Those who make less than $400 annually in self employment income, ministers, members of certain religious sects who get IRS approval to be exempt, a US Citizen employed by a federal government for services provided outside the US or its territories, you can be exempt from SE tax. Additionally,  if you and your spouse elect to be taxed as a qualified joint venture for your rental real estate business (and file the required forms), that income generally isn’t subject to SE tax. If you had two or more businesses subject to SE tax, your net earnings from self-employment are the combined net earnings from all of your businesses. A loss in one business can reduce the income from another. Figure the combined SE tax on one Schedule SE.  If you (or your spouse with whom you file income tax returns jointly) are paid wages, you may be able to increase your tax withholdings to cover the amount of taxes owed.