Self-Employment: Taxing Your Profits, Taxing Your Patience

Being in business for yourself means more than working unsupervised. It means that you get the headaches of determining your income and paying your taxes.

Money for Services

Employers take care of determining what they pay you each year, and provide W-2 forms to report this amount to the IRS and allow you to prepare your annual tax return. Generally, federal, state (when applicable), social security and Medicare taxes on your income must be withheld by your employer and paid on your behalf.

Self-employment income is different -- when you get paid, nothing is withheld from your check, so you are responsible for paying the taxes yourself. Self-employed people are expected to keep records of who they provide goods and services to, how much they are paid, and what their business expenses are. Any company that pays you $600 or more during the year has to report that payment to the IRS on a form 1099-MISC. You will also receive your copies of this form.

Self.Employment Tax Can Be Tricky

If you are a sole proprietor, an independent contractor, a partner in a partnership, a member of a single-member LLC, or are otherwise in business for yourself, the IRS considers you self-employed, and you will owe self-employment taxes on your earnings as well as income taxes.

They say "it takes money to make money," and for the self-employed especially that's true. Deduct what you spend on your business from your income -- you don't pay taxes on money needed to keep your company going. Sole proprietors generally do this on a Schedule C, Profit and Loss from Business. Calculate your net earnings by subtracting ordinary and necessary trade or business expenses from your gross self-employment income. You only owe taxes on what's left. Keep in mind that you may be liable for self-employment tax even if you are receiving Social Security benefits. When figuring your adjusted gross income on Form 1040, you can deduct one-half of your self-employment tax. This is where you get to offset some of that extra tax the self-employed are hit with.

Paying into Social Security

If you showed a small profit or a net loss from your business but still want to pay into the Social Security system, you might be able to use one of two optional methods to compute your net earnings from self-employment. Check Form 1040, Schedule SE Instructions to see if you qualify to do so. Using an optional method may increase your earned income credit or the child and dependent care credit.

There is a cap on net earnings subject to Social Security tax, but all net earnings are subject to the Medicare tax. Self-employment tax is computed on Form 1040, Schedule SE. The Social Security Administration uses this information to figure your benefits.

Church and Self-employment Taxes

If you work for a church or qualified church-controlled organization that is exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes, but you yourself are not exempt from self-employment tax, you must pay self-employment tax if your annual income exceeds certain thresholds. If you are required to pay self-employment tax, you must file Form 1040 and attach Schedule SE.

Sources:

• Publication 517
• Publication 334
• Topic 554 Self Employment Tax
• Topic 401 - Wages and Salaries