Any independent contractor who can help me?

[Lana & Mauro 3]

Hi guys, I am entering the US on May, 30 with a K1 visa.

I am currently living in Spain and the company I am working for, wants me to keep working for them.

They want me to become an independent contractor.

Does anyone here know where I can find information of how long it's going to take me to become a "free lance" and how many taxes I need to pay?

I am relocating to the SF Bay Area in California and I need to give them an idea of how many taxes (both federal and state) I will pay out of my salary.

Do I need to have my green card before being eligible to work on my own?

I know this is a different topic from those you see here but since my company has never worked in America and me either I need to find as much information as possible.

Thank you for your help

[peter.chou 3]

Hi guys, I am entering the US on May, 30 with a K1 visa.

I am currently living in Spain and the company I am working for, wants me to keep working for them.

They want me to become an independent contractor.

Does anyone here know where I can find information of how long it's going to take me to become a "free lance" and how many taxes I need to pay?

I am relocating to the SF Bay Area in California and I need to give them an idea of how many taxes (both federal and state) I will pay out of my salary.

Do I need to have my green card before being eligible to work on my own?

I know this is a different topic from those you see here but since my company has never worked in America and me either I need to find as much information as possible.

Thank you for your help

A work permit or equivalent, I guess.

"Tax" - depends the amount of $ you make. Net Profit: 14% for Social Security, + state tax + local tax. Total tax may range from 18% to 30% ...

[X Factor 1,112]

A work permit or equivalent, I guess.

"Tax" - depends the amount of $ you make. Net Profit: 14% for Social Security, + state tax + local tax. Total tax may range from 18% to 30% ...

So you will have to pay estimated taxes. Keep a receipt of everything you spend while doing the contracting work. Write down miles driven, tolls paid, computer/internet usage, phone usage etc - all that was used in contracting.

Check the following link and look at PART 2 as an example for what you should receipt of. In essense you will be viewed as running your own business for tax purposes.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sc.pdf

Then when you do your taxes you should receive a FORM 1099 showing what you earned as a contractor from your client. You take that along with your expenses to your tax preparer.

Of course you may need to pay estimated taxes every 3 months. But it all depends on how much you make.

You could get by paying about 25% unless you make a crazy amount of income.

Edited May 21, 2012 by kennard