SEP Calculation

[ramb1717]

if i am self employed, is the maximum SEP calculated on the total 1099 or after all business deductions?

[rschule1]

Hi There:

For a self-employed individual, contributions are limited to 25% of your net earnings from self-employment (not including contributions for yourself), up to $61,000 for 2022 ($58,000 for 2021; $57,000 for 2020).

[rschule1]

I forgot to specify that net earnings is after deductions. Good luck.

[ramb1717]

if i am over 55, can i deduct ira contribution and contribute maximum to sep?

[KochuK]

Hi ramb1717, thank you for posting an event question.

To answer your question, maximum SEP is calculated after business deductions and more.

Self-employed individuals must make a special computation to determine the maximum deduction for making SEP IRA contributions. Net earnings from self-employment must be reduced by one-half of SE tax and the SEP IRA contribution before applying the contribution rate.

In Pub 560 Retirement Plans for Small Business, pages 33 - 38 provides rules, chart and sample.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p560.pdf 

Understand the above is complicated. The good part is in TurboTax, you finalize the self employment income and expenses, then go to the retirement section and choose SEP IRA, and select the button "Maximize." The program will calculate how much you can contribute to SEP IRA based on your self employment net income.

Hope the above helps. Thank you much!

Kochu Kitty