Working for yourself and dreading the tax bill?
NH Tax Advisors prepares taxes for self-employed and 1099 workers across New Hampshire, so your Schedule C is right, your deductions are all there, and quarterly estimates stop being a guess.
Chris Brown, Enrolled Agent
You work with me directly, start to finish.
How we prepare taxes for self-employed and 1099 workers
If you earn self-employed or 1099 income, we prepare your Schedule C, calculate your self-employment tax, and set your quarterly estimated payments so nothing lands as a surprise in April. We find the deductions a self-employed return actually allows, and the same person prepares it each year, so your history carries forward.
Freelancers, contractors, gig drivers, and one-person businesses all file the same way: a Schedule C on your personal return, plus self-employment tax on top of income tax. That second tax is the one that catches people, and it is where good preparation earns its keep.
Chris Brown, Enrolled Agent
You work with me directly, start to finish.
Whether you searched for a self-employed tax preparer, a 1099 tax preparer, or Schedule C tax help, the person you want is one who works with business income every day and can plan the year ahead, and not only file it. NH Tax Advisors is led by Chris Brown, a federally licensed Enrolled Agent, so the return and the quarterly plan come from the same place.
Why the first year on your own brings a tax surprise
You went out on your own, and nobody sat you down to explain self-employment tax or quarterly estimates. So the first April on your own brought a bill far bigger than the income tax you were braced for. On top of income tax, you owe 15.3% self-employment tax on your net profit, and if the whole year went by with no estimated payments, the IRS adds an underpayment penalty on top of that. Left alone, it repeats every year, because nobody set the estimates. That is the return we do for self-employed clients. We prepare your Schedule C, calculate the self-employment tax, claim every deduction you have earned, and set quarterly estimates so next April is a number you already knew.
- Your Schedule C prepared and reviewed for the deductions the software leaves on the table
- Self-employment tax calculated correctly, with the deductible half taken back on the income tax side
- Quarterly estimates set so April is a number you already know
- Your income categories and deduction history carried forward each year, so nothing is re-explained from scratch
- Home office, mileage, phone, and equipment sorted out the right way
- Retirement options that lower the bill, like a SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k)
“We had a great experience, I highly recommend! Super responsive and went way above and beyond helping straighten out some business tax expenses. I am super confident that our taxes were done correctly and that he found all our eligible savings and rebates.”
How we prepare your self-employed return
- Pull your numbers together. We start from your income and expenses for the year, whatever form they are in, and sort them into the categories a Schedule C actually uses.
- Build the return and the tax. We prepare your Schedule C, calculate both your income tax and your self-employment tax, and apply every deduction you qualify for.
- Set next year’s estimates. We give you the quarterly numbers to pay so you are not caught short, and we are here through the year when your income or expenses shift.
What self-employment tax actually costs
Self-employment tax is Social Security and Medicare for people who work for themselves. As an employee, you and your employer split that cost; on your own, you cover both halves, which is where the 15.3% comes from (12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare). It is charged on 92.35% of your net profit, and it sits on top of your income tax. The Social Security piece applies up to a yearly wage base; the Medicare piece has no ceiling. Half of what you pay comes back as a deduction against your income tax, which softens the blow but does not erase it. Here is how it works on a typical year’s profit.
Self-employment tax on $50,000 of net profit
| Net profit for the year | $50,000 |
|---|---|
| Net earnings subject to SE tax (92.35%) | $46,175 |
| Self-employment tax (15.3%) | about $7,065 |
| Deducted back on your income tax return (half) | about $3,532 |
That $7,065 is on top of your income tax, and it is exactly the piece DIY software rings up at the very end with no plan to pay it. Half of it comes back as an income tax deduction, and quarterly estimates spread the rest across the year instead of landing all at once in April.
Let’s make sure your estimates cover this before April.
If you have not made any estimated payments this year, call us before the next quarterly deadline and we will work out what to pay while there is still time to keep it from becoming a penalty.
The deductions a Schedule C actually allows
Every business expense that is ordinary and necessary for your work lowers your net profit, and because self-employment tax is charged on that same net profit, a deduction saves you both taxes at once. The common ones for a one-person business are a home office, your vehicle, phone and internet, and equipment. Here is what a modest set of them does on a $60,000 year.
How deductions cut both taxes at once
| Business cost | Deduction |
|---|---|
| Home office | $1,200 |
| Vehicle (business miles) | $3,500 |
| Phone and internet (business share) | $600 |
| Equipment, expensed under Section 179 | $2,700 |
| Total deductions | $8,000 |
On $60,000 of gross income, those $8,000 in deductions bring your net profit down to $52,000. Because self-employment tax is charged on net profit, every one of those dollars saves you the 15.3% self-employment tax (about $1,130 here) on top of the income tax it saves at your bracket. A deduction you miss costs you both, which is why getting the categories right matters.
Let’s find the deductions you’ve been leaving on the table.
Self-employed income sits on your personal return alongside everything else, so we prepare it as part of your individual tax return, not as a separate job. If your one-person operation is growing, taking on help, or you are weighing an LLC or S-corp, that moves into small business tax. And if you have a year or two of self-employed income you never reported, we can get you caught up with back taxes and unfiled returns. Most of this happens by secure portal, phone, and video, the same way we work with self-employed clients in Manchester and Nashua.
A few things self-employed clients ask before they call:
Frequently asked questions
What is a 1099, and when should I get one?
A 1099 is the form a business sends to report money it paid you outside of payroll. If you did contract or freelance work, you should get a 1099-NEC from any client that paid you more than the annual reporting threshold. But the form is only a copy of what was reported to the IRS under your Social Security number. Whether or not one arrives, the income is yours to report.
Do I have to report income if I never got a 1099?
Yes. All of your income is reportable whether or not a 1099 shows up for it. The 1099 is a copy of what a payer told the IRS; it is not what creates the tax. Cash, checks, app payments, and small jobs that fell under a client’s reporting threshold all belong on your Schedule C. Leaving them off is the mistake that turns into a notice a year or two later.
What is a Schedule C, and how does it work?
Schedule C is the form where your self-employed business lives on your personal tax return. You list your income, then your business expenses, and the difference is your net profit. That net profit is what you pay income tax on, and it is also the figure your self-employment tax is calculated from. One person running one business files one Schedule C; if you run two separate businesses, each gets its own.
How little can I earn before I owe self-employment tax?
Not much. Once your net earnings from self-employment reach $400 for the year, you owe self-employment tax and have to file a return for it, even in a year you owe no income tax. The tax is 15.3% of your net earnings, so it adds up quickly once you cross that line. We calculate it on your return and take the deductible half back on the income tax side.
Can I deduct my own health insurance when I’m self-employed?
Often, yes. If you are self-employed and not eligible for coverage through an employer or a spouse’s plan, you can generally deduct what you pay for health insurance for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents. It comes off your income before tax rather than as an itemized deduction, so you get it even when you take the standard deduction. The deduction is limited to your net profit, which we check when we prepare the return.
What can gig drivers (Uber, Lyft, DoorDash) write off?
The biggest one is your miles. Every business mile you drive for the platform is deductible at the IRS standard mileage rate, and for most drivers it is the largest single deduction on the return. On top of that come the business share of your phone, hot bags and supplies, tolls and parking, and the platform’s own fees. The app’s year-end summary is a starting point, but it rarely captures everything, so keep your own mileage log.
Want the IRS’s own words on any of this? These are the pages worth knowing.
Where to learn more
- IRS: About Schedule C (Form 1040)The IRS’s own page for the form your self-employed profit or loss is reported on, with the current instructions.
- IRS: Self-Employment TaxHow the Social Security and Medicare portions of self-employment tax work, and the deduction for half of it.
- IRS: Estimated TaxesWhen quarterly estimated payments are due and how to figure them, so you are not caught short in April.
What clients say
Real reviews from real Southern NH clients
“I truly cannot say enough good things about my experience with Chris & Maria at NH Tax Advisors! I came to them with a rather daunting & messy self-employed tax situation, needing resolution for some previous years' filings.”
“We had an unexpected situation this tax season when our original accountant suddenly became ill and had to retire. My husband and I were scrambling to find someone new, especially so close to the deadline.”
“I had a great experience working with Chris Brown. He was incredibly easy to work with and always very reachable. He would respond within minutes or at most a few hours whenever I had a question.”
Talk to your tax professional today
Call to talk through your tax situation with a licensed tax pro who’ll remember you next year.