Remote worker told I'm self-employed - what tax forms do I need to file? Help with 15% tax rate

It sounds like you might be classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee. This is an important distinction for tax purposes! If you're truly self-employed, you'll need to file Schedule C with your 1040 tax return to report your business income and expenses. You'll also need to pay self-employment tax (Schedule SE), which is how self-employed people pay their Social Security and Medicare taxes - this is about 15.3% of your net income, which explains that percentage you're seeing. However, the real question might be whether you're correctly classified. The IRS has specific guidelines about who qualifies as an independent contractor versus an employee. It's not just about what your employer decides to call you. If they control when, where, and how you work, provide equipment, etc., you might actually be an employee who's being misclassified, which means the company should be paying part of those taxes. You should also be claiming all legitimate business expenses on your Schedule C to reduce your taxable income - home office, internet, phone, supplies, etc.

After reading your situation, I wanted to share something that helped me tremendously when I was in a similar position last year. I was also classified as self-employed and was struggling with figuring out all the proper forms and deductions. I discovered this tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that specifically analyzes your work situation and helps determine if you're properly classified as a contractor or if you should be an employee. It also identifies all the deductions you qualify for based on your specific situation. The best part was it helped me realize I was missing several deductions related to my home office and business expenses, which saved me about $1,800 in taxes! It also provided clarity on whether my classification was correct based on my actual work arrangement.

I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after trying it based on the recommendation here. I was honestly surprised by how helpful it was! The tool asked really specific questions about my work arrangement that I hadn't even considered relevant to my tax situation. It turned out I was properly classified as self-employed, but I was missing out on TONS of deductions. I had no idea I could deduct a portion of my internet, cell phone, and even some utilities based on my home office usage. The tool calculated that I was overpaying by about $2,400 annually! What I found most valuable was the documentation guidance - it explained exactly what records I needed to keep for each deduction to survive an audit. Now I feel much more confident about my tax situation rather than just guessing and hoping for the best.

If you're having trouble getting straight answers about your employment classification or tax obligations, you might want to try speaking directly with an IRS agent. I know that sounds intimidating (and nearly impossible to get through), but I found a service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to a real IRS person in under 20 minutes when I was dealing with a similar contractor vs. employee question. I had been trying for weeks to get through the normal IRS phone line with no luck. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with walked me through the specific factors they look at to determine proper classification and explained exactly which forms I needed to file. They even sent me the relevant documentation afterward. It saved me so much stress and guesswork.

I need to apologize for my skepticism earlier and share what happened. After struggling with this contractor classification issue for months, I finally tried Claimyr out of desperation. Within 15 minutes, I was talking to an actual IRS representative who confirmed I was being misclassified based on my work situation. The agent explained that since my company controls when and how I work, provides specific training, and gives me daily assignments with deadlines, I should be classified as an employee, not a contractor. They walked me through filing Form SS-8 to request an official determination, which could potentially save me thousands in self-employment taxes. The representative also sent me documentation explaining my rights as a worker and the differences between contractor and employee status. I'm now working with the company to address this misclassification. Honestly, I would have continued overpaying taxes for years without getting this clarification directly from the IRS.

Quick tip from someone who was in your shoes last year: be careful with the home office deduction if you're using Form 8829. While it can save you money, it has to be a space used EXCLUSIVELY for business. If you're working from your living room couch or kitchen table, it doesn't qualify. I learned this the hard way after claiming it and then reading more about the requirements. Ended up filing an amended return because I didn't want to risk an audit. But you can still deduct business percentages of internet, phone, and any supplies/equipment you buy specifically for work!

Something nobody's mentioned yet - if you're truly self-employed and not misclassified, don't forget you can deduct half of your self-employment tax on your 1040! This is an adjustment to income, so you get this benefit even if you don't itemize deductions. Also look into setting up a SEP IRA or Solo 401k if possible. You can put away a portion of your income tax-deferred, which reduces your taxable income now. The limits are pretty generous compared to regular IRAs.