Employee or Indendent Contractor as a Senior Caregiver

[bcl17]

This past summer (about 3 months), I had the opportunity to work for a small home care agency as a senior caregiver that hired me as an "independent contractor." Scheduling was quite flexible and work places was at the home of the seniors I would be caring for. In preparation for taxes, I was looking around for ways to make transportation expenses as deductibles (with confusing conclusion considering that I only worked for 3 months, possibly making my work locations "temporary"??), despite home locations mostly being close to my home. Within this time of research, I saw that there have been wrongful classifications of senior caregivers by home care agencies as "independent contractor," when they really fit more of an employee under the home care agency; thus, I should be taxed within the terms of W-2 rather than 1099. Which information is correct and would I fall under as an employee in the eyes of the IRS when filing, despite my employer declaring me an independent contractor to receive less tax payments?

For more information, I just realized that I signed a W-2 form that states that the home care agency should have been withholding my tax payments from my checks, but they did not work with this format. Rather, I had an hourly (say $15), and if I worked 10 hours, I would get the full $150, no tax payments withheld.

[Mike9241]

this is what the IRS says are factors to consider. no one factor is determinative 

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc762 

or file complete and file form SS-8 with the iRS

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss8.pdf 

how fast the IRS will respond to filing the ss-8 is unknown

ss-8 instructions

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iss8.pdf 

note that as an employee none of your "business" expenses are deductible.

you could not have signed a w-2 form because the form does not have and does not require a signature

more likely a w-4 but signing that form is not determinative.

your other option is to contact the agency and ask them to correct the 1099 (void it) and issue you a w-2. they may have the right to demand you return the portion that would have been withheld for fica and medicare taxes 7.65%. you could also mention you'll be filing form SS-8 with the IRS to make the determination if they say no. 

[bcl17]

Okay I see. May I redirect the question to deductibles regarding transportation. I mostly traveled from my home to the seniors' houses to work. Sometimes I had multiple clients with varying times of the day, sometimes one after the other, and other times much later than others requiring me to go home first and leaving from home to the next senior home. I am confused as to whether my home would count as a temporary work location or the basis of having no "work location" at all and whether travels from my personal home to the work location would count as miles that I can deduct.

[Hal_Al]

If, as an independent contractor*,  you go to 2 or more job sites in a single day then the 2nd trip is deductible as an business expense. For example you leave home drive 5 miles to the 1st job then drive 10 miles to the 2nd site. At the end of the day you drive 15 miles home. Only the 10 miles between jobs is deductible. The first trip in the morning, from home and the last trip at night back home are considered commuting (even for the self employed) and are not deductible.

*W-2 employees are not allowed any mileage deductions (effective with the 2018 tax law changes).