IRS auditors crackdown on independent contractors

Homeschool organizations may be affected by IRS audits of independent contractors.
IRS

According to CNNMoney, the IRS is going to do random audits of 6,000 companies that use independent contractors.

CNN Money: Auditors Crackdown on Indedendent Contractors

Homeschool organizations might be caught in the web if they are paying teachers as independent contractors.

Here’s what the article states:

(CNNMoney.com) — If your business uses independent contractors, get ready for new scrutiny. Hoping to boost tax revenue, the IRS and many state governments are cracking down on how companies classify their workers.

When employers report wages for independent contractors on IRS form 1099, rather than a W-2, they aren’t required to pay unemployment insurance, worker’s compensation insurance or payroll taxes for them. But the rules governing which workers are genuinely “independent” are strict — and often flouted.

The Internal Revenue Service launched a program last month that will randomly examine 6,000 companies over the next three years for employee misclassifications. The federal government estimates it will raise $7 billion over the next 10 through tighter enforcement.

Should you as a homeschool leader be concerned? Probably, if your organization has been paying people as independent contractors when they are really employees. How can you tell the difference?

My book Paying Workers in a Homeschool Organization can help clear a lot of confusion.

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