self-employed tax (Public Board)
Sort of. I was self employed for 25 years so I would know.
In the US, a portion of payroll taxes is called "FICA" taxes - essentially your share of social security payments (essentially a federalized retirement pension) plus Medicare contribution (toward the Medicare program, which is a default health insurance available to those 65 and older.)
The taxes on each wage earner are divided into an employer paid part and the earner's portion, both equal, which is 7.65%. So the total FICA burden on the wagie is 15.3%. But the wagie only sees the wage earner side of 7.65% deducted on their paycheck.
A self employed person must pay both sides of this FICA burden. Therefore as a self employed you pay the entire 15.3%.
Even though it seems simple it's just complex enough to trip up many unprepared normies who believe that they get to "keep everything" as a contractor.
