Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Woodstock

In the U.S., Woodstock, Virginia included, almost everyone who is employed during most of their adult life is eligible 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 liable for these taxes, and are responsible for figuring out how much they owe.

Most often, 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 exactly what you owe.

Self-Employment tax obligations in Woodstock, 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 .

For people who are employed by another person or company, the employer usually matches the employee's contributions to Medicare and Social Security. This effectively 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, if you are self-employed in Woodstock, Virginia, you are liable to pay both the employee and employer share of the employment tax. Effectively, this means that the employment tax for self-employed individuals is double what it would be for regular employees.

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 Woodstock, Virginia exceeds . However, half of this tax is deducted from your income, for income tax purposes. So, 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, effectively, the self-employment tax rate is only 14%, as opposed to 15.3%

Can a Woodstock, Virginia Tax Attorney Help?

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

If you have any difficulty calculating your self-employment tax liability, an experienced Woodstock, Virginia tax attorney would probably have very little trouble helping you figure it out. A good 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.