I'm told I'll be filing a 1099 but I have no idea what taxes I'll owe?

[bseymour601]

First off, i don't feel like it should be a 1099. I work for xpo logistics delivering appliances for Lowe's.  We have an app we have to use, they determine our schedule, we have to report everything, they decide what we wear, were paid weekly, I drive there truck, they pay for the gas........... It doesn't sound like an independent contractor job to me...... I will be making a lot more this year and I have no idea how much I will owe come tax season next year. My take home pay is $47,952 . I have 2 dependents. Is Medicare/Medicaid tax seperate from federal? How do I calculate how much I will owe? I've always had a W-2 and am lost here. 

[AmyC]

Smart to ask! Federal tax is one thing. The Medicare and Social Security taxes are usually held out of a paycheck and the employer pays a matching amount. As a contractor, you pay the full amount. You need to be mailing in quarterly payments, otherwise the IRS can penalize you for not paying as you earned the money. Save some from each paycheck and mail it in each quarter or pay through the IRS portal.

Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center - complete guide

About Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss from Business ...    

Self-Employment Taxes

Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals - calculator and forms to mail in

Your taxes will be your federal tax rate plus your Self Employment taxes.

For the federal:You will want to stay aware of where you are falling in the IRS tax brackets page with an easy to use calculator from TurboTax. In your case, 12% federal.

The self employment tax is roughly 15.3% of your income. Mailing about 27% is a very rough estimate.

Don't forget to mail in state estimated payments. Those are much easier! Please contact the Department of Revenue  for estimated payments.

Finally, you do sounds like an employee and you could turn them in and dispute that you owe the employer's share of the taxes.

[bseymour601]

I'm afraid if I do I'll loose my job. Last year I made half of what I will this year. Im a middle school drop out with 2 kids and the sole income so right now it's not really a risk I'm willing to take. I do believe there wrong in this situation but I need this job......... What kinds of things can I write off? Since I'm gone all day I buy lunch and sometimes dinner while I'm on the road, drinks, stuff like that..... Can I claim any of that stuff? Some days I go in and I'll get off at 1 p.m. other days I'm working til 9p.m. I never really know until I go in....... I had to buy tools to get started but I don't have the actual receipts. I have my bank statements but that's it...... Can I count that stuff? I didn't know all this was involved until this past week and now I'm kind of freaking out. 

[ThomasM125]

You can not deduct the meals. You can deduct any expense that is ordinary and necessary for the job, such as tools and supplies you have to purchase. Also, if you have to get a special license to drive a truck you can deduct that.

If you have health insurance you can deduct that as self-employed health insurance so make sure you enter that in the business section of TurboTax. If you have a 1095-A form for your health insurance, make sure you indicate that it is for your business.

You can deduct a portion of your cell phone bill if you use that at work, based on how much you use it.