Xero launched the Xero TaxTouch app, developed for freelance workers who submit a Schedule C form with their tax filings.
With the app, freelancers can track earnings and tax liability by automatically downloading and organizing bank and credit card transactions from all major U.S. banks and credit cards. Users can separate expenses by swiping right for business or left for personal, and the app estimates quarterly tax payments and continually tracks take-home earnings.
Xero TaxTouch also categorizes expenses according to Internal Revenue Service-approved business deductions, and a report detailing Schedule C data can be downloaded or emailed to an accountant or tax preparation service.
Based on its calculations that 11.4 million people now make up the on-demand freelance workforce, Xero commissioned a survey of more than 300 freelancers finding work using on-demand marketplaces that included Uber, Lyft, Freelancer.com and TaskRabbit.
Xero found that 92 percent of those earning an income from on-demand marketplaces are happy with their job, which it contrasted with a Gallup poll finding 31.5 percent of U.S. workers feel engaged by their jobs, 51 percent not engaged and 17. 5 percent actively disengaged.
Xero’s survey also found that 10 percent of respondents are surprised at tax time and more than a quarter don’t track or deduct business expenses from their taxes. Nearly two-thirds of respondents do not file quarterly tax estimates.
Xero TaxTouch, priced at $5.99 per month or $29.99 for the first year, is now available for download on iOS from the app store.
