Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Fairfax
In the U.S., Fairfax, Virginia included, almost everyone who is employed during most of their adult life is qualified 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 accountable for these taxes, and are responsible for figuring out how much they owe.
Normally, 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 Fairfax, Virginia
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 .
Workers who are employed by someone else enjoy at least one perk that the self-employed do not: their employer matches their Social Security and Medicare contributions, basically doubling the amount of money that's contributed to these funds on the employee's behalf.
However, if you are self-employed in Fairfax, Virginia, 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 Fairfax, Virginia pay a self-employment tax rate of 15.3% of their income that's derived from self-employment. However, 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. Additional 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 Fairfax, Virginia Tax Attorney Help?
If you work for yourself in Fairfax, 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.
Therefore, if you have some trouble figuring out what you owe in self-employment taxes, for whatever reason, chances are good that a reliable tax attorney in Fairfax, Virginia can assist you with much trouble, and can provide you with good legal and financial advice, which can help you head off much more severe legal and financial issues.