#self-employment-tax
Self-employment tax rules, calculations, and strategies for business owners
Dealer flips face IRS ordinary income plus self-employment tax; investor sales get capital-gains rates, installment sales, and 1031 exchanges.
Schedule C is for businesses, Schedule E for rentals and K-1s, Schedule F for farms — and the wrong schedule can cost 15.3% in self-employment tax.
Ministers are employees for income tax but self-employed for Social Security: housing allowances escape income tax yet still owe SECA tax.
Working S corporation owners must take reasonable W-2 wages before distributions — the IRS tests the salary against nine factors, not the 60/40 myth.
A 1099-K reports gross payments, not profit. Book gross sales, deduct every fee, and reconcile payouts monthly to match IRS records.
Your billable rate must cover income, overhead, and the 15.3% IRS self-employment tax across only the hours you invoice — then add margin.
IRS Publication 334 is the free tax guide for Schedule C filers: business income, deductions, self-employment tax, and estimated payments in twelve chapters.
Every state you played wants a nonresident return, and the IRS taxes all of it. US guide to door deals, merch books, per diems, and road deductions.
Section 631(a) lets Christmas tree farms tax January-1 stumpage value as capital gain — lower rates and no self-employment tax.
Creators owe 15.3% self-employment tax from $400 in net profit, plus quarterly estimates — and an S-corp election saves five figures past ~$60K profit.
GPU rental income is Schedule C business income: deduct metered electricity, expense the card under 100% bonus depreciation, and pay quarterly estimates.
Hull cleaners earn $2.50–$4 per foot on monthly routes. Minimums, deferred revenue, marina insurance, and IRS quarterly estimates — the bookkeeping playbook.
