Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Newport

In the U.S., including in Newport, Oregon, taxes are imposed on employees, which are typically deducted from their paychecks. The ones that most people are familiar 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 responsible for these taxes, and are responsible for figuring out how much they owe.

Most frequently, employers handle all of these calculations. With regular salaried and hourly employees, this is an easy process, and any decent payroll computer software can do it automatically. However, if you work for yourself, it is your responsibility to figure out precisely what you owe.

Self-Employment tax obligations in Newport, Oregon

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 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 Newport, Oregon, 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 Newport, 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 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 Newport, Oregon Tax Attorney Help?

If you work for yourself in Newport, you have to stay on top of your self-employment taxes, to avoid facing significant legal and financial issues later on. This means you need to keep reliable records of all your income and expenses, in case you need to seek the advice of a tax attorney: the more information you can provide your lawyer, the better he or she can help you.

That said, if you are having trouble figuring out precisely how much self-employment tax you owe in Newport, Oregon, 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 obligation, a good tax attorney can give you the best possible chance of getting a favorable result.