If you’re self-employed, however, you’ll need to pay the full 15.3% of FICA taxes due on your salary. FUTA taxes are paid entirely by the employer; there is no employee accountant for independent contractor payment. All essential training and development will be paid for by your firm (at least, the training and development that the firm sees as essential!).

Hiring an independent contractor for your business requires far less recordkeeping than hiring full-time employees.
Your IT network is the backbone of your company, providing you with quick access to vital information about any given job—whether you’re in the office or on site.
There is a fine line between the two classifications so it’s important your business understand the difference.
It undergoes on-site peer review and adheres to the highest level of standards found in the largest firms while fostering the type of personal relationship with our clients only available from a firm of our size.
As with any industry, there are pros and cons of working for yourself as well as working as an employee.

The costs of accounting software for independent contractors vary. There are free and paid versions, and typically the paid versions have more features. Some apps offer free 30-day trial periods and others offer discounts for paying annually in advance. Typically, expect to spend anywhere from $4.50 per month for a basic version with a limited number of clients to $300 per month for more custom options with 50 clients, connected bank accounts, and live customer service.

Independent Contractor Defined

To find out more about the workers’ compensation test in a given state, employers may contact the state department of industrial relations or the state labor department. The DOL issued a final rule in January 2024, that changed the criteria for classifying independent contractors. The final rule rescinds a 2021 rule in which two core factors—control over the work and opportunity for profit or loss—carried greater weight in determining the status of independent contractors. Under the new rule, employers would use a totality-of-the-circumstances analysis, in which none of the factors carry greater weight.

AI-powered legal analytics, workflow tools and premium legal & business news. The move is “for judicial expediency, for judicial efficiency,” said Michael Lotito of Littler Mendelson PC, the management-side firm representing the business groups in the case. Artificial intelligence will be inescapable for many workers as adoption of the technology continues to grow in workplaces across the country. It’s the Wild West when it comes to using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools—such as ChatGPT—in the workplace, with many workers using these resources without their managers’ knowledge, according to recent surveys.

File

If you attempt to reconcile your books on your own, it can be a monumental task. Using accounting software like Zero, Wave, or Freshbooks, will allow you to reconcile your bank accounts quickly. Independent contractors need to be thinking of bank account reconciliation. The practice of reconciliation will help you ensure that every transaction matches your accounts.

If April 15 falls on a weekend or a holiday, they are due the next business day. Remember that an independent contractor is considered to be self-employed, so in effect, you are running your own one-person business. Any income that you earn as an independent contractor must be reported on Schedule C. You’ll then pay income taxes on the total profit. Founded in 1987, Rosedale & Drapala, CPAs is a member firm in the Private Practice Division of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It undergoes on-site peer review and adheres to the highest level of standards found in the largest firms while fostering the type of personal relationship with our clients only available from a firm of our size.