Overview of QuickBooks Self-Employed

Learn the basics of QuickBooks Self-Employed.

QuickBooks Self-Employed is an accounting tool that helps you record business income, track expenses, and manage mileage throughout the year. You can use it to calculate federal estimated quarterly tax payments and prepare your Schedule C tax form.

To use the service, access your account through a web browser or by using the mobile app.

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Find out if you’re self-employed

In general, you're self-employed if any of the following apply:

• You run a business as a sole proprietor or an independent contractor.
• You have a business partnership.
• You do business for yourself (including a part-time business).
• You need to file a Schedule C and your business taxes with a 1040.

Learn more about self-employment requirements on the IRS website.

Note: QuickBooks Self-Employed isn't designed to handle non-profit or charitable organizations.

How QuickBooks tracks your data

QuickBooks helps you organize your financial information by connecting directly to your bank.

• Daily updates: The system automatically downloads your latest transactions every day.
• Categorization: You categorize these transactions to match Schedule C categories and update your financial reports.
• Manual entries: You can manually add any business transactions that do not go through a bank account.
• Syncing: Your data syncs automatically across the mobile app and web browser.

Tax features and calculations

When you sign up, you set up a tax profile to help the software make accurate calculations. QuickBooks uses your recorded transactions to provide an estimated amount for your federal quarterly tax payments.

• Payment options: You can make federal payments by mail, through the IRS website, or directly from QuickBooks Self-Employed.
• Year-end filing: You can send your data to TurboTax Self-Employed to file your year-end taxes quickly.
• Categorization: Expense categories in the software match specific lines on the Schedule C form.

Note: Always check the IRS website for the latest tax payment schedules. The due date is usually the 15th of the month. Tax periods aren't evenly spaced by quarter.

Key business features

QuickBooks includes several tools to help you manage your daily business tasks.

• Mileage tracking: You can track business miles to claim tax deductions.
• Profit reports: You can run reports to see your business’s total profit.
• Deductions: The software helps you track healthcare, home office, and other business deductions.

How to log in to QuickBooks Self-Employed

You can log in to QuickBooks Self-Employed from the main QuickBooks sign-in page using your Intuit account (the email and password you used when you signed up).

Go to the QuickBooks sign-in page

1. Open the QuickBooks sign-in page: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/global/login/
2. On the sign-in page, choose QuickBooks Self-Employed (if you see product options).

Step 2: Sign in with your Intuit account

1. Enter the email you use for your Intuit account.
2. Enter your password, then select Sign in.

Note: If you’ve used TurboTax or other Intuit products, you may already have an Intuit account with that email.

If you can’t sign in

Try these quick fixes:

• Forgot your password? Use the Forgot password? link on the sign-in screen to reset it.
• Not sure which email you used? Try the email addresses you commonly use for billing/receipts.
• Still stuck? Follow the troubleshooting steps in resolve sign-in issues in QuickBooks.

Tip: Bookmark the login page so you can get back to it quickly next time.

Cancel a free trial or paid subscription

Follow these steps to cancel your QuickBooks Self-Employed trial or subscription.

Upgrade to or downgrade from the Tax Bundle

Upgrade to the Tax Bundle to get QuickBooks Self-Employed and TurboTax Self-Employed.

If you don't need the Tax Bundle anymore, here's how to downgrade your subscription so you only have QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Related links

• About QuickBooks Self-Employed
• Find out if you're self-employed
• Enter business transactions into QuickBooks Self-Employed
• Track your tax info in QuickBooks Self-Employed
• Schedule C categories in QuickBooks Self-Employed
• Track deductions in QuickBooks Self-Employed
• Make federal estimated quarterly tax payments
• Cancel a free trial or paid subscription
• Upgrade to or downgrade from the Tax Bundle