Self-employed and FICA Taxes

November 28, 2019 by OSYB Staff

Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes are are collected to fund Social Security taxes and Medicare tax. Company’s manage their employees’ FICA tax payments and the process of FICA payments are more complicated for the self-employed.

Both social security and medicare taxes have specific regulations and company’s hire experts who will ensure that company’s are in compliance.

The self-employed business owner has to process the FICA taxes themselves, which means that they have to collect and pay FICA taxes. They will have to pay both the employer and worker amounts (15.3% total), and deduct one-half of the self-employment taxes on their personal tax return.

This is an area, that unless you are very knowledgeable and up-to-date with tax laws, you may want to hire a tax professional. Regardless, of which path you choose here are some tax forms that you should proficiently understand:

• 1099-MISC forms – reports the gross earnings paid , and 1099 forms do not include withholdings for FICA tax
• Schedule C – reports income and expenses on the personal tax return (Form 1040)
• Schedule SE – used to calculate the self-employment tax

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For full article: Can I pay FICA taxes as a self-employed person?