#independent-contractor
Contractor payments, 1099 tracking, and compliance
A show-level bookkeeping system for comedy clubs — separate ticket, drink-minimum, and food revenue, settle performers from a written door-split formula, hold sales tax and tips as liabilities, and defer private-event deposits until the show is delivered.
The EU Platform Work Directive (2024/2831) must become national law in all member states by December 2, 2026, creating a rebuttable presumption that platform workers are employees. US businesses hiring EU-based freelancers through digital platforms face reclassification risk, algorithmic transparency duties, and new data-processing bans — this guide covers the six pillars, a 10-month compliance playbook, and the bookkeeping changes to make now.
H.R. 1319, the Modern Worker Empowerment Act, would replace the DOL's six-factor economic reality test with a single common-law standard for worker classification under both the FLSA and NLRA, centered on two prongs — control over the work and entrepreneurial opportunity — while explicitly excluding safety rules and project deadlines as evidence of control. Here's how it compares to the ABC test, what it wouldn't change, and the contractor bookkeeping checklist to run while the bill is pending.
California's Freelance Worker Protection Act (SB 988) has been enforceable since January 1, 2025. Learn who is covered at the $250 aggregated threshold, the six required contract terms, the 30-day payment backstop, four-year retention, double-damages risk, and a bookkeeping playbook to keep your AP calendar and vendor files compliant in 2026.
New Jersey adopted final ABC test regulations on May 5, 2026, effective October 1 — applying the same three-prong test across unemployment, wage and hour, and wage payment laws. Learn how remote work and app-based control change the analysis, the per-worker penalties, and a six-step audit to complete before the deadline.
For payments made on or after January 1, 2026, the federal 1099-NEC/1099-MISC reporting threshold rose from $600 to $2,000 under P.L. 119-21 — but royalties ($10), attorney gross proceeds ($600), and backup withholding on any withheld amount are unchanged. Here is the vendor-onboarding and W-9 workflow that prevents penalties either way.
The DOL's February 26, 2026 proposal (RIN 1235-AA46) would replace the 2024 six-factor contractor test with a two-factor economic-reality analysis weighing control and opportunity for profit or loss. Here is what changes, why the 2024 rule is in enforcement limbo, and what to document in your books now while the rescission is pending.
Virginia HB 238 makes general contractors automatically jointly and severally liable for wages owed to a subcontractor's employees on construction contracts entered on or after July 1, 2026 — regardless of knowledge, and even when sworn payroll certifications say wages were paid. Here is what changed and how to reduce the exposure with tighter contracts, verified payroll, and clean job-cost accounting.
The 21st Century Worker Act (S. 2159) would set one federal classification test and add a third "mutual election" category letting a business and worker jointly choose contractor or employee status, defaulting to contractor if they disagree. Here is what it would change for freelancer bookkeeping and how to keep contractor records defensible now.
A booth renter is a separate business, not a salon employee — rent is a Schedule C expense, client payments arrive with nothing withheld, and 15.3% self-employment tax plus quarterly 1040-ES estimates are the renter's alone. This guide covers the IRS control tests, which 1099s and W-9s each side owes, and the account structure that keeps a chair rental defensible in an audit.
Product sent to a creator in exchange for promotion is taxable at fair market value under IRC Section 61 — a $400 PR box you review is $400 of Schedule C gross receipts, plus 15.3% self-employment tax on net profit. The 1099-NEC filing threshold rising from $600 to $2,000 changes only when a brand must issue a form, never whether you must report the income.
An $840 twelve-session package is a liability, not income — you recognize $70 each time you deliver. This guide covers the deferred revenue journal entries, breakage and refund handling, the IRS control test that decides whether a trainer is W-2 or 1099-NEC, and the pricing math that shows a $70 package session leaving $40 after a $30 fixed-cost floor.
