Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Columbus
In Columbus, Ohio, a few different taxes are enforced on employees, and subtracted from their gross pay during each pay period. The examples that most people are acquainted 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 obligated to pay these taxes, since you will also be qualified for those retirement programs. It's also your responsibility to determine what your tax liability is.
Normally, it's the employer who does all the calculations, deciding what deductions need to be made from a worker's paycheck to cover his or her tax liability. But if you are your own boss, you have to do this, and confirm that your figures are accurate.
Self-Employment tax obligations in Columbus, Ohio
If you mainly work as an independent contractor, or are the owner of a sole proprietorship, you have to pay what's usually referred to as the "self-employment tax," if your annual income from self-employment is over .
Employees in a regular employer/employee relationship do enjoy one considerable perk that the self-employed do not: their Social Security and Medicare contributions are matched by their employers. So, if you pay in Social Security and Medicare taxes with every paycheck, your employer has to match that. This basically doubles your contribution to these programs, without doubling their financial burden on you.
But, if you are self-employed in Columbus, Ohio, you are accountable to pay both the employee and employer share of the employment tax. Basically, this means that the employment tax for self-employed individuals is double what it would be for regular employees.
The self-employment tax rate is 15.3% of all self-employment income, assuming your income from self-employment exceeds per year in Columbus, Ohio. But half of your self-employment tax liability can be deducted from your income tax. This results in a slightly reduced income tax bill, which partially offsets this additional tax burden. It essentially means that the self-employment tax only applies to 92% of your income, as opposed to all of it. This means that your effective self-employment tax rate is about 14%, as opposed to over 15%.
Can a Columbus, Ohio Tax Attorney Help?
Self-employed individuals in Columbus must ensure that they keep good, complete financial records. This makes it much easier to determine what you owe, and, if you need a tax attorney, it makes it easier for them to assist you with your legal tax contentions.
That said, if you are encountering trouble figuring out clearly how much self-employment tax you owe in Columbus, Ohio, 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 requirement, a good tax attorney can give you the best possible chance of getting a favorable result.