Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Pontiac

In Pontiac, Illinois, some taxes are enforced on employees, and deducted from their paychecks. Most people are cognizant of the Medicare and Social Security taxes - which fund those two programs by taking a small percentage of every paycheck an employee receives.

Individuals who are self-employed are still accountable for these taxes, and are responsible for figuring out how much they owe.

Most commonly, employers handle all of these calculations. With regular salaried and hourly employees, this is an easy procedure, and any decent payroll computer software can do it automatically. But, if you work for yourself, it is your responsibility to figure out clearly what you owe.

Self-Employment tax obligations in Pontiac, Illinois

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 everybody who makes more than per year from self-employment.

Individuals 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.

However, self-employed workers in Pontiac, Illinois must make both the employee and employer contributions. Therefore, this means that the Medicare and Social Security tax liabilities apply doubly to the self-employed.

Currently, the self-employment tax rate in the United States is 15.30% of all income earned from self-employment in Pontiac, Illinois. Nonetheless, half of your hypothetical self-employment tax liability can be deducted from your income. This means that you only pay self-employment tax on about 92% of your income, which creates an effective self-employment tax rate of just over 14%.

Can a Pontiac, Illinois Tax Attorney Help?

If you are self-employed in Pontiac, 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 assist 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.

With all that said, if you are having difficulty deciding just how much money you owe in Medicare and Social Security taxes from self-employment in Pontiac, Illinois, and keep good financial records, it should be relatively easy for a decent tax attorney to help you. And, if you end up facing a more severe legal issue over your self-employment tax liability, a tax attorney may prove to be invaluable.