Medicare taxes Archives

Dear Liz: My recently graduated child got a job and he will be given a 1099 tax form for his earnings. I know he will have to file his taxes differently and will need to pay both state and federal income taxes, but will he also make payments toward Social Security? Will these months (and maybe years) go toward his lifetime “credits” of paying into Social Security?

Answer: The company is paying your son as an independent contractor rather than as an employee. That means he will need to file his taxes as someone who is self-employed. So yes, he’ll be paying into Social Security — and he’ll be doing so at twice the rate of employees who receive W2s.

Normally, Social Security and Medicare taxes are split between employees and employers. Both pay 7.65% of the employee’s wages, for a total of 15.3%. Self-employed workers must pay both halves.

Your son won’t have taxes withheld from his earnings, so he’ll likely need to make quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid penalties. A tax pro can help him set up these payments and suggest legitimate expenses he can use to reduce his tax bill.

Dear Liz: As a recent member of our church board, I just discovered our church hasn’t been paying Social Security or Medicare taxes for our pastor. I checked with our pastor and he hasn’t been making any payments either. This has been going on for six years. How do we recover?

Answer: Clergy are generally exempt from having Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from their wages, notes Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting. However, clergy typically must pay self-employment taxes, which include Social Security and Medicare, unless an exemption has been approved by the IRS.

Normally, employers and employees each pay 7.65% of the employee’s wages to cover Social Security and Medicare taxes. Self-employed people typically must pay both the employer and employee shares, or a total of 15.3%.

If your pastor has been filing taxes as a self-employed person, then he probably has been paying the appropriate Social Security and Medicare taxes. If he hasn’t, however, he may owe a substantial tax bill and should consider hiring a tax pro to help him amend his returns.