Self Employment Tax Lawyers in De Pere

In the U.S., De Pere, Wisconsin included, almost everyone who is employed during most of their adult life is eligible for Social Security and Medicare benefits when they retire. These programs are supported by taxes deducted from the paychecks of most employees.

It's critical to note that if you are self-employed, you're still liable for those taxes, and it's your responsibility to figure out what you owe.

Typically, the employer makes all the necessary calculations and deductions from a person's paycheck. If you are self-employed, however, you are required to make this determination, and to ensure that it's accurate.

Self-Employment tax obligations in De Pere, Wisconsin

If you own a sole-proprietorship, or work mainly as an independent contractor, you need to pay the "self-employment tax" if you derive any significant amount of income from self-employment. You must pay these taxes if your income from self-employment is more than annually.

People who are not self-employed, and work for another person or company, have their contributions to Medicare and Social Security matched by their employers. This means that these programs are obtaining, on your behalf, twice as much money as what's deducted for your paycheck, with your employer covering the other half.

But, if you are self-employed in De Pere, Wisconsin, you are liable to pay both the employee and employer share of the employment tax. Effectively, this means that the employment tax for self-employed individuals is double what it would be for regular employees.

In De Pere, Wisconsin, self-employed business owners pay a self-employment tax rate of 15.3%. This is, of course, separate from, and additional to, whatever they pay in income tax. In an effort to partially offset this further tax burden, half of what one pays in self-employment taxes can be deducted from their income when filing their income taxes. This means that the self employed pay income taxes on, at most, 92% of their income. And it's probably less, thanks to all the other deductions they might qualify for. This deduction lowers the effective self-employment tax rate to 14%, rather than the "official" rate of over 15%.

Can a De Pere, Wisconsin Tax Attorney Help?

If you are self-employed in De Pere, it's extremely important for you to be diligent in keeping records of your income and expenses, to ensure that you pay all the self-employment taxes that you owe (and also to make sure you don't over-pay). You may one day need a tax attorney to help you with a legal issue, and they can help you far more efficiently if you are able to quickly present them with all the relevant information.

If you have any difficulty calculating your self-employment tax liability, an experienced De Pere, Wisconsin tax attorney would likely have very little trouble assisting you figure it out. A reputable lawyer can also give you practical legal advice, which can help you avoid more significant tax law issues in the future, by dealing with them before they become problematic.