Contractor vs Employee: How to Tell the Difference and What to Do if the IRS Audits You

Misclassifying workers can lead to an audit and costly reclassification. This contractor vs employee webinar explains what the IRS looks at when deciding whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

You'll learn the IRS's current 3-factor test and the older 20-factor test that is still referenced, then work through borderline situations where the answer isn't obvious. The session also covers what to do if a worker files Form SS-8.

Finally, you'll review the relief options if the IRS reclassifies your contractors as employees, including Section 530, Section 3509 and the voluntary compliance program. The focus is the IRS, with a brief look at audits by the DOL and state agencies.

• Explain why worker classification matters
• Identify the agencies that can audit classification, including the IRS, DOL and states
• Apply the IRS 3-factor test and understand the older 20-factor test
• Assess borderline cases between contractor and employee
• Respond when a worker files Form SS-8
• Choose among IRS relief programs after a reclassification

• Why the difference between contractors and employees matters
• The ways you can be audited: IRS, DOL and states, with a focus on the IRS
• The IRS's current 3-factor test
• The older but still referenced 20-factor test
• Handling borderline situations
• Form SS-8 and what to do if a worker files one
• IRS relief programs: Section 530, Section 3509 and the voluntary compliance program

IRS audits on worker classification are rising, and states are also stepping up enforcement. This session helps you tell contractors and employees apart and know what to do if the IRS audits your business.

It suits payroll professionals, office managers, bookkeepers and accountants who handle worker classification or payroll records.

• Payroll Professionals
• Office Managers
• Bookkeepers
• Accountants

Jason Dinesen is the President of Dinesen Tax & Accounting, P.C., a public accounting firm in Indianola, Iowa. His practice focuses on accounting and bookkeeping services, tax preparation and business advising to individuals with a business focus ranging from home-based businesses to multistate corporations and not-for-profits. Dinesen has extensive experience working with a third-party administrator of retirement plans and is a prior presenter of multiple 1099 seminars. Dinesen majored in corporate communications with a minor in management from Simpson College