Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Poughkeepsie

In Poughkeepsie, New York, 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.

But what if you're self-employed? You're still obliged 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.

Normally, 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 Poughkeepsie, New York

If you primarily work as an independent contractor, or are the owner of a sole proprietorship, you have to pay what's typically referred to as the "self-employment tax," if your annual income from self-employment is over .

For people who are employed by another person or company, the employer typically matches the employee's contributions to Medicare and Social Security. This essentially 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 Poughkeepsie, New York, or anywhere else, you are obliged to make the employee AND employer contributions to Social Security and Medicare, essentially doubling your employment tax liability.

In Poughkeepsie, New York, 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 Poughkeepsie, New York Tax Attorney Help?

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

Thus, if you have some trouble figuring out what you owe in self-employment taxes, for whatever reason, chances are good that a knowledgeable tax attorney in Poughkeepsie, New York can advise you with much trouble, and can provide you with good legal and financial advice, which can help you head off much more significant legal and financial issues.