Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Bucks County

In the U.S., including in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, taxes are levied on employees, which are typically 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 responsible 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 typically very simple, and any decent payroll software can automate this process. But the self-employed are liable for figuring this out for themselves, or hiring an accountant to do it.

Self-Employment tax obligations in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

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

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

But, the self-employed in Bucks County, Pennsylvania are responsible for making the employer AND employee contributions to those programs, essentially doubling what they would have to pay if they were employed by someone else.

The self-employment tax rate is 15.3% of all self-employment income, assuming your income from self-employment exceeds per year in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. 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 Bucks County, Pennsylvania Tax Attorney Help?

If you are self-employed in Bucks County, 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.

If you have any difficulty calculating your self-employment tax liability, an efficient Bucks County, Pennsylvania tax attorney would likely have very little trouble assisting you figure it out. A reliable lawyer can also give you practical legal advice, which can help you avoid more egregious tax law issues in the future, by dealing with them before they become problematic.