Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Canonsburg

In the U.S., including in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, 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.

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 Canonsburg, 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 considerable amount of income from self-employment. You must pay these taxes if your income from self-employment is more than annually.

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 are self-employed in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, 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.

Self-employed workers in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania pay a self-employment tax rate of 15.3% of their income that's derived from self-employment. But, half of whatever they end up paying in self-employment tax is deductible from income tax. This basically creates a tax deduction of nearly 8% of one's income, requiring you to only pay taxes on 92% of what you earn. Further tax deductions may lower that number further. When this deduction is taken into account, the self-employment tax rate is effectively 14%, as opposed to over 15%.

Can a Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Tax Attorney Help?

If you work for yourself in Canonsburg, you have to stay on top of your self-employment taxes, to avoid facing severe legal and financial issues later on. This means you need to keep superb 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.

Anyone having difficulty with figuring out what they owe in self-employment taxes in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania should seek the help of a seasoned tax attorney. Most tax attorneys also have a good understanding of accounting, so making this determination probably won't be too hard for them. And on top of that, a qualified tax attorney can give you objective and useful legal advice, which can help prevent more significant issues from forming in the future.