Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Alexandria
In Alexandria, Minnesota, some taxes are placed on employees, and deducted from their paychecks. Most people are aware of the Medicare and Social Security taxes - which fund those two programs by taking a small percentage of every paycheck an employee receives.
But what if you're self-employed? You're still required to pay these taxes, since you will also be eligible for those retirement programs. It's also your responsibility to determine what your tax liability is.
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 Alexandria, Minnesota
If you work as an independent contractor, or operate a sole proprietorship, you are deemed to be "self employed." You are obligated to pay the self-employment tax if your total income from self-employment exceeds $400 per year.
For people who are employed by another person or company, the employer usually matches the employee's contributions to Medicare and Social Security. This effectively means that, when you look at your Medicare and Social Security tax statements on your paychecks, you can know that those programs are actually getting double what's shown there - with your employer covering the other half.
However, the self-employed in Alexandria, Minnesota are responsible for making the employer AND employee contributions to those programs, effectively doubling what they would have to pay if they were employed by someone else.
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 Alexandria, Minnesota exceeds $400. However, half of this tax is deducted from your income, for income tax purposes. So, 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, effectively, the self-employment tax rate is only 14%, as opposed to 15.3%
Can a Alexandria, Minnesota Tax Attorney Help?
If you're self-employed in Alexandria, you need to keep thorough 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 exactly how much self-employment tax you owe in Alexandria, Minnesota, 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.