Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Alexandria
In the U.S., Alexandria, Virginia included, almost everyone who is employed during most of their adult life is suitable for Social Security and Medicare benefits when they retire. These programs are supported by taxes deducted from the paychecks of most employees.
Individuals who are self-employed are still responsible for these taxes, and are responsible for figuring out how much they owe.
Typically, it's the employer who does all the calculations, determining what deductions need to be made from a worker's paycheck to cover his or her tax liability. But if you are your own boss, you have to do this, and ensure that your figures are accurate.
Self-Employment tax obligations in Alexandria, Virginia
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 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, if you are a self-employed business owner in Alexandria, Virginia, you are liable for both the employee and employer contributions to Medicare and Social Security. This basically doubles your self-employment tax rate.
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 Alexandria, Virginia exceeds . However, half of this tax is deducted from your income, for income tax purposes. Thus, 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, essentially, the self-employment tax rate is only 14%, as opposed to 15.3%
Can a Alexandria, Virginia Tax Attorney Help?
If you are self-employed in Alexandria, 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 Alexandria, Virginia tax attorney would probably have very little trouble helping you figure it out. A knowledgeable lawyer can also give you practical legal advice, which can help you avoid more serious tax law issues in the future, by dealing with them before they become problematic.