I made $9,400 on a 10-99 last year. I have about $2,000 in expenses and I have two dependents. I paid $0 in federal tax...

[katietilton]

I did my taxes through turbo tax and claimed head of household. Is it normal for them to take 80% of my return for the unpaid taxes throughout the year??  I thought it was only 15% ??? And every time I put in a deduction my return would go down. Help please!!!!

[KenH1]

There's not enough info here to answer....Married or Unmarried?  Are the dependents your children that live with you?  Any other income?

[katietilton]

Single. Two kids are mine. No other income.

[KenH1]

Great, thanks.  I'l answer in about 2 minutes

[katietilton]

I started my return and filed head of household. TurboTax gave me $8,000 for my two children but when I typed in my income from the 1099 it dropped down to $3,000 and when I type in my job related expenses the return keeps going down. Is this normal?

[katietilton]

I made $9,400 last year and have $2000 in expenses. Plus my two kids I'm claiming as dependents. Should my return be less then $2,000 ? Something doesn't seem right. Maybe I was expecting more back becuase I didn't make alot. I didn't realize the irs takes so much tax on a 1099. Does this seem accurate to you? I don't want to submit my return if it's not right

[KenH1]

You are probably getting the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which increases your refund as you earn more, and then starts to decrease as you earn even more than that (think of a bell curve).  So in some cases MORE income equals more EITC, and in  other cases LESS income equals more EITC.  So you might actually be better off claiming less expenses against your 1099.   The second thing is that you likely paying self-employment tax on your 1099 income...i.e. the FICA taxes that are on a W2.

[katietilton]

Thank you. This helps alot. Just one more question. How much self employment tax is normal on $9,400?

[KenH1]

Approximately 16%, since you're paying your share and the employer's share.  It would be calculated on your NET income after expenses.  So in your case, there are a lot of "moving parts"

[KenH1 · Accepted solution]

You should file as Head of Household.  

TurboTax (if you use it) will ask the right questions about your dependents and calculate any child-related credits automatically.

Hope this helps.