Self Employment Tax Lawyers in Burlington

In the U.S., Burlington, Wisconsin 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.

It's important to note that if you are self-employed, you're still accountable for those taxes, and it's your responsibility to figure out what you owe.

Usually, the employer makes all the necessary calculations and deductions from a person's paycheck. If you are self-employed, however, you are required to make this determination, and to ensure that it's accurate.

Self-Employment tax obligations in Burlington, Wisconsin

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 considerable amount of income from self-employment. You must pay these taxes if your income from self-employment is more than annually.

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, if you are self-employed in Burlington, Wisconsin, 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 Burlington, Wisconsin 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 Burlington, Wisconsin Tax Attorney Help?

Self-employed individuals in Burlington must ensure that they keep good, complete financial records. This makes it much easier to determine what you owe, and, if you need a tax attorney, it makes it easier for them to assist you with your legal tax contentions.

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 Burlington, Wisconsin 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.