Majority of business owners don't have payroll. For them, taxes must be paid every quarter or penalties and interest will follow. A business owners must pay estimated income tax if they expect to owe more than $ 1000. For more information refer to IRS publication 505, Tax withholding and Estimated Tax.
Payment dates for estimated tax are :
- First Quarter: April 15
- Second Quarter: June 15
- Third Quarter: September 15
- Fourth Quarter: January 15
One negative aspect to being an owner of small business is the self-employment tax(SECA). The self-employment tax is the self-employed equivalent of the payroll taxes that employees and employers pay (FICA). A business owner is required to pay self-employment taxes at a rate of 15.3% on your net earning up to $ 97,500 for 2007. For net earning in excess of $ 97,500, a business owner will pay further taxes at a rate of 2.9 % on the excess.
Those who pay the self-employment tax are allowed a partial deduction for the self-employment tax. A business owner is allowed a deduct one-half of his/her self-employment taxes from your gross income. For example, if you pay $20,000 in self-employment taxes, you are allowed a deduction on line 27 of your 1040 return for $10,000.