Sticky situation/IRS/IC status

• Sticky situation/IRS/IC status - SCMT
  • If this is your only job and the dictate when you work - sm - XXX
  • I think that both previous posters are wrong. - sm
  • That is incorrect.........sm - nm
  • This is strange, why would the tax place ask you - Hannah
    • I agree - sm

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Did you commit to working xx lines per day or accepting xx minutes of dictation each day? If so, it's not the company's problem if your daily routine changes and you have to work hours that are not convenient to you. A true IC gets the work done in a timely manner, no excuses. Your vent is exactly what gives WAH such a bad rap.

I'm sure this has been asked a million times, but I am an IC and I am thinking of going to employee status to get benefits.  My husband will be self-employed in 2 weeks and we will have no insurance or anything.  I love the freedom of being an IC but need bennies.  We have no kids but probably will in a year or two.  Would like to know who has done the switch and if you regret it.

Thanks

My local company is the cheapiest that I have found and never once have I had them separate in the laser printer and I have been using this for 15+ years.  I have very little waste as I just do continuous notes on the 8 1/2 sheets and cut apart before I deliver to the offices.  I pay $28.70 for 250 sheets  and that is with 2 slits along the side so it is easy for the girls to file into the charts.  True I go and pick up but it is only 10 miles from me.  I have searched and searched and found no place cheaper.  And like I said it has never peeled apart and I have had Avery, Viking, many nationals that have jammed in my laser printer before and never once have these.  And I like giving locals the business.   As for the perforated ones, it is $33 per 250 but I wasted too much for that and when it comes in a roll and you have to cut apart and it curls, too much work for me.  My 2 cents for the day.

Like I said below I buy my sticky paper through a place that prints up forms.  You will need to do some calling to see.  It is a little expensive but I provide that in my price.  Just do not buy the boxed stuff from Viking or Office Depot or Office Max as they do not not have the perforations on the sides so that when they peel the note it is smaller than the paper and fits on a piece of paper.   E-mail me if you have any questions.   But if you are in the Seattle area, there are a lot of paper places up there.  If you are doing overflow then the main MT should be able to tell you where to get the paper.  Also they might provide it as some accounts do.  Everyone is different.  But CONGRATS -- the first step is the hardest.  Knew you could do it.  Be sure to ask for lots of examples when you start.  Keep me informed.  Any questions you can e-mail me.   Patti  typing without glasses hope don't have many typos.

I use an 8 1/2 x 11 label size paper that has about 1/8" inch that peels back on each side so that it is smaller than the paper you place it on.  The clinics use it to put the chart notes in the charts.  I get it at a form place that makes it.  Avery makes 8 1/2 x 11 labels but you have to cut down the sides before you peel back the sheet to place it on the paper and it doesn't have great peel backs either.  Call local form places and sometimes they will have perforations 1" or so but I don't like that as you waste a lot when you have to begin another chart note and you have to be sure it is below one of the perforations.   Have been using this for 15 years now.  Did go with some national companies but the shipping got to be too much.  Again, call local paper and form places in your area and see if theymake it.  E-mail me wiht specific questions.

Patti

Hi, I have always used plain computer paper for my reports but have a new doctor who prefers me to use the "sticky" paper.  I was wondering if I should charge for the paper, since it is an added cost, and also if anyone knows where to purchase this paper.  Thanks.

Thanks for reminding me what they're called!   As for the RX thing, my pharmacy is the same way.  You know it's just a huge CYA thing, and creates many inconveniences for "us," but they don't want to fool with a lawsuit. 

Anyway, from what I've read here, either some places are okay, and others are in violation.  Fortunately it hasn't affected my life.  It's been interesting to read the different posts, though.

Thanks for your question about MPLite's built-in handling of sticky notes.

While in a session, click Tools | With Selected Files, Sticky Notes. A screen will ask you whether you want the program to separate them with Hard Returns, or page breaks. It also asks you to select the files you want to include in the Sticky Notes. The assembled notes will be in the TransMP StickyNotes folder, with a filename comprised of the the client's initials, the date, and the MT initials.

The Sticky Note function does not preserve any header/footers. If you need those included, use the PDF function, which also allows you to password protects the assembled PDF file.

If you have more question about MPLite, pls ask.

Vann Joe

www.goldviolin.com sells sticky Vinyl letters.  I have bought many, many sets and always keep one on hand.  They are also very large letters, for those of us with failing eyesight.  Lol

I thought that some of you who sell art, crafts, or other items like candles, Avon, scrapbooking, etc. might like to jump on this opportunity.  I had thought it would be an affordable opportunity for you to make some extra money with Christmas coming up.  However, so far no one appears to be interested.  Therefore, if I don't have at least 10 people interested by Nov. 20, I will scrap the idea. 

Moved from Sticky post...

Christmas IS celebrated on this website. If you do not celebrate Christmas, that is your prerogative.  However, if posts celebrating Christmas offends you, you might consider another site as we celebrate Christmas on this website and will do so every single year.  As the owner of this website, I am proud to say MERRY CHRISTMAS in celebration of Christ's birth.  I will not fall in line with others who are being politically correct and I do not expect others who celebrate Christmas to be forced to conform either.  Since over 95% of Americans celebrate Christmas, I do not see what the big deal is anyway.  For those who do not celebrate Christmas, I offer respect for whatever you do celebrate though I may not agree with your belief system.  In turn, I also would hope that you would respect what I celebrate.

Sheri Steadman
President
MTStars

Let it go. 

An employer should constantly evaluate the employment status of its workers to ascertain if any of them should be reclassified from an independent contractor to an employee. Misclassifying a worker could end up being quite costly in terms of time, money, and resources. If an employer is forced to reclassify independent contractors as employees, the payment of back taxes, penalties, and interest could create major financial problems. Ultimately, the risks of incorrect classification are borne by the employer. 

These factors should be used as indicators to determine whether sufficient control exists for a worker to be classified as an employee. However, they should serve only as a guide. They are subjective in nature, and each factor may not be present in all situations. Moreover, the weight apportioned to each one is not always constant. No single factor can determine a worker's status; all must be used in conjunction with each other to assess whether sufficient control is present to establish an employee-employer relationship. They are as follows.

1. Instructions. If the person for whom the services are rendered has the right to instruct the worker how, when, and where to work, then the worker is ordinarily an employee. This control factor is present if the employer retains the right to require compliance with the instructions, irrespective of whether the employer actually exerts the right to control. The instructions can be either oral or in the form of manuals and/or written procedures that state the details and means in which the result is to be achieved. In contrast, an independent contractor is responsible only for the end result.

2. Training. An employer trains workers by requiring them to work with experienced employees, holding training meetings, corresponding with them, or any of several other methods. By training a worker, the employer explicitly or implicitly states that the services to be rendered must be performed in a particular manner. The employer demonstrates a right to control by teaching the worker to achieve the desired results in that manner. Independent contractors, however, use their own methods and means to obtain a result and do not receive training from an employer.

3. Integration. If a worker's services are integrated into the business operations, then the worker is generally subject to direction and control. When the success or continuation of a business depends to an appreciable degree on the performance of certain services by a worker, those services are assumed to be subject to a certain amount of control by the employer.

4. Services Rendered Personally. The requirement that services must be rendered personally by the worker indicates that the employer is interested in the methods used to accomplish the work as well as in the result. Generally, inability to delegate the services to another individual indicates that the employer controls the details and means by which a result is to be achieved.

5. Hiring, Supervising, and Paying Assistants. if the employer hires, supervises, and pays a worker's assistants, then the employer has control over those assistants and the worker should be considered an employee. However, if the worker hires, supervises, and pays his own assistants and provides the employer with materials and labor under a contract in which the worker is responsible only for the results, he is an independent contractor.

6. Continuing Relationship. Continuous interaction between the worker and employer indicates an employee relationship. Such a relationship may exist in which work is performed at frequently recurring, though irregular, intervals.

7. Set Hours of Work. Establishing certain hours in which a worker is to perform a job indicates an employer's control. The fact that an employer can dictate a worker's hours is indicative of an employee relationship.

8. Full Time Required. If a worker must devote full time to the employer's business, the employer has control over the amount of time the individual actually spends working and, by implication, restricts the worker from performing other gainful work. In contrast, independent contractors are free to work when and for whom they choose.

9. Doing Work on Employer's Premises. Workers required to perform their services on the employer's premises when the work could be performed elsewhere are under the employer's control, which is beyond that which would ordinarily be exerted over an independent contractor. The importance of this factor depends on the nature of the services involved and the extent to which an employer generally requires its employees to perform services on its premises. Control over the place of work is indicated when the employer compels the worker to travel a designated route, canvass a territory within a certain time, or work at a specific place.

10. Order or Sequence Set. If an employer has the right to indicate the order or sequence in which work is to be performed, then the worker is probably an employee, particularly if the same results can be achieved in a different order or sequence.

11. Oral or Written Reports. The requirement that a worker submit regular reports to the employer can indicate a degree of control. It means the worker must account for his actions on the job to the employer.

12. Payment by the Hour, Week, or Month. When a worker is paid by the hour, week, or month and such payment is guaranteed, whether or not certain results are achieved, the worker is generally an employee. In contrast, payments made by the job or on a straight commission basis generally indicate that the worker is an independent contractor.

13. Payment of Business and/or Traveling Expenses. The IRS is of the view that when an employer pays a worker's business or traveling expenses, the worker is ordinarily an employee. Conversely, a worker who is paid on a job basis and must pay all incidental expenses is generally an independent contractor. Another issue to consider when evaluating this factor is the agreement between the employer and worker as to how such expenses are to be paid.

14. Furnishing Tools and Materials. If the employer furnishes tools, materials, and other equipment for a job, this indicates that the worker is an employee. Independent contractors ordinarily furnish their own tools and materials. In determining what the classification should be, the value of the tools and materials supplied to the worker should be considered as well.

15. Significant Investment. A significant investment by a worker in the facilities used in performing services for another is a factor that often establishes an independent contractor relationship. Conversely, the lack of investment in facilities indicates a dependence on the employer for the facilities--which means an employee relationship exists. The rationale is that whoever provides the equipment necessary to perform the services controls the use of the equipment.

16. Realization of Profit or Loss. A worker who stands the risk of suffering a financial loss or realizing financial gain as a result of providing services to the employer is generally an independent contractor. In contrast, a worker who has no risk of financial loss is usually an employee.

17. Working For More Than One Firm. If a worker performs services for more than one unrelated person or firm at the same time, it generally indicates that the worker is an independent contractor.

18. Making Services Available to the Public. Workers who make their services available to the general public on a regular and consistent basis are usually independent contractors.

19. Right to Discharge. Employers generally possess the right to discharge only employees. The threat of dismissal demonstrates a degree of control over workers. In contrast, the IRS's viewpoint is that independent contractors cannot be fired unless they violate the terms of the contract for services rendered.

20. Right to Terminate. If the worker providing the services can terminate the relationship with the employer at any time without incurring liability, an employee relationship usually exists. Conversely, an independent contractor engaged to accomplish a task or provide a service may incur a legal liability if the relationship is unilaterally terminated before the results of the task are accomplished.

These 20 factors may not always be appropriate for determining a worker's employment status, especially in the case of a professional, such as a physician, lawyer, or dentist. Control may not be the dominant issue in determining a professional's employment status. Revenue Rulings 72-203 and 66-274 state that other factors should be considered when determining the employment status of a professional, taking into consideration the skill required for the task, the intent of the parties involved in the employment relationship, and the custom in the industry.

Have been an IC-MTSO for close to 20 years.  Deduct my office part of the house, phone, internet, cell phone, mileage for anything work related including banking, errands,  (of course  I pick up and deliver and that give me a $5,000 write off), medical insurance payments, retirement contributions,  supplies,  partial utilities.   Start out with 50 to 55K and pay my SS taxes on 12 to 15K.  To me it is well worth it.  I always over withheld from my husband pay check or just paid the small penalty at the end of the year but you can do quarterlies.   I went to a tax guy for one year saw how he did it and then just bought Turbo Tax and followed him.   Works well for me.   Sure his fee is deductible but you still gotta pay it.  I prepared so much for him that I felt I could just as easily plug those figures in as his "help" so that is what I do.  Any more questions, youcan e-mail me at pjsword @aol.com.

Patti

I have a question about independent contractor status. Have do you pay taxes? Can you deduct office supplies, electricity, etc? If anyone have information please let me know. Thank you.

I am currently an IC with a small service and would like to venture out on my own to make more money.  My service now takes 25% of my earnings each month and this seems a little high to me. 

What I would like to know is how should I determine a line rate with new docs? Or starting out on my own.  I have 3 years experience and have also worked in a hospital setting. Any feedback would be appreciated.

I have also found that a designated line for my C-phone to work the best.  Open up a checking account for your business and write all checks for your business expenses out of this account, i.e. phone, supplies, internet, etc.  Easier to keep track of this.  Deposit only into this account.   Keep track of mileage pertaining to your business, banking, supplies, meetings, etc.  Every mile helps.  If you are married have you husband up his witholdings to cover your taxes.  Easier that way.  If you were only PT at the national keep both for a while to keep you going as it is sometimes slow in the beginning.  Hopefully this one doctor will lead to more for you.  Good luck, write back with more questions.   I used to do contracts at first but found that if either one of us wanted to part ways, the contract did not help out that much.  If you do one,  I would basically just outline simply what each person would provide and state what was expected  regarding TAT, etc.  But it already sounds like you have that covered.    Good luck.

Patti

I would really urge you to look up IC status on the Internet -- the IRS has recently changed their stance and established behavioral control as one of their yardsticks for independent contractor status.  I can tell you this, their first rule has always been that there has to be a contract.  The advantage in your situation is that the onus is always on the employer--that is, if the IRS were to determine that you had been treated as an employee since November, the physician's office would be liable for back pay, back benefits, back paying overtime -- all of that.  And the IRS would most likely find against them because the IRS would much prefer collecting taxes from an employer than 1000s of ICs around the country.  You have all the leverage here, when you in a strategic position to make a stand, you should.