Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Brookhaven

In the U.S., including in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, taxes are imposed on employees, which are normally 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 accountable for these taxes, and are responsible for figuring out how much they owe.

In most cases, employers make all the necessary calculations to determine how much needs to be deducted from an employee's check to pay these taxes. It's normally very simple, and any decent payroll software can automate this process. But the self-employed are accountable for figuring this out for themselves, or hiring an accountant to do it.

Self-Employment tax obligations in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania

If you own a sole-proprietorship, or work primarily as an independent contractor, you need to pay the "self-employment tax" if you derive any considerable amount of income from self-employment. You must pay these taxes if your income from self-employment is more than annually.

For normal employees, Social Security and Medicare payments are made in equal parts by the employee and employer. This basically means that every employee's contribution to his or her future Medicare and Social Security benefits is matched by the employer.

But, if you are a self-employed business owner in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, you are accountable for both the employee and employer contributions to Medicare and Social Security. This basically doubles your self-employment tax rate.

The self-employment tax rate is 15.3% of all self-employment income, assuming your income from self-employment exceeds per year in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania. But half of your self-employment tax liability can be deducted from your income tax. This results in a slightly lower 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 Brookhaven, Pennsylvania Tax Attorney Help?

Self-employed individuals in Brookhaven 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.

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 Brookhaven, Pennsylvania 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.