Lili Debuts ‘Tax Optimizer’ Toolkit as Money-Saving Solution Ahead of “a Shocking Tax Season”

Lili, the banking app built for freelance workers with over 500,000 users, announced the first-ever ‘Tax Optimizer’ toolkit allowing independent workers to be organized and prepared come tax season in 2022 and beyond. This year, millions of first time freelancers will realize the difficulties they must navigate as single business owners, risking overpayments and losing money they could have kept, or accruing fines by underpaying. “People are turning their backs on the traditional workforce,” said Lilac Bar David, CEO and co-founder of Lili. “There are well over 10M unfilled jobs because more people are freelancing now than ever. But this upcoming tax season could be brutal for all the first-timers, who may have a rude awakening when they realize how tough managing their finances can be. Our research shows that the majority of Gen Z freelancers feel anxious about taxes. We want to remove this anxiety and help people get ahead of the curve so they are only paying what they owe and not scrambling this tax season. Lili’s new service will include advanced categorization tools to track tax write-offs throughout the year, a tax bucket that automatically sets money aside every time a freelancer gets paid, auto-generated quarterly business reports, and the ability to pre-fill their Schedule C form at the end of the year. Most of these features are free to use with no account minimum, allowing independent workers to finally take control of their finances ahead of one of the most financially stressful times of the year. Freelancers don’t have employer-sponsored benefits, IT support, access to HR or accounting departments and while they do have access to business deductions, the majority don’t take full advantage of their write offs. Improperly tracking business expenses can cost a freelancer thousands of dollars, and up until now, organizing finances would take weeks of time that could be spent working and earning more money. A recent study of over 1,000 Gen Z respondents (ages 18-24) conducted by Lili found that:

• Over 90% did not know freelancers/self-employed workers should be paying taxes quarterly, and over 50% did not know freelancers/self-employed workers can deduct business expenses from their taxes.
• 1 in 3 people surveyed keep track of their expenses and receipts mainly using their smartphone notes app.
• 90% of Gen-Zers reported feeling anxious when they heard the word taxes.
• In a list of celebrity couples, the majority of respondents were more likely to take financial advice from Will and Jada-Pinkett Smith, followed by J-Lo and Ben Affleck, and then Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian.

“We built Lili to serve the future of the American workforce, which are freelance workers and small business owners,” said Liran Zelkha, Lili’s CTO and co-founder. “Our research revealed that young people are extremely interested in freelancing and working on their own. Because of advancements in technology and products like Lili, this is the first entrepreneurial generation who can finally handle all the complexities of managing their own finances, especially taxes. We want to be a resource for this emerging market of entrepreneurs and help them understand their finances so they can be more successful.” The U.S. Census Bureau reported that 5.4M new business applications were filed in 2021, surpassing the record set in 2020 of 4.4 million. This trend continues, with another 4.5M Americans quitting their full-time jobs in November 2021, the ability to work for oneself is experiencing a rebirth thanks in large part to eCommerce, social media, and remote work technology. The American entrepreneurial spirit is at an all time high, with a recent report noting that 86% of freelancers say their best days are ahead, and 71% say their perceptions of freelancing are positive. By empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs with access to tools and educational content on properly filing their taxes, they will have a greater chance of long-term economic success.