Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Beaverton
In the U.S., including in Beaverton, Oregon, taxes are enforced on employees, which are normally deducted from their paychecks. The ones that most people are acquainted with are the Medicare and Social Security taxes. The idea is that workers pay into these programs during their entire working lives, and then enjoy the benefits they provide once they retire.
Individuals who are self-employed are still accountable for these taxes, and are responsible for figuring out how much they owe.
Most commonly, employers handle all of these calculations. With regular salaried and hourly employees, this is an easy procedure, and any decent payroll computer software can do it automatically. But, if you work for yourself, it is your responsibility to figure out clearly what you owe.
Self-Employment tax obligations in Beaverton, Oregon
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 $400.
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.
But, if you're self employed in Beaverton, Oregon, 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 Beaverton, Oregon, 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 further 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 Beaverton, Oregon Tax Attorney Help?
If you are self-employed in Beaverton, 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 Beaverton, Oregon 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.