An estimated340万工人deal with independent contractor misclassification.

当您将某人带到船上时，请确定工人是独立承包商还是雇员。It’s no secret that the IRS has strict policies in place to crack down on employers who misclassify contractors. So, how do you avoid misclassifying independent contractors?

独立承包商与员工分类

在我们深入了解有关工人被错误分类为独立承包商的更多信息之前，让我们简要回顾独立承包商与员工之间的区别。

If your worker has employee status, you must withhold, match, and remit payroll taxes. Employers who classify a worker as an independent contractor are not typically responsible for withholding taxes.

独立承包商

独立承包商可以经营自己的业务。但是，他们还为其他公司执行工作。

您不会从独立承包商的工资中扣除薪资税。他们支付自己的自身就业和所得税。承包商没有收到W-2表格表格1099-misc报告工资。

In most cases, contractors take on multiple projects or jobs, provide their own tools, decide how jobs are done, work for multiple employers, and perform supplementary tasks.

雇员

Employers withhold Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes from employee wages. When you compensate an employee, you are also responsible for paying certain employer taxes and contributions.

员工收到表格W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. An employee’s Form W-2 shows how much you paid them and withheld in taxes.

通常，员工有资格加班，接受监督和说明，不提供工具和资源，为单个雇主工作以及执行关键业务任务。

Guidelines for classifying workers

作为雇主，您必须遵循一些具体指南来评估工人的身份。两项《公平劳工标准法》（flsa）和国税局有分类法规。

The FLSA provides six factors to help determine worker status. These include:

1. 如果完成的工作是您业务不可或缺的一部分
2. 如果工人的管理技能会影响他们的损益机会
3. The worker’s investments in the business’s facilities and equipment
4. 如果需要特殊技能和执行工作initiative
5. 工作的永久性
6. 您对工人拥有的性质和控制程度

Keep in mind that you must consider all of the above points to help determine worker classification.

美国国税局还拥有具体的指南，可帮助您确定您的工人是雇员还是独立承包商。

Generally, a business that contracts a worker tells the contractor the scope of the work but doesn’t have control over how the contractor completes the assignment.

Based on these main factors, the IRS breaks down the degree of control and level of independence into three categories:

• 行为的
• 金融
• 关系类型

Before classifying a worker, consider how much control you have over them in the three areas above.

行为的

When looking at behavioral control, think about whether your company has the ability and right to control what the worker does and how they complete a project.

If you can control it, the worker may fall into employee territory. And if you can’t control what the worker does and how they do it, they are more likely an independent contractor.

金融

对于此类别，请问自己，Are you able to control other business aspects of the worker’s job？例如，诸如您的付款方式，如何处理费用的报销以及提供用品和工具的人如何影响工人的状态。

如果您可以控制上述示例（例如，向工人提供用品），则可能有一名员工。

关系类型

看看您的雇主工人关系。有没有书面合同？您是否为工人提供任何类型的福利，例如健康保险？工人完成职责后，关系会继续吗？

问自己这类问题可以帮助您解密您的工人是否是承包商或雇员。

For example, independent contractors likely have a written contract but do not receive benefits like employees.

Reasons why employers misclassify workers

许多小型企业主不会故意错误地分类他们的工人。有些人缺乏适当的指导和知识，并且偶然地误导了工人。但是，并非所有雇主都无意中错误地分类了他们的工人。

雇主可能会出于避免其他费用的目的错误分类，例如：

• 社会保障和医疗保险税的雇主部分
• Overtime pay
• Employee benefits (e.g., paid time off)
• Unemployment tax
• Workers’ compensation insurance

独立承包商错误分类处罚

The IRS and Department of Labor (DOL) are strict on employee misclassification. If you do misclassify a worker, the IRS and DOL can impose some hefty penalties, regardless of if it was intentional or not.

如果美国国税局（IRS）和多尔（Dol）认为错误分类为无意的，则可能包括：

• 为不提交表格W-2支付费用
• Owing money for taxes (e.g., employer contribution of FICA tax)

如果美国国税局和DOL怀疑错误分类是故意的，则可以charge you the following penalties:

• Up to one year in prison
• Being labeled a “tax evader”
• 最高$ 500,000的罚款

How to protect yourself from worker misclassification

When you hire a worker, you may find it difficult to classify a worker on your own. If you have trouble with this determination, you can consult asmall business lawyer，与另一个专业人员或文件表格SS-8联系。

Form SS-8，确定工人身份出于联邦就业税和扣留所得税的目的，确定工人的状况（例如，independent contractor vs. employee).

You or your worker can file Form SS-8 if you’re unsure of a worker’s classification.

文件表格SS-8通过将表格邮寄给IRS。您不能以电子方式提交SS-8表格或通过传真将其发送到IRS。提出SS-8表格没有任何费用。

提交SS-8表格后，IRS将三个字母之一发送给您和您的工人：

• Determination letter: Binding notice that urges the business to change the worker’s classification
• Information or courtesy letter: Notice that could help your worker complete federal tax obligations (not binding)

如果您对表格SS-8的要求和流程还有其他疑问，contact the IRS.

What to do if you misclassify a worker

如果您将工人归类为独立承包商，而国税局确定他们是雇员，请立即从contractor to employee. Add your newly classified employees to your payroll, withhold payroll taxes, and begin offering benefits to employees.

Misclassified workers might also need to fileForm 8919, Uncollected Social Security and Medicare Tax on Wages.

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This article has been updated from its original publication date of October 4, 2012.

This is not intended as legal advice; for more information, please点击这里。