If you’re a self-employed contractor or freelancer, you know how confusing estimated taxes can get. It can be difficult to estimate how much of each check you need to set aside, not to mention tempting. There’s no employer there to automatically take it out of your check every week. YOU have to do it, which is something that’s gotten many self employed people into a pickle before.

To set the record straight, check out these guidelines from the IRS on who should be saving and how much you should be saving throughout the whole year.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/basics-of-estimated-taxes-for-individuals

According to a new report from Moody’s Investors Service, the 2017 tax law had no real impact on consumer tax filing patterns or the market share of tax prep vendors. About 56 percent of electronic filings were handled by paid providers, which is in line with the popularity of DIY online filing services and software.

Here’s some more interesting tax news in Accounting Today.

https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/tax-reform-had-little-impact-on-tax-prep-market-share-says-moodys?brief=00000158-6edb-da3c-af5a-ffff76ed0000

Mixed cryptocurrency transactions now represent 4% of all bitcoin payments, with so-called “CoinJoins” rising by 300% in just nine months. By blending multiple transactions together before they are sent to the recipient, the sender’s details can be obscured.

CoinJoins have become more popular as more monitoring of transactions on blockchain are occurring.  Read more here at:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/mixed-cryptocurrency-transactions-up-300-as-crypto-users-pursue-anonymity

Well, they did it. Avengers: End Game broke all kinds of records, particularly one in which it made $1.2 billion in its first weekend. It easily killed its own record last year of $640.5 million with Avengers: Infinity War. Did you see it? Thoughts?

By now you know I love kung fu. I’m always in search of the best movies and shows highlighting this martial art. I came across this Ranker article ranking kung fu TV shows from best to worst. Check it out and see if you agree.

https://www.ranker.com/list/martial-arts-tv-shows-and-series/reference

I often find myself thinking about leadership and what makes one a great leader in business. I know it takes years of practice. But there are essential skills one must possess in order to find success, ranging from self-awareness and decisiveness to fairness and enthusiasm. Inc. talks more about it here:

https://www.inc.com/bill-green/the-8-characteristics-of-an-effective-business-leader.html

For the first time in five months, Bitcoin soared to its highest point, bolstering smaller cryptocurrencies along with it. This came after a major order by an anonymous buyer. A frenzy of computer-driven trading ensued, and Bitcoin jumped 20 percent. In fact, it hit $5,000 for the first time since mid-November of 2018.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies/bitcoin-jumps-20-percent-mystery-order-seen-as-catalyst-idUSKCN1RE0JY