Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Price
In the U.S., including in Price, Utah, 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.
But what if you're self-employed? You're still obligated to pay these taxes, since you will also be eligible 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 process, and any decent payroll computer software can do it automatically. However, if you work for yourself, it is your responsibility to figure out clearly what you owe.
Self-Employment tax obligations in Price, Utah
If you primarily work as an independent contractor, or are the owner of a sole proprietorship, you have to pay what's commonly referred to as the "self-employment tax," if your annual income from self-employment is over $400.
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.
However, the self-employed in Price, 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.
The total self-employment tax (note that this is completely distinct from the income tax) is set at 15.3%, if your income from self-employment in Price, Utah exceeds $400. However, half of this tax is deducted from your income, for income tax purposes. Therefore, this means that, at most, the self-employed only have to pay income on 92% of their total income, and that amount may be lowered with additional deductions for which you may be eligible. This means that, basically, the self-employment tax rate is only 14%, as opposed to 15.3%
Can a Price, Utah Tax Attorney Help?
If you are self-employed in Price, it's necessary that you keep good records of your income and expenses, because a tax attorney will only be able to assist you to the extent that you help yourself.
Anyone having difficulty with figuring out what they owe in self-employment taxes in Price, Utah should seek the help of a brilliant 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 serious issues from forming in the future.