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Independent Contractor

Contractor payments, 1099 tracking, and compliance

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14 min read

Your Workers' Comp Premium Audit Is Coming: How to Pass Without a Surprise Bill

A workers' comp premium is payroll ÷ 100 × class rate × experience mod, so the year-end audit re-tests both variables against your actual records. This guide covers the three audit types and what triggers each, the documents auditors request, why overtime premium is only excludable when recorded separately by employee and week under NCCI Rule 2-B-2, the 2026 NCCI officer caps of $3,400 weekly maximum and $1,700 minimum, and why payments to a subcontractor without a current certificate of insurance get charged to you as payroll.

Mike Thrift

payrollinsuranceaudit
16 min read

Ghostwriting Agency Bookkeeping: Pricing Per-Word, Retainer, and Flat-Fee Work Without Losing Your Margin

How ghostwriting agencies account for the three pricing models — per-word, monthly retainer, and flat-fee book projects — including deferred-revenue entries for retainers, milestone versus cost-to-cost recognition on a $36,000 book, a 150-to-275-hour cost sheet for a 60,000-word business book, and the 1099-NEC and W-9 rules that keep contractor writers correctly classified.

Mike Thrift

creative-industriesfreelancerevenue-recognition
13 min read

New Jersey's New ABC Test Regulations Take Effect October 1, 2026: What Businesses Hiring Contractors Must Prove

New Jersey's ABC test regulations become operative October 1, 2026, clarifying that every worker is an employee unless you prove freedom from control, work outside your usual course or places of business, and an independently established trade — learn the three prongs, five common mistakes, and a pre-deadline audit checklist.

Mike Thrift

small-businesspayrollcompliance
17 min read

The DOL Wants to Simplify Independent Contractor Classification: What the Proposed Two-Factor Test Means for Small Businesses That Hire Freelancers

The DOL's February 2026 proposal would replace the six-factor totality test with a weighted two-factor standard focused on control and opportunity for profit or loss — here is how it works, what still depends on state law, and a checklist to audit your freelancer relationships now.

Mike Thrift

small-businesscomplianceindependent-contractor
19 min read

Translation and Interpreter Agency Bookkeeping: Per-Word and Per-Session Job Costing, Freelance Linguist 1099s, and the Utilization Rate That Separates 5% From 20% Margins

How translation and interpreting agencies should cost jobs by billable versus payable words and door-to-door session time, pay freelance linguists and file 1099-NECs, track utilization and overhead, and reconcile multi-currency and retainer cash flow to hold 30-50% gross margins and 15-25% net.

Mike Thrift

translation-agenciesbookkeepingjob-costing
9 min read

Mobile IV Therapy Bookkeeping: Corporate Practice of Medicine, Medical Director Fees, and Nurse Classification

Mobile IV and wellness injection bars must structure ownership as a physician-owned PC plus an MSO to satisfy corporate-practice-of-medicine rules, pay medical directors a flat monthly fee rather than a percentage of revenue, and classify nurses as W-2 employees in ABC-test states — each decision maps directly to a different chart-of-accounts structure.

Mike Thrift

healthcarecompliancebusiness-structure
6 min read

Stunt Performer and Freelance Entertainer Tax Deductions: Why W-2 vs. 1099 Decides Everything

W-2 performers permanently lost the deduction for unreimbursed job expenses, and the Qualified Performing Artist deduction's $16,000 AGI cap — frozen since 1986 — excludes most working artists. Self-employed stunt performers and entertainers paid on a 1099 can still deduct 100% of training, safety gear, demo reels, agent commissions, union dues, and audition mileage on Schedule C.

Mike Thrift

tax-deductionsself-employmentfreelance
7 min read

Cameo Creator Taxes: Why Your 1099 Won't Match Your Bank Deposits (and How to Book It Right)

Cameo's 1099-NEC reports your gross booking price, but the platform keeps 25% — and Apple takes another 30% on iOS orders — so booking only your net deposits creates an IRS mismatch and erases a deductible fee. Here's how to record gross revenue and platform fees separately, what the 15.3% self-employment tax costs once you clear $400, and the 2026 quarterly estimated-tax dates to calendar.

Mike Thrift

side-hustleself-employment-taxindependent-contractor
8 min read

Independent Courier Bookkeeping: 1099 Taxes, Deadhead Miles, and the Cost-Per-Mile Math That Decides a Route

How independent couriers and last-mile delivery drivers keep real books on 1099 income — the 1099-NEC and 1099-K reporting thresholds, a 25–30% tax set-aside habit, standard mileage vs. actual expenses, and a cost-per-mile formula that counts the 20–25% of miles driven deadhead to tell profitable routes from money-losers.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingindependent-contractorself-employment-tax
7 min read

Virginia HB 238: The Three-Year Pay Stub Retention Rule Now Binding Every Employer

Virginia's HB 238, effective July 1, 2026, requires every employer to retain pay statements for at least three years, presumes workers are employees unless the IRS contractor test is met, and imposes treble damages for knowing wage violations. Here is what changed in Va. Code § 40.1-29 and a retention checklist that also covers federal FLSA, IRS, and public-works rules.

Mike Thrift

payrollcompliancesmall-business
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