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Get your taxes done using TurboTax
From a legal standpoint, you don't work as an independent contractor for anyone but yourself. Those you perform a service for, or provide a product to, are you customers. You are in fact, "in business" for yourself, and will file a SCH C which is included with your personal tax return, even if you file a joint return with your husband and he is your employee.
At a minimum, you must use TurboTax Home and Business, and with your husband as an employee of "the company" you own, it's important that you indicate on your tax return that you, and you alone own the business. Since your husband is or will be an employee, do NOT indicate a partnership with him owning a percentage of your company. While you can do that, it really complicates things because for a small business sole proprietorship or married couple partnership, an owner can not be an employee.
Next, when working through TT Home & Biz it will ask if you have employees. You must select that option to indicate that you do. Otherwise, you will not be asked questions pertaining to the employees you paid.
Be aware also, that for your employee, you the employer have to pay 15% of "his" wages, out of "your" profit as the employer's side of Medicare and social security. At a minimum, you will have to pay this to the IRS on a quarterly basis. For most businesses, they have to pay that monthly. Additionally, while your state may not tax income, they "may" impose an Unemployment Compensation tax, referred to as the state UC tax. So check to see if Texas requires that, and what the frequency of payments requirement is.
I would also recommend that you use QuickBooks for your business too. I use it for mine, and it figures paychecks, withholdings, and tax payments due to the IRS as well as the state, for me. With even just one employee, that program is a God send for keeping things on track and mathematically correct. Additionally, at tax time you can "import" your business information, income and expenses directly into the turbotax Home & Business program, if you pay attention to detail when initially setting up QuickBooks for your business.
Finally, if things get to confusing for you, or you're just not comfortable with all this, then I strongly urge you to seek professional help from a licensed CPA in your local jurisdiction. Doing things wrong can be very costly tax-wise, and the late fees, fines and penalties can very easily bankrupt your business before it even gets off the ground. The cost of professional help is dirt cheap, when compared to the fines, penalties and late fees that could be imposed on your business when the IRS catches mistakes on it, usua.ly 18-24 months after you file the return.
Note that if you pay a CPA to help you with this, what you pay them would be deductible either as a business expense, or business startup costs. So again, if you get uncomfortable with this, please seek professional help.
At a minimum, you must use TurboTax Home and Business, and with your husband as an employee of "the company" you own, it's important that you indicate on your tax return that you, and you alone own the business. Since your husband is or will be an employee, do NOT indicate a partnership with him owning a percentage of your company. While you can do that, it really complicates things because for a small business sole proprietorship or married couple partnership, an owner can not be an employee.
Next, when working through TT Home & Biz it will ask if you have employees. You must select that option to indicate that you do. Otherwise, you will not be asked questions pertaining to the employees you paid.
Be aware also, that for your employee, you the employer have to pay 15% of "his" wages, out of "your" profit as the employer's side of Medicare and social security. At a minimum, you will have to pay this to the IRS on a quarterly basis. For most businesses, they have to pay that monthly. Additionally, while your state may not tax income, they "may" impose an Unemployment Compensation tax, referred to as the state UC tax. So check to see if Texas requires that, and what the frequency of payments requirement is.
I would also recommend that you use QuickBooks for your business too. I use it for mine, and it figures paychecks, withholdings, and tax payments due to the IRS as well as the state, for me. With even just one employee, that program is a God send for keeping things on track and mathematically correct. Additionally, at tax time you can "import" your business information, income and expenses directly into the turbotax Home & Business program, if you pay attention to detail when initially setting up QuickBooks for your business.
Finally, if things get to confusing for you, or you're just not comfortable with all this, then I strongly urge you to seek professional help from a licensed CPA in your local jurisdiction. Doing things wrong can be very costly tax-wise, and the late fees, fines and penalties can very easily bankrupt your business before it even gets off the ground. The cost of professional help is dirt cheap, when compared to the fines, penalties and late fees that could be imposed on your business when the IRS catches mistakes on it, usua.ly 18-24 months after you file the return.
Note that if you pay a CPA to help you with this, what you pay them would be deductible either as a business expense, or business startup costs. So again, if you get uncomfortable with this, please seek professional help.
May 31, 2019
5:52 PM