Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Payson

In the U.S., including in Payson, Utah, 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.

But what if you're self-employed? You're still obligated to pay these taxes, since you will also be qualified for those retirement programs. It's also your responsibility to determine what your tax liability is.

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 Payson, Utah

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 .

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, the self-employed in Payson, Utah are responsible for making the employer AND employee contributions to those programs, basically doubling what they would have to pay if they were employed by someone else.

Currently, the self-employment tax rate in the United States is 15.30% of all income earned from self-employment in Payson, Utah. Nonetheless, half of your hypothetical self-employment tax liability can be deducted from your income. This means that you only pay self-employment tax on about 92% of your income, which creates an effective self-employment tax rate of just over 14%.

Can a Payson, Utah Tax Attorney Help?

If you are self-employed in Payson, it's extremely important for you to be diligent in keeping records of your income and expenses, to ensure that you pay all the self-employment taxes that you owe (and also to make sure you don't over-pay). You may one day need a tax attorney to assist you with a legal issue, and they can help you far more efficiently if you are able to quickly present them with all the relevant information.

With all that said, if you are having difficulty deciding just how much money you owe in Medicare and Social Security taxes from self-employment in Payson, Utah, and keep good financial records, it should be relatively easy for a decent tax attorney to help you. And, if you end up facing a more severe legal issue over your self-employment tax liability, a tax attorney may prove to be invaluable.