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?
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.
@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.