New California 1099 contractor paid by a French agency — how do I not get destroyed on taxes?

Hey everyone,

Just started a full-time remote marketing role at $60k/year on a 1099 and I’m realizing I need to get my shit together pretty fast.

My situation is a little different from most I think:

• Live in California  
• Only US-based person on the team (about 20 people globally)  
• Founder and the company are based in France  
• Get paid monthly (\~$5k gross), nothing withheld

I knew California taxes were rough but I didn’t fully appreciate what self-employment tax on top of state tax actually looks like until I ran the numbers. Kind of freaking out a little honestly.

Before I do anything stupid I want to get ahead of this. Few things I’m trying to figure out:

• What deductions do people in remote marketing/SEO actually use? Not the obvious stuff, more like what do people tend to miss in year one  
• Solo 401k vs SEP IRA at my income level, is there actually a clear winner or does it depend  
• Does the S-Corp thing even make sense in California or does the $800 franchise tax kill it until you’re earning way more  
• I keep seeing 25-30% as the set-aside number but that feels low for CA, what are people actually putting away  
• Does working for a foreign company add any extra complexity I should know about  
• Any apps people actually use for tracking deductions automatically

Would love to hear from other California freelancers, especially anyone in marketing, SEO or tech. What do you wish someone told you in year one?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​