[slightly OT] Advice on becoming an independent contractor

This is off-topic to Linux.. but since there are so many consultants and
independent contractors on this list, I thought I'd ask anyway.

I am about to enter into an agreement to work for a company as an
independent contractor. I will then have to take care of such things as
self-employment tax, contributions to my IRA, and everything else.

While I know in general that I have to do those things, I'm not really clear
on the specifics. I imagine there must be some good advice sites online
that can tell me what I'm in for and give hints and tips for doing things.
For instance, how do I make a contribution to my IRA so that it's not
taxed? Exactly which taxes do I need to pay? Is there something
non-obvious that I need to know?

Any help or links will be appreciated!
--
Kurt Granroth - "KDE -- Conquer Your Desktop"
KDE Developer/Evangelist | granroth@kde.org
http://www.granroth.org | kurt@granroth.org