As a business owner, you might need to hire a worker at some point or another. And depending on your type of business, you might need to hire employees, independent contractors, or both to get the job done.

But, how much do you really know aboutindependent contractors vs. employees？Can you get away with hiring just independent contractors? Read on to learn what is an independent contractor and how they differ from employees.

什么是独立承包商？

独立承包商不像普通员工。独立承包商是一个可以经营自己的业务但也为其他企业执行工作的个人。被归类为独立承包商的个人不被视为您企业的雇员。

与员工不同，独立承包商没有从工资中扣除的税款。您无需从独立承包商的工资中扣除医疗保险或社会保障税。相反，承包商必须付款self-employment tax关于他们的收入。

以下是业务中独立承包商的一些例子：

• 建筑工人
• Freelance writers
• 平面设计师

您可能会使用独立承包商在业务中执行工作或完成特定项目。例如，您可以聘请承包商来改造业务的店面。

Contractors and Form W-9

When you hire an independent contractor, you must have the contractor fill out表格W-9，请求纳税人身份证号码。将W-9表格视为承包商的W-4表格。在表格上，承包商必须提供信息，例如：

• Name
• 企业名称（如果适用）
• Business entity (e.g., sole proprietorship)
• 地址
• ITIN，EIN或社会保险号码
• Signature

IRS表格W-9用于报告$ 600或以上的非雇员补偿。在今年年底，使用W-9表格生成Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation, for your contractors.

请确保将每个承包商的W-9表格的副本保留为您的记录。请勿将W-9表格发送给IRS。

独立承包商classification

Misclassifying independent contractors is a big no-no in the business world. The IRS has strict definitions to determine whether or not a worker is an employee or independent worker.

Again, if the worker is an employee, you must withhold and remit certain taxes on their behalf (e.g.,FICA税，联邦所得税等）。作为雇主，您负责在某些税收（例如社会保障和医疗保险税）上缴纳雇主比赛。

如果您的工人是承包商，则通常不承担代表他们预扣或缴纳任何税款的责任。

准确确定工人的分类至关重要。如果您错误地分类工人，则可能会受到一些罚款和罚款。

Both the IRS and the公平劳动与标准法(FLSA) have classification regulations.

IRS指南

The IRS’s guidelines help you figure out whether your worker is an employee or independent contractor.

Typically, a business that has a contracted worker tells the contractor the scope of the job but doesn’t have control over how the contractor completes the project.

国税局将承包商的控制程度和独立程度分为三类：

1. Behavioral
2. Financial
3. Type of relationship

在对工人进行分类之前，请考虑您对以上三个类别中的工人拥有多少控制。

看着behavioral control, think about whether your company has the ability and right to control what the worker is doing and how they complete an assignment.

如果您控制该项目，则工人可能是雇员。如果您无法控制工作，那么工人更有可能是承包商。

For thefinancial类别，问问自己，Am I able to control other business aspects of the worker’s job？这可能包括诸如您向工人支付的方式或处理费用偿还方式之类的内容。例如，如果您为工人提供补给品，那么他们可能是越过员工领域。但是，如果工人带来自己的用品，他们更有可能成为承包商。

最后，您需要看看您的type of relationship与工人。问问自己的问题：

• Are there any written contracts in place?
• Do I provide the worker with any types of benefits (e.g., health insurance)?
• 工作完成后，关系会继续吗？

Asking yourself these types of questions can help you determine if your worker is a contractor or an employee.

一些州在对独立承包商进行分类时制定了自己的法律。例如，加利福尼亚有一个新的California AB 5law that requires most industries to use the ABC test to determine if a worker is a contractor.

Check with your state to see if there are any state-specific laws you must follow when you classify a worker.

FLSA regulations

除了国税局的法规外，雇主还必须研究FLSA的法规。FLSA提供了六个因素，以帮助雇主确定工人的身份。这些因素包括：

1. If the work done is an integral part of your business
2. If the worker’s managerial skills affect their opportunity for profit and loss
3. 工人对业务设施和设备的投资
4. 如果执行的工作需要特殊技能和主动性
5. The permanency of the work
6. The nature and degree of control you have over the worker

雇主必须查看上述所有点，以确定工人分类，而不仅仅是一个。如果您不确定FLSA的因素是否适用于您的工人，请联系Department of Laborfor additional information.

独立承包商税责任

A worker’s employment status determines your payroll tax liability. As mentioned, if you classify a worker as an employee, you are required to withhold certain taxes, like Social Security or Medicare taxes. As an employer, you might also be responsible for remitting unemployment taxes, too (e.g., FUTA tax).

When you work with a 1099 independent contractor, do not withhold taxes. Instead, you will provide IRS Form 1099-NEC to each applicable independent contractor so that they can report their income on their tax return. Give Form 1099-NEC to contractors you paid $600 or more during the year.

When you submit表格1099-NEC向IRS，您还必须发送1096表格。Form 1096是所有人的摘要形式1099表格您文件。

你必须给一份表格1099 - nec达成icable contractor by January 31. There are also several other copies you must submit to different agencies. Take a look at a breakdown of the different copies and their recipients below.

Copy of Form 1099-NEC	Recipient
Copy A	IRS (along with Form 1096)
Copy B	独立承包商
Copy C	Business (keep in your records)
Copy 1	State (if applicable)
Copy 2	独立承包商

避免工人错误分类

If you’re having trouble determining a worker’s status, don’t worry. There are a few routes you can take to verify whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee. You can consult a小企业律师or another professional or file Form SS-8.

表格SS-8, Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding, helps you determine the status of a worker.

您或您的工人可以通过填写并将表格邮寄给IRS来提交SS-8表格。

提交表格SS-8后，美国国税局将向您和您的工人发送确定信或信息或礼貌信，该信指出工人的分类以及您需要采取的步骤（如果适用）。

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This article was updated from its original publication date of March 28, 2012.

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