Self Employment Tax in San Rafael, California

Find the right Self Employment Tax attorney in San Rafael, CA

Self Employment Tax Lawyers in San Rafael

In San Rafael, California, there are certain taxes that are enforced on employees, which are deducted from their paychecks. The mostly well-known employment taxes are the Medicare and Social Security tax, for which a small percentage of every employee's paycheck is deducted.

It's extremely important to know that, if you are self-employed, you still have to pay those taxes, and it's also up to you to figure out exactly how much you owe, to confirm that you don't pay more or less than you are required to.

Usually, it's the employer who makes all these calculations, and the employee doesn't have to think about it. Most larger employers have payroll departments to handle these matters, making it pretty simple for them. But, if you are self-employed, it's up to you to accurately determine what you have to pay in self-employment taxes

Self-Employment tax obligations in San Rafael, California

If you are an independent contractor, or run a sole proprietorship (a company which you own, and which is not incorporated as a separate legal entity), you must pay the so-called "self-employment tax" if your income from self-employment is greater than per year.

Employees in a regular employer/employee relationship do enjoy one significant perk that the self-employed do not: their Social Security and Medicare contributions are matched by their employers. So, if you pay in Social Security and Medicare taxes with every paycheck, your employer has to match that. This effectively doubles your contribution to these programs, without doubling their financial burden on you.

But, if you're self employed in San Rafael, California, or anywhere else, you are required to make the employee AND employer contributions to Social Security and Medicare, effectively doubling your employment tax liability.

The self-employment tax rate is 15.3% of all self-employment income, assuming your income from self-employment exceeds per year in San Rafael, California. But half of your self-employment tax liability can be deducted from your income tax. This results in a slightly reduced income tax bill, which partially offsets this additional tax burden. It essentially means that the self-employment tax only applies to 92% of your income, as opposed to all of it. This means that your effective self-employment tax rate is about 14%, as opposed to over 15%.

Can a San Rafael, California Tax Attorney Help?

Self-employed individuals in San Rafael must ensure that they keep good, thorough financial records. This makes it much easier to determine what you owe, and, if you need a tax attorney, it makes it easier for them to help you with your legal tax issues.

That said, if you are encountering trouble figuring out exactly how much self-employment tax you owe in San Rafael, California, a competent tax attorney shouldn't have any trouble helping you on that front. Likewise, if you end up in a dispute with the government over your self-employment tax requirement, a good tax attorney can give you the best possible chance of getting a favorable result.

Talk to a Tax Law Attorney now!

Life in San Rafael

San Rafael, California is a city in Marin County, which lies north of San Francisco, at the other end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Its population is currently about 58,000 people.

The area now known as San Rafael, California was originally populated by members of the Coast Miwok tribe of Native Americans.

Modernly, San Rafael's economy is one of the major centers for the entertainment industry outside of Hollywood. George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars series of films, did most of his early work in San Rafael and the surrounding areas. Nowadays, it is still a center of the entertainment industry, but it focuses more on the high-tech aspects of the business, like special effects. A large number of software companies (particularly game developers) also have headquarters in San Rafael.

As a result of this, there are many lawyers in San Rafael who have developed sophisticated practices around the entertainment industry. Of course, San Rafael, California lawyers can also handle a wide range of other legal issues. If you need legal advice in San Rafael, there's probably a San Rafael, California attorney who can help.

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