

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  • If you are having trouble removing or adding a family member to your application, follow these instructions!

    If you are applying in most states:

    You'll want to click through to your application and navigate to the household page. On that page, you will then remove the dependents or family members you are trying to take off and then head back to our home page where you'll be able to restart the selection process with the correct amount of people! See image below.

    For California, Washington, and any off-exchange members:

    You will need to create a new account with Stride under a different email address. Unfortunately in this situation, the only solution is a new account. If this is an issue for you, please reach out to Stride and we'll help you through it!

    If you are a member that has been sent to Healthcare.gov to continue your application:

    You will need to remove folks from your application on Healthcare.gov. On Healthcare.gov's Eligibility Results page, click "Continue enrolling on Healthcare.gov" instead of "Return to enrollment partner site."

    Please feel free to contact Stride directly if you have any questions about this process! See below for examples!

    For most states this is the page you'll want to navigate to:

    If you're sent to Healthcare.gov, here is the household page you'll want to find:

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  • If you're being offered a $1 plan, it simply means that your allowed subsidy amount is higher than the cost of certain plans in your area. For example, let us say it is determined based on your information provided that you're eligible for a subsidy of $201 per month for whichever plan you choose. You then are offered a plans that are $200. With your subsidy, that plan would then cost you $1.

    It may seem strange to you that you're being an offered health insurance for only $1 a month! How can that be? Is there a catch? The catch is that you're benefiting from a government program meant to help people of all income levels get the protection they need!

    Health insurance subsidies are calculated on a scale based on income, zip code, and family size. Subsidy amounts increase or decrease based on those factors.

    You're still getting the benefits of the $201 plan, but with the government stepping in to cover the costs!

    Understanding and calculating subsidies can be quite lengthy. Fortunately Stride Health does that for you after you input your personal information!

    If you would like more resources on why your subsidy is what it is, and why your plan prices are the way they are, please follow this link --> here.

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  • We unfortunately do not.

    Stride partners with state exchanges, the federal marketplace, and private insurance companies to help individuals and families enroll in health coverage. This means the cost of your plan is based on where you live, how many people are applying for coverage, and your income estimate for the year.

    If you are not currently enrolled in or eligible for other qualifying health coverage, then youll want to select no to the application questions that ask if youre eligible for job based coverage.

    Your plan will be effective as long as you keep up with your monthly premium payments, even if you switch jobs!

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  • In addition to deducting your vehicle expenses (like your mileage!), you can also deduct many other business expenses.

    If you incur a business expense, then its deductible. There are many business expenses that are considered ordinary and necessary for running a rideshare business. You can find a complete list of them here.

    A few of them include:

    -Water bottles that you buy for passengers

    -A portion of your cell phone bill

    -Vehicle expenses

    Just be sure to only deduct the portion of these expenses that are for your business, not for personal use. For example, if you use your cell phone for work 50% of the time, you would only deduct 50% of your phone costs.

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  • First, be sureto enter all of your personal information on Stride's site, clicking your way from your zipcode to your projected 2020 income. This will bring you to your "recommendation page," which displays Stride's top three recommended plans. Over 80% of Stride members choose one of these plans, so your job may be done here!

    If you want to shop around a bit more and weigh your options, once you get to the "recommendation" page, be sure to click "compare plans" to see all plans available to you. From here, you can filter on different carriers to see which ones cover all or most of your doctors, as well as how much basic services will cost on the plan. You can also click into the plan card to reveal all of the plan details, including copays, coinsurance, deductible and out-of-pocket max.

    Another important factor is the metal tier you want to chose. Identifying which metal tier is right for you will immediately narrow your choices and help you to make the right decision.

    Bronze plans:Although your insurance is only covering 60% of the cost as compared to the 90% covered by a Platinum, Bronze plans have low monthly premiums. If you stay healthy and use insurance infrequently, you will likely save money on this type of plan.

    Silver plans:Silver plans are similar to Bronze plans. They charge slightly higher premiums for coverage that kicks in sooner (meaning, this plan usually has a lower deductible too). Silver plans are often a good value for people who see the doctor from time to time and take a common medication or two. If your "MAGI" (Modified Adjusted Gross Income) is under 250% of the Federal Poverty Level then Silver Plans will also adjust the cost you pay for medical services received throughout the year.

    Gold plans:These plans provide a lot of assistance paying for more medical expenses in exchange for a higher monthly premium. Many have very low deductibles -- sometimes as low as $0, which means coinsurance kicks in immediately on your first care of the year. Gold Plans are helpful if you expect to have large or frequent medical expenses or if you want the peace of mind knowing the majority of your expenses will be covered.

    Platinum plans:These premium plans are typically for people who have ongoing health conditions that will require regular visits to doctors and specialists or special medical equipment and treatments. These are also great plans for those who want the peace of mind that comes with knowing you will have almost negligible out-of-pocket medical expenses throughout the year. Platinum plans have the highest monthly premiums, but the most generous benefits. Many have $0 deductibles so you'll never pay more than 10% of your medical bill after the plan start date.

    Check out our handy insurance guide here if you want more health insurance hacks and know-how!

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  • No way! That's illegal. According tothe Affordable Care Act, health insurance plans cannot charge you more or deny you coverage just because you have a pre-existing health condition. In fact, they aren't even allowed to ask.

    We do not share your pre-existing condition data with your health insurance provider (unless for some reason you explicitly ask us to). We only collect this data to ensure that you have a plan that will provide you with optimal coverage based on the average costs of managing your health condition.

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  • Yes, you can!

    As long as Stride Health is appointed as your health broker, we can work with your exchange or insurance company on your behalf. Feel free to call Stride with any questions regarding your application or coverage. Wed be happy to help with any problems you might be having.

    Learn how to appoint Stride as your broker here.

    But wait, there's more...

    We also have an amazingly free tax app. Use the app to track your tax deductible business expenses and start saving!

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  • Stride only sells insurance within the United States!

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  • You will need to submit payment either on or before January 1, 2020.

    Your first payment, also known as the "binder payment", can be paid anytime from the day you e-sign for your plan up until your start date. The good news is that once your payment is withdrawn, that meansyou'vebeen approved! Your welcome packet and ID cards will follow in the mail about 7-10 days after this initial deduction.

    For ongoing months, most companies will charge you on/around the first day of the month for that months coverage.

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  • A recent update to Android devices is automatically disabling location tracking to save battery life, and that interferes with Stride's ability to track your miles properly.

    Stride wants to ensure you aren't missing out of any of your miles so we've listed step by step instructions for fixing this issue on the four different settings causing the problem. We've ordered the instructions by device type.

    Samsung Phones

    Battery Optimization

    Go to Apps and select Settings. Next, select Device Maintenance or Battery.

    FromDevice Maintenance, select Battery, and then Battery Usage.

    From Battery, select Battery Usage or go to step 3 if there is no Battery Usage button.

    Select the menu in the upper right. Next, select Optimize Battery usage.

    In the drop down, select Apps not optimized, then All Apps.

    If the device already shows All Apps, swipe down and scroll to S and look for Stride

    Toggle it off so that Stride can track your trips.

    Power Saving Mode

    Go to Apps and select Settings.

    Select Device Maintenance, Battery or Power Saving.

    In the Power Saving Mode section, toggle to Off to disable Power Saving Mode.

    App Power Monitoring

    Go to Settings and select Device Maintenance or Battery

    From Device Maintenance, select Battery, then Battery Usage.

    From Battery, select Battery Usage.

    Swipe down to App Power Monitor and select Unmonitored Apps.

    Select Edit or Add App. Next, select Stride and then Done.

    Smart Manager

    Go to the Smart Manager app and select Battery

    Select Detail from the App optimization or App power saving.

    Select Self-Employed from the list, next change the setting to Turned off.

    LG Phones

    Battery Optimization

    Go to Settings. Next, swipe to locate and select Battery. Then, select Battery Usage

    Swipe to locate and select Ignore optimizations.

    Swipe down and scroll to S and look for Stride.

    Tap the app icon to ON to let Stride track trips without interruptions for battery optimization.

    Battery Saver

    Go to Settings and select Battery.

    Select Battery Saver Mode and toggleOff to disable.

    Battery Saver mode will also disable location services from time to time.

    Make sure location services are turned on after your phone has a sufficient charge and after you disable Battery Saver mode.

    Location services are listed in your phones Settings. Select Security & Location. Next, set Location to ON. Make sure location services are set to High Accuracy. From Location, select Mode and set to High Accuracy.

    Motorola Phones

    Battery Optimization

    Go to Settings and select Battery.

    Select the menu in the upper right corner and select Battery Optimization.

    Select All Appsand swipe down and scroll to S, then look for Stride

    Disable the setting for Stride so you can continue tracking trips without interruptions for battery optimization.

    Battery Saver

    Go to Settings and select Battery

    Select Battery Saver Mode and toggle OFFto disable.

    Make sure location services are turned on after your phone has a sufficient charge and after you disable Battery Saver mode.

    Location services are listed in your phones Settings. Select Security & Location. Next, set Location to ON. Make sure location services are set to High Accuracy. From Location, select Mode and set to High Accuracy.

    Pixel, Nexus, and Other Phones

    Battery Optimization

    Go to Settings and select Battery.

    Select the menu in the upper right corner and select Battery Optimization.

    Select All Appsand swipe down and scroll to S, then look for Stride

    Disable the setting for Stride so you can continue tracking trips without interruptions for battery optimization.

    Battery Saver

    Go to Settings and select Battery

    Select Battery Saver Mode and toggle OFFto disable.

    Make sure location services are turned on after your phone has a sufficient charge and after you disable Battery Saver mode.

    Location services are listed in your phones Settings. Select Security & Location. Next, set Location to ON. Make sure location services are set to High Accuracy. From Location, select Mode and set to High Accuracy.

    If you have any questions or need extra help, just email us at [email protected] and well be happy to help you out.

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  • Insurance carriers may send your welcome packet and ID in the mail after completing your application!

    You also may be sent mail from a federal or state marketplace, however you will not be sent mail directly from Stride!

    In certain circumstances the government marketplace might need to contact you regarding eligibility for a variety of topics. This may include a notice relating to financial assistance, Medicaid or CHIP eligibility, or the types of plans you qualify for.

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  • You can export your deduction report directly from the Stride app!

    Head to the menu of your app and click the Send my tax report button. Your reports will be emailed to you at the email address that is attached to your Stride account.

    Questions or suggestions? Pleasedon'thesitate to reach out via email at [email protected]. We'd be happy to talk through any of these features!

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  • Yes, you can!

    For iPhone users:

    To add your previous mileage, you can use the "Add a trip manually" button in the menu of your app.

    If you have a lot of miles to enter, and would like to enter the miles in one bulk amount--no problem! You can go to the menu and click "Import past mileage log." You can add in a bulk number of miles that you drove before using Stride.

    For Androidusers:

    To add your previous mileage, you can use the "Forgot to record a trip?" button in the menu of your app.

    Unfortunately the app doesn't yet have the ability to add in past mileage in bulk; you're currently only able to add in individual trips.

    If adding in each trip would be too time-intensive, you have a few options:

    1) Keep two mileage logs, one for your driving before Stride and one for afterwards. When you file your taxes in April, you'll simply add together the mileage totals that you've tracked from each part of the year!

    2) Wait a few short months until we have a bulk mileage addition feature, which will allow you to add in your total number of miles in one go.

    Just be sure you are only adding in mileage and expenses for which you have proper documentation, so that you can back up the deductions!

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  • Trying to get set up on the new and improved Stride app? Look no further!

    Below are detailed instructions on how to get set up:

    1. Open the email you received from the company which offers you access to the Stride app (Postmates, Doordash, or Instacart) and click the magic link.

    2. Sign up and create an account or log in using your existing Stride Account

    3. Once you've created an account or logged in, click "Download the App" and you'll be taken to the App Store or Google Play Store to download Stride.

    Note: If the link does not work, you will be prompted to "Enter your partner code" on the next screen. Be sure to return to the initial email you received with your special code.

    4. After you've downloaded the app, log in to your account to start saving!

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  • Uber reports your income to you on your 1099-K, and potentially a 1099-MISC as well (if you had income from bonuses and referrals). When you file your taxes, youll need to include those income totals on a Schedule C. The Schedule C is an additional form that you send in with your tax return that reports your business income, as well as your business deductions.

    If youre using a tax filing software--like TurboTax or Credit Karma Tax--to file your taxes, youll report that you have income that was reported on a 1099-K and/or a 1099-MISC. If you received income in referrals and incentives but not enough to receive a 1099-MISC, you can check your Uber Tax Summary for this income, and then report it as "Other income" on your Schedule C.

    If youre filling out your tax return by hand, youll include your 1099 income totals in Part I of your Schedule C.

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  • Subsidies are calculated using a few simple criteria including: zip code, taxable household size, as well as annual income. The Kaiser Family Foundation has an excellent, easy to use subsidy estimation calculator here. You can also see a breakdown of the cutoffs for subsidies and Medicaid here.

    If there was a change to the zip code, taxable household size, or annual income that you reported in the application and on your tax return then your subsidy price will change to reflect the difference.

    Depending on your income, you may qualify for subsidies differently depending on the plan type and income. If you choose a Silver plan, you may qualify for additional tax subsidies to help reduce out-of-pocket costs like deductibles, copays, coinsurance and annual maximums in addition to the premium tax credits described here.

    If you want to purchase a subsidized plan, we will ensure that you get your subsidy. The process by which we do this will depend on your state of residence.

    To see if you or your household is eligible for a government subsidy reference this chart below.

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  • The only entity that has access to your billing information other than Stride is the insurance carrier that you are getting insurance from.

    Is my information safe?

    Yes, your information is completely safe. Your name, address, financial information, and demographic information are all protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Stride has gone to extensive lengths to ensure to security of your personal information so that you can rest easy!

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  • There are a few reasons why your plan price changed and why it went up or down.

    Health insurance companies are free to raise premiums every year. Its possible after evaluating costs and expenses, a particular carrier simply chose to raise the prices of plans in a certain area.

    Your zip code changed. Health insurance premiums can differ from state to state and even from county to county based on a number of factors. Simply moving can have an impact on the price of plans in your area and/or the subsidy amount you receive from the government.

    Your income changed. If you plan to make more or less money in 2020, your subsidy amount from the government will change and affect the premium you will owe every month. Subsidies are based on a scale that can increase or decrease based on income and other factors.

    Your family size changed. If you added or removed someone from your health plan, it will affect the price depending on the change!

    Remember, plan price changes are a normal part of the process!

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  • This is the six-digit code describing your primary business activity that you will enter on your Schedule C!

    If you drive for a rideshare company like Uber or Lyft, youll use the same business activity code as taxi and limousine drivers. The code is 485300.

    For delivery drivers such as Doordash and Postmates the code is492000 -- couriers and messengers.

    For real estate agents & brokers the code is531210.

    Most tax filing softwares will allow you to look up your code within the software, but you can find a full list here and on theIRS instructions for the Schedule C here !

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  • Nationwide, there is currently no federal penalty for not having insurance. There is no longer a federal mandate to have insurance.

    However, 5 states and the District of Columbia have reinstated the mandate at the state level.

    California has reinstated the individual mandatethis year requiring Californians to have health coverage throughout the year.

    The penalty is$695 or more for taxpayers and half that for dependent children, which would be paid on their state income tax return for the 2020 tax year in 2021.

    The penalty for married couples is $1,390.

    The penalty for a family of four (with 2 children) is a minimum of $2,085.

    Those who don't maintain qualifying health coverage may face a penalty unless they qualify for a hardship exemption.

    California is not alone in reinstating the individual mandate. For state tax purposes these states have also chosen to enforce a penalty for not having qualifying health insurance.

    State Taxes: These5 states and the District of Columbia have kept the individual mandate and have reinstated penalties similar to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This fee is paid when you file your state taxes.

    California

    District of Columbia

    Massachusetts

    New Jersey

    Rhode Island

    Vermont

    Federal Taxes:Starting with the 2019 plan year (for which you'll file for April 2020), the federal fee does not apply. There is no longer a federal mandate to purchase insurance.

    Note: If you haven't filed your taxes for 2018 or earlier (the 2019 filing season), the federal penalty still applies!

    2018 or earlier penalty: 2.5% of total annual income or $695, whichever is higher.

    The fines are pro-rated, meaning that if you are uninsured for just part of the year, you will have to pay 1/12th of the penalty for each month you are uninsured.

    There is also a grace period: If you are uninsured for less than two consecutive monthsof any year, youwon'thave to pay a fine and may qualify for an exemption.

    For states with a penalty, it is very important to note that paying the penalty does not mean you have health insurance coverage. You will still be responsible for 100% of the costs of your medical care.

    If you are not enrolled in a traditional health insurance plan, but would like to get some type of coverage, you may explore short term insurance plans. Learn more here.

    If you are ready to get insured, great! Click here.

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  • If you answer the identity verification questions incorrectly, you'll need to call Stride's Member Experience team in order to verify your identity. This call will only take about 5 minutes!

    How to verify your ID with Stride

    You'll need to take a picture of a personal document, such as your driver's license, and upload it on your Stride app or on the web browser where prompted to do so. Once your identity has been verified, be sure to click "I've verified my ID with Stride". See the image below!

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  • We keep you updated on where your application is in the process via statuses on your Stride Dashboard. To access your Dashboard, click here and sign in. Your application status will either readStride-Processing,Carrier-Processing, or Covered. To understand the meaning of the status of your application, let's look at the end-to-end process once you submit your application to Stridehealth.com bye-signing for your desired plan.

    Stride-Processing:If you were eligible for government assistance, Stride relays all of your information to the appropriate State or Federal exchange to (a) confirm eligibility and (b) secure your plan and the correct (discounted) price. If you're not eligible for government assistance and your plan is available off any exchanges,Stride will submit your information directly to the carrier.

    The government exchange submits, in batch, all of the applications it has received to the carrier.

    Carrier-Processing:The carrier processes these applications and begins to use the payment information provided to bill members for their premium contribution. Only once you are billed is your application actually approved. The due date for the first month's premium varies by carrier, state and exchange, but the payment can be due any time from the deadline day to 30 days after the effective date. We ensure that we transmit payment information well before the relevant due date on your behalf. Sometimes a carrier will not accept payment from anyone but you, in which case we prompt you to submit payment information to your carrier.

    The payment of the first premium, or binder payment, triggers your welcome packet and ID card to be mailed.

    Once your application is submitted, you will absolutely be covered in time foryour desired effective date, as long as your payment information is correct.

    Covered:Often you'll know that you're covered first because you'll see a payment come out of your account. Later, if the carrier offers visibility in to your application, we will be updated that you have paid and your plan is active.

    After submitting your application online, it usually takes about two weeks for your application to be processed and approved by the insurance company that you selected. Some companies have been experiencing delays, so do not be concerned if it is taking more than two weeks.

    If you are nearing your coverage start date and have not yet been billed by your carrier, you can contactyour insurance company directly to confirm that they are planning to take out payment and/or request that they manually take your payment from your account on your behalf over the phone.

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  • Almost everyone living in the United States is eligible for health insurance through Stride!

    In order to qualify for a subsidized plan, you must meet all of the following requirements:

    Be a U.S. citizen or be lawfully present

    Plan on filing your federal taxes for 2020

    Not have access to other qualifying health coverage, including employer-sponsored coverage.

    Stride can now serve individuals who are:

    Full-time student

    Pregnant applicants

    Non-U.S. citizens

    Naturalized U.S. citizens

    Missing SSN

    Applicants with different names than the one on their SSN cards

    Incarcerated applicants

    Applicants previously in foster care

    Stepchildren

    Single Applicants

    Married applicants

    Non-pregnant applicants

    Families without step or adopted children

    You can still get coverage if you do not meet the above requirements. This includes people are undocumented and have no SSN. There are private plans that you can purchase directly through private health insurance companies that do not require proof of citizenship or other qualifications.

    Shop for health plans today! Visit here.

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  • To add someone to your application, select the option to "Add a family member" at the bottom of the page. Next, you will enter their name, sex, date of birth, SSN, and marital status.

    Make sure the circle containing the check mark is green. This indicates that they will be included in your health plan. If you click on the green circle with the checkmark next to their name, you have selected that this person is in your household but will not be included in your health plan.

    If you added one too many people to your application, you will need to log out and restart the application and create a new account with a different email.Once you select a plan and begin your application, you will not be able to go back and remove anyone that was initially added in your health profile.

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  • You can but only if youdon'tdeduct your mileage!

    People who drive for work have two options when deducting expenses:

    1) The actual expense method: the cost of actual car expenses (such as gas, maintenance, car payments, and a few others ),

    OR

    2) The standard mileage method: deducting a standard amount for every business mile driven. The standard mileage rate for 2018 was 54.5 cents per mile, while the 2019 rate is 58 cents per mile. Stride will automatically calculate your mileage deduction for you based on the year in which you're driving.

    If you deduct both your mileage and your gas and maintenance expenses, youd be double-deducting the same expense (since the mileage rate includes the cost of gas and maintenance already)which the IRS really doesn't like!

    Not sure which method is best for you? No problem. The mileage deduction typically gives the highest deduction, especially if you drive a lot for work.

    That being said, you might as well track both your mileage and your actual car expenses. Then you can determine at the end of the year which expense method is best for you!

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  • While youwon'tsubmit your expense documentation with your tax return, you will need it to 1) know how much you can deduct from your business income, and 2) to back up those deductions during an audit.

    A good way to think about claiming tax deductions is that the more documentation, the better. The documentation you keep should provide the full context of your purchases to the IRS, should you ever be audited. The details that the IRS would want to know include:

    -Time and date of the expense

    -Description and business purpose of the expense

    -Name of the vendor

    -Amount of the expense

    Ideally, you'd keep receipts (or pictures of receipts) from each of your business purchases, and keep detailed notes on how you use each item that you buy. The Stride app can help you store and organize your receipts!

    However, with good cause the IRS may accommodate particular circumstances that hindered your ability to preserve adequate records.

    Its recommended that you keep your documentation for at least three years after the end of the tax year. Once you've filed your returns, the IRS has up to three years to review your tax returns and assess any additional taxes owed. However, it can take up to six years to make a tax assessment if they determine that you omitted a substantial amount of income from your return.

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  • Enter your zip code in the box below to start see what plans are available to you!

    Answer questions to build your health profile. This lets us customize personal plan recommendations.

    Once you've found the perfect plan, click the greenPick this plan button to complete an application.

    After you finish the application, look out for emails from Stride, your carrier, or your exchange regarding your application status.

    Once you see your first month's premium payment withdrawn, you are all set!

    Note: Your plan will go into effect once your first months payment is made. Therefore, it is important to keep an eye out for a confirmation email from Stride as well as any other emails from your carrier regarding your registration, first months payment, and welcome packet with your ID card.

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  • Stride is improving the Stride app to provide an elevated experience through which you can access insurance, benefits, ways to save, and more!

    We've made several updates to the Stride app to incorporate all of our insurance products along with deals and benefits.

    What features and functions are available in this new app?

    The app now consists of five separate tabs:Home,Tax Savings,Benefits,Deals, and the green+tab for expense/mileage tracking.

    The newly updated features are:

    Home-

    The new "Home screen" shows your estimated savings for that given week. Below your savings, you will see your mileage and deductions for that week. Your estimated savings are calculated by multiplying your weekly deductions by our assumed tax rate of 30%.

    The bottom half of the screen shows the content cards which will display our standard product offerings. The "Home screen" also hosts links to different products and promotions!

    Discover learning resources in the new content center!

    Benefits -

    The new "Benefits" tab displays benefit offerings that are exclusive to your employer and other benefits available to any Stride members! For example, in the top part of the screen below, you will see employer specific offerings.

    Tapping on the individual benefits will link out to that product website. For example, tapping the dental card will link to the dental insurance page to shop for plans.

    New benefits options for personal finance and insurance.

    Deals -

    The "Deals" tab will show discounts from local businesses based on your zip code. You will have to turn on location services in the Stride App in order to see local deals. If location services are not turned on, the Deals tab will show the national deals offerings by default.

    Tapping on theDeals Categorieswill show the available types of deals for that category. Tapping on the types of deals will show the local business through which the deal is available and the specific discount at that business.

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  • New to Stride? Welcome! Wed love to help you get started with using the app, so you can start putting money back in your pocket as soon as possible.

    Here are a few key app features to look out for as you start exploring the app!

    Using an Android phone? Your screen may look a bit different! Don't worry, all of the information in this article still stands.

    Youll start on the Tax Savings screen

    When you open your app, youll immediately see a Tax Savings screen. This screen has contains all of your deduction data, as well as the big green + button that starts your drives and records your expenses. Most of your app activity will take place on this screen!

    Track miles and add expenses

    You can record both your mileage and your expenses with the same button! Look for the big green + button on your Tax Savings screen.

    To start tracking your miles: Click the green button, and then Track my miles. Finish your drive, and then click I'm done driving.Tip: If youd like to read more about which miles to record, you can click here for rideshare mileage rules, and here for general self-employed mileage rules.

    To add in your deductible expenses: Click the green button, and then Add an expense (if this is your first time adding an expense, this button will say "What else can I write off?").

    Manage your account via your menu

    You can access all of your account features in the menu of your app. Just click the three lines on the top lefthand corner of your screen to open your menu! Heres what youll find in your menu:

    -Export your tax reports

    -Enter your settings page

    -Share the app

    -Add in any miles that you forgot to track

    -Read our FAQs and contact Stride support!

    Link your bank account

    Adding your bank account to your account allows you to pick and choose which of your bank transactions are deductible business expenses!

    To get started, click the bank icon on the top righthand corner of your screen. Youll be prompted to choose your bank and log in.

    Check out the Benefits tab

    If you click the "Benefits" button on the bottom righthand corner of your screen, you can read about Stride's health, dental, and vision insurance options!

    Did you know that Stride started as a healthcare company? We started with helping self-employed people access affordable health insurance. Since managing tax information is another challenge that self-employed taxpayers face, we expanded to tax products like Stride. That's why you're seeing insurance information in your mileage tracker!

    You can read a bit more about our mission here.

    Questions? Suggestions? Pleasedon'thesitate to reach out via email at [email protected]. We'd be happy to talk through any of these features!

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  • You can enroll in an accident plan any time, year-round! There is no limited enrollment period for accident insurance.

    When would coverage start on an accident plan?

    Your accident coverage can start any time within 60 days of completing the application. You have the ability to choose your own start date.

    Click here to enroll now!

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  • To find an eye doctor near you, use VSP's doctor search tool here and follow these simple steps:

    Enter your zip code or city & state

    Select "Choice" from the Doctor Network dropdown menu

    Choose any other filters like Frame Brand or search radius

    Select "Search"

    This will create a list of providers in your area. If you find a doctor near you, it's always a good idea to double check that they currently accept your plan by giving their office a call.

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  • The most common documentation for proof of citizenship is a U.S. Passport.

    You can submit your documentation in one of two ways:

    Scan (or take a high quality photo or screenshot of) your documentation and send to [email protected].

    Reply by mail directly to the Marketplace with any requested information.

    If you cannot provide a copy of your U.S. Passport, please see below for a full list of approved documents:

    U.S. Passport

    Certificate of Naturalization (N-550/N-570)

    Certificate of Citizenship (N-560/N-561)

    State-issued enhanced driver's license (available in Michigan, New York, Vermont, and Washington)

    Document from federally recognized Indian tribe that includes your name and the name of the federally recognized Indian tribe that issued the document, and shows your membership, enrollment, or affiliation with the tribe. Documents you can provide include:

    A Tribal enrollment card

    A Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood

    A Tribal census document

    Documents on Tribal letterhead signed by a Tribal official

    If youdon'thave any of the documents above, you can provide 2 documents one from each list below:

    List #1:

    U.S. public birth certificate

    Consular Report of Birth Abroad (FS-240, CRBA)

    Certification of Report of Birth (DS-1350)

    Certification of Birth Abroad (FS-545)

    U.S. Citizen Identification Card (I-197 or the prior version I-179)

    Northern Mariana Card (I-873)

    Final adoption decree showing the persons name and U.S. place of birth

    U.S. Civil Service Employment Record showing employment before June 1, 1976

    Military record showing a U.S. place of birth

    U.S. medical record from a clinic, hospital, physician, midwife or institution showing a U.S. place of birth

    U.S. life, health or other insurance record showing U.S. place of birth

    Religious record showing U.S. place of birth recorded in the U.S.

    School record showing the childs name and U.S. place of birth

    Federal or State census record showing U.S. citizenship or U.S. place of birth

    Documentation of a foreign-born adopted child who received automatic U.S. citizenship (IR3 or IH3)

    List #2:

    Driver's license issued by a State or Territory or ID card issued by the Federal, state, or local government

    School identification card

    U.S. military card or draft record or Military dependents identification card

    U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner card

    Voter Registration Card

    A clinic, doctor, hospital, or school record, including preschool or daycare records (for children under 19 years old)

    2 documents containing consistent information that proves your identity, like employer IDs, high school and college diplomas, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, property deeds, or titles

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  • Stride has hosted several webinars that provide information on the basics of health insurance, how to file taxes with 1099 income, what to deduct, and how to keep your tax information organized for the rest of the tax year. You can find recordings of these webinars below!

    Health Insurance 101: https://stride.easywebinar.live/oep1-replay

    Taxes 101 for Independent Professionals: https://stride.easywebinar.live/replay-taxes101-19

    Quarterly Taxes for Independent Professionals: https://stride.easywebinar.live/replay-taxes-q2

    The Impacts of the Tax Reform on Self-Employed Taxpayers: https://stride.easywebinar.live/replay-taxreform19

    Taxes 101 for Postmates: https://stride.easywebinar.live/replay-taxes101-postmates-19

    Taxes for Rover Sitters: https://stride.easywebinar.live/replay-rover

    Taxes for Airbnb Hosts: https://stride.easywebinar.live/replay-airbnb

    Taxes for Postmates: https://stride.easywebinar.live/replay

    Quarterly Taxes for Postmates: https://stride.easywebinar.live/sep18-replay-postmates

    "Quarterly Taxes for Independent Professionals"is transcribed below, and contains answers to questions like:

    What can I deduct, and how do I claim deductions?

    How do I report my income?

    What tax info should I be tracking?

    "Quarterly Taxes for Independent Professionals" Transcription:

    [0:00]>> Welcome everyone to Strides webinar on Quarterly Taxes for Independent Professionals. My name is Tade Anzalone, and I am Strides resident Tax Expert, andI'mon the Member Experience team for Strides products, such as Stride. AndI'mreally excited to be talking about some common questions that I get as a tax preparer, about quarterly taxes, and about taxes in general, especially for 1099 workers who are receiving independent income. So today were going to go over some common questions about quarterly taxes, and then some questions that I tend to get about expense tracking, bookkeeping, and preparing for audits as well.

    [0:39]>> So a little bit about Stride. Stride helps people who work for themselves save time and money. We provide software and services that help you easily tackle big, scary things like health insurance and taxes so you can get back to doing the stuff that really matters. Were based in San Francisco and were looking forward to helping make this your most stress-free tax year yet.

    [1:01]>> To get the most out of this webinar, were going to be talking a lot about tax-deductible business expenses today. So I would definitely recommend downloading our free expense tracking app called Stride. Its a mileage tracker and an expense tracker. To download the app, you can either text the word TAX, T-A-X to 415-930-9109, this number on the screen here, or youre welcome to go directly to the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store, and type in Stride, and download it for free directly from there.

    [1:35]>> So to start: why is it that taxes are so much more complicated, or seemingly so much more complicated when youre self-employed? I get I see a lot of self-employed independent contractors, who are filing taxes with business income for the first time, who are definitely much more nervous about their tax returns with business income than they would be without it. So why is that?

    [01:59]>> So one of the first reasons is: youre dealing with different income information. Youre probably receiving income from multiple sources. Instead of receiving a W2 at the end of the year like you would at a traditional job with an employer, usually receiving a W2, and kind of plugging and going. You can kind of put it in your tax return and then be done with it. But when youre self-employed, your income is likely coming from multiple sources. For example, if you have clients, youre probably receiving income from all of those clients throughout the year, so gathering up and totalling up your income gets a lot more complicated. And youre probably receiving different documentation than youre used to. If this is your first year with self-employment income,you'veprobably received a 1099 from the past year that looked a little bit unfamiliar. So income that you receive on an independent contractor source would be reported to you on a 1099 instead of a W2. So a few unfamiliar documents there. You also probably, if you just filed taxes with business income for the first time, you probably had an unexpected tax liability, or unexpected taxes that you owed. And the reason for that is because, when you have an employer, who is withholding taxes from your paycheck for you, they are essentially remitting taxes on your behalf throughout the year. So calculating how much you owe in taxes and then paying it to the IRSisn'treally a problem when you have a W2 job, because its all kind of done for you on the backend. But when you have self-employment income, there is no employer who can do that for you. Its now your responsibility to calculate how much you owe in taxes and then send it in to the IRS. Three, usually when you have an employer, they are keeping track of any expenses that you have on the job, andthey'retaking care of your reimbursements for you. But when youre self-employed, theres no employer to do that for you. So any expenses that you incur to keep your business alive and well, youre now responsible for that documentation rather than an employer taking care of it for you within your paycheck. And four, there are some extra forms. So when you file taxes, when you have certain kinds of income, the IRS will ask you to add extra forms to your tax return to describe that income, and business income is no exception. When you have self-employment income, you have to attach a couple of forms to your tax return to describe the income that you earned. So especially when youre filing online, you might be surprised that you have to level-up the software version that youre used to using for your tax preparation, so that you can account for those extra forms that you now have to file.

    [04:39]>> So what does this look like when you go to file your taxes in practice? Usually when youre filing taxes with business income for the first time, youll find yourself rifling through boxes of receipts to count up all of the deductions that you could have had for your business. So especially if youre someone who hates bookkeeping, doesnt really enjoy dealing with spreadsheets throughout the year,you'veprobably been throwing your business receipts into a shoe box or some other location, and just telling yourself that youll deal with it when you file taxes. And then, you know, when tax season finally comes, youre rifling through those various places, and your receipts, to total them up. Two, youre probably going through all of your bank statements to find all of your business purchases, which, Idon'thave to tell you, can take a long time. If youre going through your entire bank or credit card history for an entire year, it can take a ton of time to count up all of the expenses that you hadnt been tracking throughout the year. Income statements, like I mentioned before, when youre self-employed, its much more likely that you have more than one income source, especially if you do client-based work. So you probably have records of a dozen or so income sources from the year. And then I see this a lot. A lot of people will get to filing season, and start rifling through their expenses, butthey'renot entirely sure what they can deduct. And that is a perfectly normal question to be asking yourself, What is deductible on my tax return and what isnt? So were going to go over a lot of information that you can use to figure out whats deductible for your business.

    [06:12]>> As anyone who has just filed taxes for the first time with business income can tell you, when youdon'ttrack your expenses, you are likely going to overpay in taxes, and well go over exactly why in the next couple of slides. Youre probably going to waste valuable time finding deduction documentation, so if you havent been tracking your expenses throughout the year, then you probably havent been tracking your deduction documentation throughout the year. So if you want to deduct something, but youdon'thave any proof on hand that shows that you paid for it for your business, youll have to rifle through your receipts, rifle through your bank statements and credit card statements to find the documentation that you need in order to deduct it on your tax return. And then its entirely possible that people will deduct expenses that theycan'tback up in an audit. So for example, if youre filing your taxes, and youcan'tfind a receipt for a really big expense for your business that you had for the year, a lot of people will go ahead and deduct it anyway, even if theydon'thave the proper documentation for it. So its likely that ifthey'reever audited, anddon'thave documentation to backup that business expenses that they took, they could have that expense removed from their tax return and then theyll have to pay back the taxes that they didnt pay originally, which can definitely stick people with an unexpected bill.

    [07:17]>> So weve gone over a little bit about why its so important to track your expenses throughout the year.I'mgoing to show you where those expenses go into your tax return, and how tracking your expenses can save you money on taxes. So like I mentioned before, when you are self employed and you have a 1099 or independent income, youre going to have to file some extra forms to describe that income. And the main form that you have to be familiar with is the Schedule C: Profit and Loss. So this Schedule C will have you list a couple of details about your business, mainly your business income. So first youll list all of the business income thatyou'vehad from an independent source, which is usually compensation in exchange for services. So you describe all the income from the year that you got from your business. Next youll describe your business expenses, so any ordinary and necessary expenses that you paid to keep your business alive and well during the year. You can be tracking and deduct as a business expense on your Schedule C, on your tax return, and then once you do that, youre going to get to your profit. So let me go over how that works. So lets say your business income for the year: your compensation in exchange for business in services, was $10,000 from your independent work. And lets say your business expenses were $3,000. So on the Schedule C, youre going to put in the information about your income and your expenses, and then, the reason youre doing that is because youre going to try to get to your business profit or loss. So the next number would be your profit, your income minus your expenses, is going to give you either your profit or your loss. And the reason its so important to find your income after expenses, after subtracting your expenses from your income, is because, when you pay taxes, youre only paying taxes on your profit. So if you were to pay taxes on that $10,000, youd be paying taxes on a much higher amount of income, than you would if you had subtracted your business expenses and just paid taxes on your profit. So thats what this Schedule C is trying to get to for you. Its trying to gather your income info, gather your expense info, and get you to the appropriate amount that you should be taxed on, which is your profit.

    [09:19]>> So for example, lets say youre an independent artist, and your business income is your revenue from selling your artwork. Your expenses are every kind of painting supply under the sun, everything that you buy to keep your art business alive and well. That means if your business income is that same $10,000, your business expenses, all of the painting supplies that you had to buy, were $3,000. That means when you go to report your income on a tax return, youre only going to be taxed on the leftover $7,000. So that can show you exactly how much of an effect your business expenses can have on your taxable income.

    [10:27]>> So what happens if youdon'tdeduct expenses? So as you can imagine, the amount of money that you pay taxes on, is going to show how much you owe in taxes. So the higher your income, the more youll owe in taxes. So you can see, if you were to pay taxes on that $10,000, lets assume that you have about a 30% effective tax rate. 30% is typically what I tell people to expect when it comes to tax rates. Depending on what kinds of credits and deductions you can get, it might be lower, but the average is about 30%. Lets say you pay taxes on that $10,000 in business income. You would end up owing about $3,000 in taxes. But lets say you kept track of your business expenses really well throughout the year, and you subtracted your business expenses from your business income to get a profit of $7,000. Well, that 30% will show you having an owed tax of about $2,100, which is a whopping $900 difference in how much you owe in taxes. And that can be a huge amount of money, especially if youre just getting your business off the ground. Idon'tknow about you, but Idon'thave $900 that I would be thrilled to hand over to the IRS, I would much rather pay the lower amount in taxes. As you can see, if you are tracking your business expenses really well, you have good documentation, then you can save yourself a ton of money. And you can imagine the amount that you saved in taxes just gets higher the more income youre receiving from your business.

    [12:00]>> SO I mentioned earlier that some people will struggle to find documentation for their expenses and then deduct an expense that theydon'thave proof of. So lets say that happens. What happens when you deduct expenses without proof, and then you get audited? So firstly, no one needs to panic. It is an unlikely event that you get audited in the first place. But you always want to stay prepared, so that if you are ever audited, it is an easy, simple process, that you can prove all the deductions that you took and you can make your life a little bit easier. But lets say you are audited, and originally you had paid taxes on that profit of $7,000 that we discussed earlier. But lets say, as youre getting audited, and as your expenses and documentation are being reviewed, its found that youdon'thave the documentation to back up the expenses that you deducted on your tax return. So for anything that youcan'tprove, if an auditor ever says, Why did you deduct these $3,000? and youcan'tproduce some kind of documentation that will show Heres what I bought, when I bought it, and why I bought it, and if the story doesnt make sense to them based on your documentation, thenthey'renot going to allow those expenses that you put on your tax return. So theyll essentially add back what you deducted onto your income, so that you have to pay taxes on a higher amount of income than you did originally. So lets say you originally paid taxes on $7,000 in profit. You had $3,000 in expenses, but they didnt have any documentation, and you didnt keep that documentation in case of an audit. They would essentially add back that $3,000 in expenses, so that your re-adjusted taxable income would be $10,000, which is what you started with in the first place. So, as you can see, that $7,000, what you paid taxes on originally, much lower than what you than what you had earned in income. Lets say that $3,000 is added back to your income, and what youre paying taxes on now is $10,000, which, as we showed earlier, means you could potentially owe another $900 in taxes, that you hadnt paid originally, which I know a couple years after the fact, can be an incredibly unexpected, hard to plan for, unfortunate expense that you would have to pay. So the moral of the story here is: anything that you deduct on your tax return, you want to make sure that you have proper documentation for it. So if youre ever audited, youdon'tget yourself into a situation like this, where youre suddenly owing all this money in taxes that you hadnt planned for.

    [14:33]>> So Ive mentioned business expenses a lot, and I get a lot of questions how to determine if an expense is a business expense. How to figure out if its deductible, because it meant that its keeping your business alive and well. So whats unfortunate here is that the IRS doesnt exactly have a filing cabinet somewhere that lists every single thing thats deductible for every kind of profession. So theydon'thave a list that says, Well, if youre an independent lawyer, heres everything that you can deduct. So unfortunately its not so easy as comparing your expenses to a list of pre-approved deductions. What they do have is a rule of thumb called the Ordinary and Necessary rule. So for any expenses for your business that are reasonable and unavoidable, thats what I usually tell people. Is the expense ordinary, or ordinary for your industry? Is it necessary to keep your business running? Is it, for your industry, reasonable and unavoidable? Then its deductible on your Schedule C, on your tax return. So basically anything that is necessary to both keep everything running smoothly, and ordinary for the industry that youre in. It has to be both ordinary and necessary. As long as it fits both of those adjectives there, then it should be deductible as a business expense. And thats a rule of thumb that you can take with you, for every expense that you incur thats somewhat business related.

    [15:54]>> So Ill test everyones business expense knowledge here, and youre incurring a lot of expenses for your paint. You incurred a lot of paint expenses just to keep churning out art as you go. Is that deductible or not? Yes! It is absolutely deductible. So if youre an artist by trade, then paint is both ordinary for your industry, and its necessary for you to even produce the work that youre selling. So of course it is deductible because you need that expense to keep your business running. Lets say your job is artist, and your expense is haircuts. Is that deductible as a business expense or not? No, it is not deductible. And oddly enough, I get this question a lot. A lot of people will write in, and ask me if haircuts are deductible, and no, they are not. Depending on your industry, it is almost universally not deductible, because it is not ordinary for your industry, it is not necessary to keep your business running. So no, haircuts would not be deductible for that job. OK, once again, lets say your job is an artist and your expense is gas. Can you deduct your gas expenses? And this is always kind of a frustrating answer to hear when it comes to your taxes, but it depends. It is possible to deduct your gas, but a few provisions need to be in place in order for you to do that.

    [17:20]>> So the reason I say so is because whenever youre using an asset for both personal and business reasons, you kind of have to split up the expenses that you incur for that asset between business and personal. So lets say you have a car that you drive half the time for work, and half the time for personal reasons like errands, etc. Then you wouldnt deduct all of your vehicle expenses, because not all of your vehicle is used for work. So theres a little bit of math work that has to go in here. So you have the choice between deducting your vehicle expenses based on the Actual Expense Method. The way that it works is that any vehicle expenses that you incur throughout the year: gas, maintenance, depreciation, car insurance, car payments, repairs, etc, etc. Everything that you pay to keep your car running. You can take all of those expenses, track all of them throughout the year, and then at the end of the year figure out the percentage of the time that you used your car for work, and then use that percentage to figure out how much you can deduct. So lets say you use your car to drive 10,000 miles in a year, and you calculate that 5,000 of those miles were for work. Well, that means 50% of your driving was for work, so you use that 50% number and apply it to all of your vehicle expenses. So lets say 50% of your car was used for work, then you would deduct 50% of your gas, 50% of your maintenance expenses, car insurance, car payments, etc, and just use that 50% number down these line of expenses. So thats one option, if you use your car for work, you have the option to track everything, and then taking the business expense, and applying it at the end of the year. But asI'msure you can imagine, that is a lot of record keeping, bookkeeping. That is a lot of tracking you have to do every single day, think about how often in one week, even, that you spend money of your car. It could be a lot of receipts to capture, a lot of math work to do, and for a lot of people, that can just be too time-consuming, and they would rather spend that time on their business. So the other option that you have is to use the Standard Mileage Rate. So the IRS has taken all of these expenses on the left here, and found the average expense or cost per mile that an average driver will spend to keep their car running. And they roll the cost of all of those expenses into one rate per mile. The 2018 rate is 54.5 cents per business mile, and I know it doesnt seem like a lot, but its actually fairly generous. You can imagine, for every single business mile that you drive, you can deduct 54.5 cents. So lets say you drive 100 miles for a business trip. Well, $54.50 is your deduction after those 100 miles, as long as you have all the proper documentation, of course. So that can definitely add up, especially if youre driving a lot for work. So a question I get often is, Which method is best for me? because, you know, ostensibly, you can have a higher deduction with one method than the other, depending on your car. So the answer I usually give is: if you have a really expensive car to maintain, if you have a gas guzzler, if youre repairing it all the time, and you have really high costs, then its entirely possible that the Actual Expense Method will be the best method for you because youll get a higher deduction. But if you have a car that has really good gas mileage, youre not really spending a ton to maintain it, its probably newer, then the Mileage Rate is probably best for you, because the 54.5 cents is really generous, and if your car costs are below the average that were used to make the 54.5 cents, then it makes a ton of sense to use the Standard Mileage Rate. And you can also save a ton of time. But its about having to gather a ton of receipts everyday, or every week.

    [21:12]>> OK, so as you can imagine, there are a ton of expenses that independent, 1099 workers can take. The ones on the screen here are some of the most common expenses that people will incur when they are independent workers. Anything from public transportation, getting around from one client to another, your cell phone bill, your home office, all the way to things specific to your industry. Lets say youre an actor, then hair spray and makeup, or hair stylist, maybe hairspray and makeup would be much more applicable to you. A lot of these on the right here are ones that I see really commonly, especially if you have a lot of travel involved for your job. So everything on the screen here is pretty common for anyone who is self-employed. If you have the Stride app, you can have which job you have in the app, and the app will automatically populate a list of expenses for you that are common for your industry. So for example, if you mark you are an independent stylist, itll automatically populate really common expenses for you, like things like hair cutting supplies, hair spray, etc.

    [22:21]>> A common question I get about that list that we just saw is how to deduct your cell phone bill, which is a great question, because, just like your car,I'msure that everybody out there listening right now is using their cell phone for both business reasons and personal reasons. So as you can imagine, you would have to split the cost of your cell phone bill and only deduct a portion, a portion thats used for business. So lets say you use your cellphone for work 60% of the time in a given month, you deduct 60% of your monthly bill. And then, it is a bit tougher to find that business percentage of your cellphone bill. I think the best way to do so is to take what youd consider an average week or a month, what you consider a typical week or a month in your business. And you can go through your calls and texts in that week or month, and figure out about what percentage of your texts and calls was for work, about what percentage of your data was used for work. Figure out when the phone is being used, and how much of the time is it being used for work. And you can take that percentage that you find from the typical week or month, and you can apply it for the rest of the year. So lets say you have about the same amount of business every month out of year. You can just go look at your cell phone history for one month and find maybe that you use it for work 60% of the time. And you can take that 60% and apply it to the rest of the eleven months out of the year, and save yourself a bunch of research, essentially. You can save yourself a bunch of time figuring out what your percentage of your bill is deductible.

    [24:02]>> OK, so around this time, I tend to get questions like, What if I wasnt tracking my expenses? And if that is the case, it is OK. Step one: pleasedon'tpanic. Its going to be fine. There are plenty of ways to figure out what expenses you incurred throughout the year without having to forego those deductions. So step one: calm down, its okay. Step two: I would definitely recommend going through your bank statements or your credit card statements. You can go through your spending history online, and you can pick out which of those expenses that you incurred were for work. So for example, lets say youre an artist, and you always buy your paint supplies from the same paint supply store. If youre going through your bank or credit card statements, and you find expenses at that particular store, with the vendor name that you recognize, you can bet that all of those expenses were for work. So you can go through and pick out any expenses with that vendor name, and tally those us for your own records. And you can do the same for your credit card statement as well. Step three, going through your appointment book can be a surprisingly helpful way to figure out what you were spending and when. I think that the hardest part about going through an entire years worth of records, and finding your expenses is literally just remembering where you were at what time. And that can help tell you if you were buying something for your business or not. So for example, lets say that youre going through your appointment book, and you know if youre a rideshare driver, you always mark in your calendar the number of hours that you are going to be driving. Well, you can compare those hours that you were driving to something like your bank history or your credit card history, and see if you were buying something during that time, it can help jog your memory on what you were buying, and if it was for your business. This works especially well for people who do client-based work. If you were not tracking your mileage on your way to a client site, then going through your appointment book, seeing where, at what time, and calculating the mileage that you incurred can be a good way to go back through your records, even if youdon'thave a ton of documentation to help you through it. And four: I would always take notes on whatyou'vepurchased. So your goal should be, OK, ifI'maudited, I want my documentation to tell a story that the IRS will believe, that will cause no doubt in their mind that the expenses that I deducted on my taxes were legitimate. So you have to give as much information as you can just to make sure youre covering your tracks. So whenever youre going back through your documentation, I would always take notes on whatyou'vepurchased. So if you go back through your bank statements, see that you were at a paint supply store, its good to take a screenshot or print out that bank statement, and just take a few notes on, you know: I bought these paint supplies at the paint supply store for this work, and just having as many details as you can is always going to be helpful to future you. [laughter] Because if youre you can be audited for any tax year in the past three years, they can often go back as far as three years during an audit. You can imagine that three years ago, you probablydon'tremember what you were purchasing and why you were purchasing it. But if you take a good amount of notes, then it can help show in more detail what you were buying for your business.

    [27:23]>> And if you didnt track deductions in a given year, and you have to go through that awful process that we just described, and you definitelydon'twant to do it again, I would definitely recommend tracking your deductions in 2018 really responsibly. The best way to do that is to get some kind of expense tracker, like Stride, that can help you track both your mileage and your expenses. Stride users tend to record on average about $200 in deductions per week. And if youre working every single week, that $200 really adds up. When you download the app and create an account, you are part of the Stride community, which means you get a couple of perks just for having Stride. So one would be free tax support. You can write in to the support team for Stride and you can have direct access to a tax preparer like myself. And wed be happy to answer any questions that you have about expenses, about whats deductible, about how to record expenses on a tax return. You know, anything or any self-employment tax question that you have in mind. And secondly, we have a partnership with H&R Block, so if youre recording your expenses throughout the year with Stride, you can automatically import all of those expenses into your tax return if you file with H&R Block, which can save you a ton of time when filing and kind of erase the headache of filling out your Schedule C for you. And well also be able to give you a discount on H&R block filing, come income tax time. Once again, to get the app, you can text the word TAX to 415-930-9109, excuse me. And youll receive a link to download the app directly from that text.

    [29:05]>> OK. [laughter] Quarterly taxes, this is a question I get a lot of questions about quarterly taxes around this time of year, because as yall know, there is a quarterly tax deadline coming up shortly. There are four quarterly tax deadlines throughout the year. SoI'mgoing to go through: what are quarterly taxes and how in the world do you prepare for them? So for background, the US is a pay-as-you-go tax system. So what that means is you have to pay your fair share of taxes periodically throughout the year, instead of actually just once a year like people think. So if you are a W2 employee with a traditional employer, any time taxes are withheld from your paycheck, its essentially because your employer is remitting those taxes on your behalf to the IRS. So you know, you don't really have to fool with estimated or quarterly payments, because its being done for you by your employer. But as we already discussed, if you are self-employed, there is no employer withholding taxes from your paycheck. You are now responsible for paying your fair share periodically throughout the year. So what that usually involves is: 1. You would estimate your income for the entire year, with 1040-ES, which you can see on the right here. Youd estimate your income for the year, use that income number to figure out how much youre going to owe in taxes for the year, and if youre going to owe more than $1,000 on your taxes, then you would pay 25% of your estimated tax every three months. And you do so by sending in an estimated payment to the IRS each quarter. So basically, youre going to calculate what youre going to earn, calculate what youre going to owe, and if what you owe is above those $1,000, then you pay a fourth of it every quarter. I realize that its a little bit easier said than done, so were going to go over exactly how to do all of these four steps that I have on the screen here.

    [30:36]>> So step one: estimate your income. So youre going to estimate your taxable income. And that can be tricky because there are a number of things that go into finding your taxable income. You have to calculate all of your income sources for the entire year, calculate all of your deductions, factor in a couple other details thatI'msure youre familiar with when you file your taxes. So there are a lot of numbers that go into finding this income number that unfortunatelyaren'tjust what you get in your bank account. So I would recommend using a Withholding Calculator, like this one from the IRS website on the screen here. I would recommend going to https://apps.irs.gov/app/withholdingcalculator. If you go to that website, then you can take this really brief quiz on the right here on the screen, where they ask you a couple of details about your 2018 tax situation. And it will help you spit out what your taxable income will be. So it will calculate: whats your income, whats your deductions, whats your filing status. Itll calculate what your standard deduction would be and how many personal exemptions you would get, and it will help you figure out what is your taxable income for the year. So you can estimate your income with any kind of withholding calculator like this online. You can also do it with the form 1040-ES if you want, its just a handwritten worksheet that you can fill out about your income.

    [32:17]>> So two: estimate your tax owed. So this can be a little tricky, especially for people that have both a W2 job and an independent contractor job, if you have several sources of income, some of which have taxes withheld, and some of which dont. SoI'mgoing to show you what I mean by that. So your tax based on your total income, including from a W2 job as well as your 1099 income, as well as any other form of taxable income youre receiving. So if you have taxes withheld from your W2 paycheck, then some of the taxes are already taken care for you, whereas, with your self-employment income, they are not. So you would have to estimate what you owe after the taxes that are owed for you, and budget your quarterly tax payments based on that. So heres what I mean by that. Lets say that youre going to estimate that youre going to have $35,000 in W2 income for the year, and you estimate that youre going to have $15,000 in 1099 income for the year, which is going to give you $50K for the year, that youre going to estimate that youre going to get for the year. So some of that income is going to attribute to you owing estimated taxes, or quarterly taxes, and some of its not. So what I mean by that is if you owe a total of $5,000 based on that total income of $50,000, but $3,000 was withheld from your W2 paycheck. That $35,000 in income from your W2 that you see up there, lets say that $3,000 in taxes were already withheld from your income. That means that you would actually only owe, in estimated payments, $2,000. Because of the $5,000 that you owe in general on your total taxable income, $3,000 is already withheld for you, and remitted to the IRS for you. So that leftover tax owed, thats what youre going to be calculating your quarterly payments on, not the entirety of the $5,000 that you owe on all of your income. That $2,000 is just the amount of your tax owed thatisn'talready taken care of for you.

    [34:22]>> So step three: estimate your quarterly taxes. So we already figured out that your estimated tax owed is going to be $2,000, because that is the tax owed thatisn'talready taken care of for you by withholding in your paycheck. So $2,000 is above the $1,000 limit, and if your tax owed is above that $1,000 limit, then you do need to pay estimated or quarterly payments throughout the year. So we take that estimated tax owed of tax owed of $2,000, and we divide it by four, and figure out that each estimated or quarterly payment that you need to make throughout the year is $500. So you need to be paying $500 four times per year, to make up for the estimated tax owed that we have figured for you.

    [35:05]>> So how do we do that? We send your estimated payments to the IRS each quarter. The estimated payment that weve calculated, which is $500. You would go the website on the screen here, https://www.irs.gov/payments and its really easy. You can just click on the Pay My Tax Bill button, and you can send in that payment of $500. Every year, theyll ask you to fill out a little bit of information about yourself, like your social security number, and then theyll attribute that $500 to your owed tax for you. So when you go to file your taxes for the next year, your debt is essentially already settled, meaning youwon'thave to pay anything when you file.

    [35:34]>> So some important dates for you remember. The quarterly tax deadlines are: April 17th, June 15th, September 17th, and January 15th of the following year. So for all of these dates this year, you would have to send in your estimated tax payments, before each of these deadlines, so you can avoid penalties and such. The nearest one coming up is June 15th, so if you havent already started gathering up your documentation, I would. I would go ahead and get it out the way, so youre not frantically trying to figure out what your expenses were on June 15th.

    [36:20]>> OK, soI'mgoing to go through some common questions that I tend to get about taxes in general. There seems to be a few myths out there on the water supply about taxes, a few myths Id like to bust. SoI'mgoing to go over some of the most common questions that I get.

    [36:36]>> So number 1: If I missed the tax filing deadline, do I have to wait until next year to file? No, absolutely not. You can file taxes really whenever you want. You will incur penalties if youdon'tpay it by the deadline, but the deadline for tax filing doesnt work the way other deadlines work. Thats the day when your penalties will start accruing, that is not the final day in the year when you can file a tax return. You can actually file a tax return on any day of the year if you need to. So if youre not going to make the deadline, you can still file the day after, or even six months after the day if you want. I do want to let everyone know that late payment and late filing penalties accrue over time, so even if you miss a deadline, its not a situation of, if youre late, youre already late, so you might as well take your time. It is the situation of, everyday and every week that you are late, your penalties will keep accruing over time. So even if youre late, it is still advisable to get your tax return and your tax payments in as soon as possible. But if you have if in April you miss the deadline for filing your taxes, its true that youre a couple months late, but its not so late that youre going to incur some ridiculously high penalty. Its actually very possible that you can have a low penalty or even still get a refund. So I would definitely recommend, if you havent already, then get your tax return in as soon as possible.

    [38:01]>> Can I pay my taxes with a credit card? Yes, this is a little known fact, but you absolutely can. Most credit card providers will charge a service fee of about $4 to do so, but you can pay down your tax liability with a credit card. So if its getting near the tax payment deadline, and youre going to have getting the funds together to make your payment, it is possible to go ahead and make a payment on your credit card, so youdon'tmiss the deadline and incur any penalties. And then you can manage your own interest rates and payments on your own with your credit card company, as opposed to just incurring penalties with the IRS.

    [38:34]>> I havent filed in years, can I still file? I get this question a lot from people who have been self-employed for a long time. Yes, you absolutely can, and please do! Like I said before [laughter], the longer you wait, the higher your penalties would be. So even if its been years, it is still advantageous to file as soon as possible. And what most peopledon'tknow, is even if you are a couple years late in filing your tax return, it is possible that you will get a refund anyway. So if you are owed a refund in a specific tax year, then if you incur penalties, then those penalties will just eat into your refund. So even if you were six months late, and you were owed a substantial refund, you can file six months late and still get the rest of that refund that wasnt eaten up by penalties. You will forfeit that potential refund if you are over 3 years late, but lets say you havent paid or filed your taxes in 2016, if you were owed a refund and that refund was large enough, you could file today and still get whats left of it. I do also want to note that late filing penalties will max out at 25% of your owed tax. So even if its been many years since you missed a tax return deadline, your penalties werent just endlessly accruing every month out of those several years. Itll max out when you hit 25% of your owed tax. Sodon'tworry, [laughter] youre not just going to keep accruing penalties for the rest of your life, you know. Itll max out.

    [40:11]>> So once again, weve gone over a lot of the reasons why its so important to keep track of your expenses and to have diligent record keeping throughout the year. So in order to make sure that youre keeping on top of all of your documentation and your business expenses, I would recommend downloading the Stride app for either iPhone or Android. You can either text the word TAX to 415-930-9109, and youll get a text with a link to download the app, or you can go directly to the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store, and download Stride straight from there.

    [40:49]>> And onceyou'vedone so,I'msure many of you have a lot of self-employed friends in the same industry as you. If you want to earn $5, you can share the app with your friends, and youll get a $5 Amazon gift card for every person that you refer that downloads the app and records an expense in your account. So to do so, you would go to the little person icon in the upper lefthand corner into your profile, you would click on the Earn $5 button, and that will take you to a place where you can copy and paste your unique referral link to send to your friends. And every time they sign up with that link, and record an expense, then youll automatically be put on a list to receive a $5 Amazon gift card at the end of the month.

    [41:34]>> So weve covered a lot of information today [laughter]. I think some of the most important highlights that I want everybody to remember. Number one: know whats tax deductible for your industry. Familiarize yourself as much as possible, Google it, ask your friends, ask your tax preparer or your accountant friends. Make sure you know exactly whats tax deductible for your industry, because itll just start to become automatic. When you make a purchase for your business, itll automatically ring a bell, youll know its tax deductible, youll be sure to keep your receipt and make sure you have good records throughout the year. Number two: track your deductible mileage and expenses - itll help you pay less in taxes. Remember that $900 in taxes that we saved, our mythical artist [laughter] a few slides back? Make sure that youre tracking all of your expenses throughout the year to make sure youre not overpaying in taxes on an income thats artificially too high. Number three: keep all your receipts and documentation for three years. Like I mentioned earlier, the IRS can audit you, and they usually go back about three years. So that will mean that when you keep your records, youll want to keep them around for at least 3 years, to make sure that youre covered for any audit periods that you may have to deal with.

    [42:46]>> You can rewatch this webinar by going to the link on the screen. Ifyou'veregistered for the webinar, you will get an email once we finish today with this URL so you can go back and replay it if you want to. Youre welcome to share it with your friends as well. https://stride.easywebinar.live/replay-Q2taxes You can go to this URL and then rewatch everything that weve talked about today.

    [43:12]>> You can also get a lot of this information on the Stride blog. We have a lot of articles that go into all of these topics in depth, and you can read a lot more about the Actual Expense Method versus Standard Deduction, or Standard Mileage deduction. You can read all of our expense and deduction guides for each industry that we support, and you can see a lot of the tax topics that weve gone over today.

    [43:38]>> While youre on the website, youll notice that Stride provides a full suite of benefits for self-employed professionals. All of the benefits that you see on the screen here are available for purchase on the Stride website: health, dental, vision, accident and life insurance, and then of course, tax support. When you download the app, you can get direct access to tax preparers like myself, who can answer all of your tax questions. And fun fact, all of the insurance options that you see on your screen here, it is possible to deduct all of those insurance options on your tax return. So if youre self-employed, it is definitely advantageous to secure yourself with all of these types of insurances, and then youre going to get a tax benefit for them when you file your taxes.

    [44:21]>> Thank you everyone for joining us today. Please feel free to download the app and then reach out to me directly via the Help button on your account. Happy to answer any additional tax questions that everybody has, and have a good one.

    [Video ends]

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  • Insurance prices are regulated by your states Department of Insurance, and the price that you pay will be exactly the same no matter where you buy insurance whether its online, over the phone, from the state or federal exchange, or even directly from an insurance company. Sinceprices are the same everywhere, you can take advantage of the tools and support that we provide at Stride Health without having to worry about paying anything extra.

    ...So to answer your question, yes, we offer the cheapest (and only) prices.

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  • Head of household is a tax filing that can help determine if you are eligible for premium tax credits!

    Defined by the IRS it means:

    You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year.

    A qualifying dependent lived in your home for more than half the year

    You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.

    There are some exceptions to this rule:

    Such as if you are a survivor of domestic

    You're still married but you and your spouse lived separately for more than 6 months and you pay more than half of the cost of keeping up the home for your child or dependent.

    It's important to note that if you are married and filing taxes separately you won't be able to receive premium tax credits!

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