How to Save for Taxes When Self-Employed
By Karl Kniseley·3 min read·Updated June 2026
A job withholds tax before you ever see your pay. On your own, the full payment hits your account, and it is easy to forget a chunk belongs to the government. Spend it and the bill still comes. The fix is to separate the tax the moment money arrives.
The set-aside habit
Move a fixed share of every payment, often a quarter to a third, into a separate account the day it lands. You never see it as spendable, so the tax bill becomes a transfer instead of a crisis. Out of sight is the whole trick.
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