Self Employment Tax Lawyers in St. Petersburg
In St. Petersburg, Florida, there are certain taxes that are imposed 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 essentiall to be aware of one fact: if you're self-employed, you still have to pay these taxes. And it's your responsibility (or the responsibility of someone you hire for this purpose) to figure out exactly how much you owe.
Most often, employers handle all of these calculations. With regular salaried and hourly employees, this is an easy process, and any decent payroll computer software can do it automatically. However, if you work for yourself, it is your responsibility to figure out exactly what you owe.
Self-Employment tax obligations in St. Petersburg, Florida
If you derive even a small percentage of your income from running your own business, or working as an independent contractor, you have to pay the "self-employment tax." This tax applies to everyone who makes more than per year from self-employment.
For ordinary employees, Social Security and Medicare payments are made in equal parts by the employee and employer. This effectively means that every employee's contribution to his or her future Medicare and Social Security benefits is matched by the employer.
But, if you are a self-employed business owner in St. Petersburg, Florida, you are responsible for both the employee and employer contributions to Medicare and Social Security. This basically 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 St. Petersburg, Florida. But half of your self-employment tax liability can be deducted from your income tax. This results in a slightly lower 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 St. Petersburg, Florida Tax Attorney Help?
Self-employed individuals in St. Petersburg 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.
If you have any difficulty calculating your self-employment tax liability, an experienced St. Petersburg, Florida tax attorney would probably have very little trouble helping you figure it out. A good lawyer can also give you practical legal advice, which can help you avoid more serious tax law issues in the future, by dealing with them before they become problematic.