Self Employment Tax Initiative

Almost all businesses start as sole proprietorships or self-employed businesses by default. Unless a business is formally incorporated or has entered into partnership it is a self-employed business and its net income is subject to taxation through calculations performed on

Schedule C or C-EZ. Unlike incorporated businesses, un-incorporated self-employed businesses are not separate legal entities, but instead an extension of the individual taxpayer. 

Filing Schedule C or C-EZ is required by law if a business has a profit over $400—even if the taxpayer owes no income tax. The important role the Schedule C plays in the tax code is one of the most important points-of-entry for acknowledging and formalizing micro-business enterprises.

Schedule C and C-EZ are not complex or difficult forms—basically they are a 1-page profit and loss statement. Filing for the first time is a critical event for formalizing a new business. Schedule C and C-EZ can function as an annual tool for helping new business owners understand their finances clearly. Unfortunately most first-time self-employed filers, informal businesses, and “unintentional” self-employed businesses have limited options for finding assistance in tax preparation and tax planning.
The Self-Employment Tax Initiative aids micro-and-small businesses in the tax filing process to better prepare Self-Employed filers to understand the tax code, claim valuable credits, and learn how federal and state tax systems can be used to deliver direct support to their micro-businesses. The Tax Help Montana SETI program links self-employed tax filers with useful tools in their communities.  These tools include  financial education, credit, and budgeting seminars, as well as linking small business owners to networks throughout the state with a special focus on those who operate in rural and reservation communities.  

Have a question about SETI? Click here to email us your question.

2009 Self Employment Tax Organizer Download

This tool will assist you in preparing for your tax return.
Click here for to download PDF version.
Click here to download Microsoft Excel Version.

For more information you can visit the IRS SETI site by clicking here.