When you work as an independent contractor, you are in a way penalized. The money you earned during that time is subject to self-employment taxes, plus, you did not have an employer withholding your federal taxes or state or local taxes while you were an independent contractor. So, where you normally wouldn't have noticed all of the taxes because they come out every week and your employer pays part of them, when you are self-employed, you notice it a lot more because you have to make a "bulk" payment instead of small weekly payments in addition to the extra 7.65% you pay when you are self employed.
One thing that can help is during the time you were self-employed, you may be able to deduct certain business expenses like a home office if it was used regularly and exclusively for work or other expenses you incurred in order to perform your job. As you walk through TurboTax Self-Employed, you will be able to look at all the expenses you may be able to deduct.
**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"
