There was some confusion on taxes for Mturk, and self employed individuals, so I wanted to start a thread. Mainly we were talking about how deductions and tax credits work for self employed workers (mturk), filing a schedule C tax form. Here is my main point: - If you are self employed, filing a schedule C tax form, you can claim BOTH (1) the Standard Deduction, plus (2) Itemized Deductions. The itemized deductions are used (for self employed individuals) to lower your Taxable Income, which means you pay less Self Employment Tax. The standard deduction can be used as well, even if you do this, but for your Employer Taxes owed, and is a separate calculation. The Standard Deduction will lower your Employer Tax obligations, and the itemized deductions will also lower your taxable income for your Self Employment Taxes. TLDR. Self employed workers, filing a schedule C form get BOTH the standard deduction and itemized deductions. Disclaimer: I am not a tax expert, and this is just what I have found through my own research.
