Self Employment Tax Lawyers in San Diego
In San Diego, California, there are particular taxes that are placed on employees, which are deducted from their paychecks. The generally 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 clearly how much you owe, to ensure that you don't pay more or less than you are obligated to.
Normally, 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 take 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 Diego, 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 larger than per year.
Employees in a regular employer/employee relationship do enjoy one considerable 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 basically doubles your contribution to these programs, without doubling their financial burden on you.
However, if you are self-employed in San Diego, California, you are accountable to pay both the employee and employer share of the employment tax. Basically, this means that the employment tax for self-employed individuals is double what it would be for regular employees.
The total self-employment tax (note that this is completely distinct from the income tax) is set at 15.3%, if your income from self-employment in San Diego, California exceeds . However, half of this tax is deducted from your income, for income tax purposes. Therefore, this means that, at most, the self-employed only have to pay income on 92% of their total income, and that amount may be lowered with additional deductions for which you may be eligible. This means that, basically, the self-employment tax rate is only 14%, as opposed to 15.3%
Can a San Diego, California Tax Attorney Help?
If you're self-employed in San Diego, you need to keep complete records of all your income and expenses from the operation of your business. This will make it much easier for you to calculate your taxes when they come due, and it will make it easier for a tax attorney to give you good, useful advice, should you eventually need it.
That said, if you are having trouble figuring out clearly how much self-employment tax you owe in San Diego, 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 obligation, a good tax attorney can give you the best possible chance of getting a favorable result.