Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Washington County

In Washington County, Arkansas, there are specific taxes that are levied on employees, which are deducted from their paychecks. The typically 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 essential to note that if you are self-employed, you're still responsible for those taxes, and it's your responsibility to figure out what you owe.

In most cases, employers make all the necessary calculations to determine how much needs to be deducted from an employee's check to pay these taxes. It's typically very simple, and any decent payroll software can automate this process. But the self-employed are liable for figuring this out for themselves, or hiring an accountant to do it.

Self-Employment tax obligations in Washington County, Arkansas

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 substantial amount of income from self-employment. You must pay these taxes if your income from self-employment is more than annually.

For usual employees, Social Security and Medicare payments are made in equal parts by the employee and employer. This essentially means that every employee's contribution to his or her future Medicare and Social Security benefits is matched by the employer.

However, if you are a self-employed business owner in Washington County, Arkansas, you are liable for both the employee and employer contributions to Medicare and Social Security. This essentially doubles your self-employment tax rate.

The self-employment tax rate is 15.3% of all self-employment income, assuming your income from self-employment exceeds per year in Washington County, Arkansas. 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 Washington County, Arkansas Tax Attorney Help?

If you are self-employed in Washington County, 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 advise 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 efficient Washington County, Arkansas tax attorney would likely have very little trouble assisting you figure it out. A reliable lawyer can also give you practical legal advice, which can help you avoid more egregious tax law issues in the future, by dealing with them before they become problematic.