| I'd love to clear 39.50 an hour after taxes. Full time, that's a NET PROFIT of $82,160 per year, AFTER TAXES. RIGHT! Apparently she doesn't understand the economics of being self-employed. First of all, we're not always doing signings 40 hours a week, so our income fluctuates up and down. But even if we give her the benefit of the doubt and assume we'll be busy 40 hours a week, steady.... then we have to cover our overhead expenses such as gas, repairs, advertising, supplies, equipment, toner, paper, insurance, licensing fees, etc. Add to that the signing companies who pay late or never... If your federal rate is 28% (it would be at LEAST that much in that income range) and your state rate is 7%, that's a minimum of 35% for income taxes, not counting self employment tax, for the non-notary portion of income. Without regard to SE tax, you'd have to have a PROFIT of $126,400 to clear $82,160 after taxes. To have a PROFIT of $126,400, and your expenses are about $33,000, you'd have to GROSS about $160,000 before expenses. Add in SE tax, on say, one-half of your profit for non-notary fees, and you're up to about $174,000 in grossed up income you'd need in order to clear $39.50 an hour. At her proposed fee of $50 per signing, you'd have to do 67 signings a week, in 40 hours. That allows 36 minutes per signing, including driving time, printing edocs, and taking appointment calls. (If it took you longer than 40 hours to do all that, your hourly rate would drop below $39.50.) The next time she calls, explain all this to her. I'd love to hear her response. P.S. Most attorneys I know charge anywhere from $200 to $400 per hour. If she thinks attorneys are cheaper than notaries, why don't they just hire attorneys instead? |
