Self Employment Tax Lawyers in South Bound Brook

In South Bound Brook, New Jersey, a few different taxes are placed 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.

It's necessaryl 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 clearly how much you owe.

Usually, the employer makes all the necessary calculations and deductions from a person's paycheck. If you are self-employed, however, you are required to make this determination, and to ensure that it's accurate.

Self-Employment tax obligations in South Bound Brook, New Jersey

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 people who are employed by another person or company, the employer normally matches the employee's contributions to Medicare and Social Security. This basically 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 South Bound Brook, New Jersey, or anywhere else, you are obligated to make the employee AND employer contributions to Social Security and Medicare, basically doubling your employment tax liability.

In South Bound Brook, New Jersey, self-employed business owners pay a self-employment tax rate of 15.3%. This is, of course, separate from, and additional to, whatever they pay in income tax. In an effort to partially offset this additional tax burden, half of what one pays in self-employment taxes can be deducted from their income when filing their income taxes. This means that the self employed pay income taxes on, at most, 92% of their income. And it's probably less, thanks to all the other deductions they might qualify for. This deduction lowers the effective self-employment tax rate to 14%, rather than the "official" rate of over 15%.

Can a South Bound Brook, New Jersey Tax Attorney Help?

If you're self-employed in South Bound Brook, you need to keep complete 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.

With all that said, if you are having difficulty determining just how much money you owe in Medicare and Social Security taxes from self-employment in South Bound Brook, New Jersey, 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.