Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Petal

In Petal, Mississippi, a few different taxes are imposed on employees, and subtracted from their gross pay during each pay period. The examples that most people are familiar with are the taxes imposed to fund Medicare and Social Security, which get their funding mostly from these relatively small pay deductions.

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

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 Petal, Mississippi

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 normal employees, Social Security and Medicare payments are made in equal parts by the employee and employer. This basically means that every employee's contribution to his or her future Medicare and Social Security benefits is matched by the employer.

But, self-employed workers in Petal, Mississippi 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.

Self-employed workers in Petal, Mississippi 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 basically 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 Petal, Mississippi Tax Attorney Help?

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

Therefore, if you have some trouble figuring out what you owe in self-employment taxes, for whatever reason, chances are good that a reliable tax attorney in Petal, Mississippi can assist you with much trouble, and can provide you with good legal and financial advice, which can help you head off much more severe legal and financial issues.