Contract vs. Employee

[smg101089]

Help! I'm a registered nurse and I work at the hospital PRN (which is 48 hours/month). I get a w-2 for my employment there. I took a second job at a small plastic surgeons office working a few hours a month, depending on how busy he is, but they put me down as a contract employee. I did not have taxes withdrawn, but set money aside and was prepared to pay. But after receiving my 1099-NEC form and doing some of my own research, I believe I should be receiving a w-2 for this employment instead. The reason I question this is because when doing my taxes I'm having to claim a buisness and pay a self-employee fee, which I am neither... any help is appreciated!

[Anonymous_]

See https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-self-employed-o...

and

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc762

[smg101089]

Yes thank you, I have read that while doing research on my own. Another issue is the office manager is new and "wasn't sure" when I asked her. Based on the 3 criteria:

1. Behavioral: Does the company control or have the right to control what the worker does and how the worker does his or her job?
   **Yes, the control how and what I do... they tell me what roles of my job to perform in the OR and I follow their standard of practice. 
2. Financial: Are the business aspects of the worker’s job controlled by the payer? (these include things like how worker is paid, whether expenses are reimbursed, who provides tools/supplies, etc.)
   **I get paid regularly by the payer, they provide all the tools and supplies, and I don't need anything reimbursed bc that is not the aspect of the job working as a nurse.
3. Type of relationship: Are there written contracts or employee type benefits (that is, pension plan, insurance, vacation pay, etc.)? Will the relationship continue and is the work performed a key aspect of the business?
   **They don't provide a pension plan, insurance, or vacation pay (but neither does my hospital job that I get a w-2 for). But they do provide perks such as free services and process

Therefore... I believe I should be receiving a W-2 instead of 1099-NEC, but just hoping for a professional opinion/response and not just based on my assumptions from the IRS webiste. 

[JamesG1]

Are you aware of Form SS-8, Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding?  See the form and instructions here.

A worker may file Form SS-8 to request a determination of the status of a worker for purposes of federal employment taxes and income tax withholding.

Filing a Form SS-8 requesting a “worker status” determination means you or the firm is asking the Service to establish if the services you provide to the firm are those of an employee or an independent contractor.

I have helped individuals prepare form SS-8 and always caution that the process takes time and could generate a negative response from the employer.  

Best wishes.

@smg101089 

[smg101089]

No I was not aware of that form. I did see while doing my taxes on Turbotax an option where I can check I think I should have received a w-2 instead of a 1099-Nec form. Does that generate this form? 

Another thing to mention, out of the 4 nurses that work there and we all share the same responsibilites, I am the only one who got a 1099-NEC form. The others were hired under a different office manager, which is why I also think mine is incorrect.

[DawnC]

I am not sure where you saw the message 'I should have received a w-2 instead of a 1099-nec', but Form SS-8 is not supported by TurboTax, so I doubt that message will generate the SS-8 form.  

The form and instructions are below.   Filing a Form SS-8 requesting a “worker status” determination means you or the firm is asking the Service to establish if the services you provide to the firm are those of an employee or an independent contractor.    

Form SS-8 PDF

Instructions for Form SS-8 (Print versionPDF)