self employed

[wfk1954]

My husband and I are self employed in trucking. We only worked in January and earned $12,540. Our deductions way exceed our income but when I enter them we still owe taxes, I don't understand this?

[tagteam]

If you are self-employed, you owe self-employment tax (see link below), which is separate from income tax.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employment-tax-social-security-an...

[AmyC]

That does not make sense to me. If you have negative income, you don't have a tax liability. If you had a positive income, I would say the self employment taxes must be paid.

I feel like there is a missing piece to the puzzle. Oh, I see @tagteam popped in an answer while I was typing and included my favorite link - to the business center. Great link, It has videos too.

This one is for you, Trucking Tax Center