#self-employment-tax
Self-employment tax rules, calculations, and strategies for business owners
On a $25,000 domain sale, investor treatment costs roughly $3,750 while dealer treatment can exceed $9,000 — how Section 1221, the nine-factor hobby test, and per-name basis records decide which you are.
A teen owes a tax return at just $400 of net self-employment income — no age minimum. How the 15.3% SE tax, the $1,000 estimated-tax tripwire, the $20,000 1099-K threshold, and a custodial Roth IRA fit together.
Staying under 183 days in a country does not make you a non-resident anywhere. U.S. nomads still owe worldwide income tax, the 2026 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion caps at $132,900 and never covers the 15.3% self-employment tax, the tax-home test disqualifies perpetual travelers, and FBAR triggers at $10,000 aggregated across all foreign accounts.
Bug bounty payouts from HackerOne and Bugcrowd are ordinary income from the first dollar, and for 2026 platforms only issue 1099s at $2,000 per researcher — but the income is taxable with or without a form. Covers W-9 setup, the hobby-versus-business test that decides whether tooling is deductible, self-employment tax, and quarterly estimates.
The Capital Construction Fund lets commercial fishermen deposit fishing income before income tax under IRC Section 7518 and spend it tax-free on building or rebuilding a U.S. vessel — at the cost of reduced depreciable basis. This guide covers the 2-net-ton eligibility floor, the three internal accounts, qualified versus nonqualified withdrawals taxed at the top marginal rate plus interest, the 25-year clock, and the annual NOAA Form 34-82 filing.
AI data-labeling and RLHF gig income arrives with nothing withheld, so annotators owe 15.3 percent self-employment tax plus income tax on every payout and must pay quarterly estimates by the 2026 deadlines. This guide covers the 1099-NEC and 1099-K thresholds, the 90/100/110 percent safe-harbor rules, Schedule C deductions most annotators skip, and a 20-minute-a-month bookkeeping system for multi-platform payouts.
How small growers keep books that answer "which crop made money?" — Schedule F expense categories, why cash accounting fits a market garden, the March 1 / January 15 farmer estimated-tax rule, the farm optional method for Social Security credits, and per-enterprise cost allocation by bed-feet and labor hours.
From 1 April 2027 New Zealand raises its Non-Resident Contractors Tax exemption from $15,000 to $75,000 per 12-month period and tests it per payer rather than in aggregate. Here is how the 15% withholding works today, how the US–NZ treaty stops it at the source, and why 15.3% self-employment tax still applies with no totalization agreement in place.
Sports officials report game fees on Schedule C, owe self-employment tax once net earnings reach $400, and receive a 1099-NEC only above the new $2,000 threshold for 2026 — with 2026 mileage logs split at June 30 between the 72.5-cent and 76-cent rates.
Cash rent lands on Schedule E with no self-employment tax, but a crop-share landlord who pays half the inputs and advises the tenant can trip the material-participation test and owe 15.3 percent on Schedule F. How each lease splits yield, price, and input-cost risk, with a worked 160-acre example and the settlement records both landlord and tenant need.
Flea market and secondhand vendors owe Schedule C income tax plus 15.3% self-employment tax once net earnings pass $400, and most states require a seller's permit or transient vendor license for regular booth sales. This guide covers the Section 183 hobby-vs-business test, per-item cost-basis records that survive an audit, the state sales tax permit patchwork, and the 2026 thresholds for Form 1099-K ($20,000 and 200 transactions) and Form 1099-NEC ($2,000).
How many used cars you can flip before your state calls you an unlicensed dealer (Illinois 4, Michigan 3, California no safe harbor, FTC Used Car Rule at 6), why title jumping is illegal everywhere, what curbstoning fines and dealer bonds cost, and how to keep per-VIN books that treat flips as Schedule C inventory subject to 15.3% self-employment tax.
