If you earn income from self-employment, you may need to file Schedule SE to calculate and report your Social Security and Medicare taxes.
Who Needs to File Schedule SE?
You must file Schedule SE if either of the following applies:
- Your net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more.
- You were a church employee and had church employee income of $108.28 or more.
In general, you're considered self-employed if you're in business for yourself, whether you operate a farm or a nonfarm business.
What Is Self-Employment Tax?
Self-employment tax consists of:
- Social Security tax
- Medicare tax
These taxes are similar to the payroll taxes withheld from employee wages. However, when you're self-employed, you're responsible for paying both the employee and employer portions.
What About Ministers and Religious Workers?
Special rules apply to ministers, members of religious orders, and certain other religious workers.
Generally, ministers must pay self-employment tax on earnings received for ministerial services, including salaries and fees. However, if you've filed Form 4361 and received IRS approval for an exemption, you may not owe self-employment tax on qualified ministerial income.
Program Entry
To review or enter information related to self-employment tax:
- Go to Federal
- Select Other Taxes
- Choose Self-Employment Tax (Schedule SE)
Note: If you have prepared a Schedule C or Schedule F within your account, we will automatically calculate the appropriate amount of self-employment tax based on the overall profit reported.
To view the IRS Instructions for Schedule SE, click here.