Self Employment Tax Lawyers in North Oaks

In North Oaks, 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.

Usually, 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 handle 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 North Oaks, 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 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, if you're self employed in North Oaks, Minnesota, or anywhere else, you are required to make the employee AND employer contributions to Social Security and Medicare, effectively doubling your employment tax liability.

Self-employed workers in North Oaks, Minnesota pay a self-employment tax rate of 15.3% of their income that's derived from self-employment. However, half of whatever they end up paying in self-employment tax is deductible from income tax. This effectively creates a tax deduction of nearly 8% of one's income, requiring you to only pay taxes on 92% of what you earn. Additional tax deductions may lower that number further. When this deduction is taken into account, the self-employment tax rate is effectively 14%, as opposed to over 15%.

Can a North Oaks, Minnesota Tax Attorney Help?

If you are self-employed in North Oaks, it's essential that you keep good records of your income and expenses, because a tax attorney will only be able to help you to the extent that you help yourself.

Anyone having difficulty with figuring out what they owe in self-employment taxes in North Oaks, Minnesota should seek the advice of a good tax attorney. Most tax attorneys also have a good knowledge of accounting, so making this determination probably won't be too hard for them. And on top of that, a competent tax attorney can give you objective and useful legal advice, which can help prevent more severe issues from arising in the future.