Why does nobody talk about how much estheticians pay in taxes compared to what we actually keep?

I just did my quarterly taxes and was looking at the numbers. I made $52k last year from my studio in Denver but after supplies, rent, and self-employment tax I only kept like $31k. Found a breakdown on a finance blog for freelancers that said estheticians lose a bigger percentage than most trades because we have to buy so much product. Two sides to this - some girls say write everything off and work from home, others say just accept it and raise prices. What do you all do to keep more of your money?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_piper27d ago

God yes, the "how much we actually keep" part hits so hard. I did my taxes last month and had the exact same freakout looking at my numbers. I mean I made like $48k but after supplies, my studio rent in Austin, and the self-employment tax I was looking at maybe $28k take home. It's brutal. I've tried the write off everything thing but you can only deduct so much before it gets sketchy. Raising prices helped a little but then clients complain and you lose some regulars. Idk, maybe it's just me but I feel like nobody warned me about this when I was in esthetics school.

uma30627d ago

@the_piper nailed it with that Austin example, I had the exact same reality check when I did my Denver numbers last month. It's wild how much disappears between supplies and taxes before you even pay yourself.