Freelance Taxes: Independent Contractor (1099) VS Employee (W2) - YouTube

I'm here with Bejan from Artisan Talent

You guys have had thousands of job run through your company over the last twenty to twenty-five

years

Right

That's right

Tell me about sort of some of the legal stuff I need to know.

What is for a start a 1099

A 1099 is somebody that at the end of the year gets a 1099 from the company that they

worked for meaning that they 're truly an independent contractor and there are no taxes

being taken out of the check that is being sent to you

Okay that sounds good

I like the no taxes part

Right

Again I'm fresh to this country

Sure

I'm not clear on a 1099 versus a W-2

What is a W-2 and how is it different or is it the same thing

Well the W-2 they're someone that is your record employer

So if you work for someone let's say you are a nine to five person you're going to get

a W-2 at the end of the year from your employer

Okay

As a freelancer though you can also receive a W-2 depending on your relationship with

your client

Okay cool

So one's more so freelance and one's more so full-time

Yeah and the W-2 is when taxes are taken out of the paycheck

Okay so how do I know if I'm a 1099 employee

How do I know if I need a 1099 form

Well if you don't know what a 1099 is you really shouldn't go down that path

Alright

So however to receive a 1099 from a company you truly want to be an independent contractor

meaning that you do have your own business you have your own clients and you're not really

relying on one particular client to give you the income for your year

Okay I've heard something like it's sort of like the eighty-twenty rule

If you get eighty percent of your income from one person then you kind of think of yourself

as an employee

That is a grey area and you need to be careful not only for yourself but for the company

that's hiring you can put them in a difficult situation

So let's say I'm a freelance contractor

Yeah

And I'm working as a graphic designer or a copywriter or what have you

I know I have to have an agreement or contract with whoever my client is

What are some of the things I should make sure are in my freelance contract

Okay so if you want to make sure that you're an independent contractor I'd say with your

client you want to make sure that you actually have an FEIN number federal tax I.D.

number

Or if you can create yourself as an LLC that makes it much easier for a company to work

with you as an independent contractor

Okay cool

That's very important

Okay cool and then other things like terms and conditions anything to keep an eye out

for

Well not really

The basic terms and conditions

You obviously want to get paid within thirty days you know those types of things

Those are very important

Okay cool

Well all of this I must say does make my head spin a little bit

Right

If I'm a graphic designer honestly I just want to design

If I'm an artist I want to do my art

Yeah

I appreciate that there is a shortcut here and that you've started a business based on

this shortcut

Right right

Just the idea of listing with a talent agency where the agency does it for me

So tell me if I listed with a company like Artisan what do you take care of

You know what do I have to take care of

How does that work

We really try to make it very streamline and really easy for the talent

You know when the talent comes in they're going to register with us

We're going to look at their portfolio look at their talent see what they're capable of

And we're most likely most talent if they don't have their own company they don't register

as an LLC we really are going to treat them as a W-2

What that means is that we really are going to take care literally all their taxes

You know they're going to get a paycheck

They hand in their timesheet and they get paid on Friday when they hand in their hours

on a Monday

It's that simple

Well that makes sense to me

So if I come in you'll figure out what I am

Am I a 1099 or a W-2 deal with me either way and I don't have to worry about all that kind

of stuff I can just do what I love to do

Exactly that's the point

Sounds pretty good to me

What would be a good first step if I want to get in touch and start that ball rolling

First step is to come to our website at artisantalent.com and you can register there

You can also go to any social media channels be it Twitter Facebook or LinkedIn and or

just send an email or a phone call that could happen as well.

Alright sounds good

And you guys are pretty much across the United States in the major metropolitan areas

Yeah we're in the major metropolitan areas

Okay cool

Thanks very much for your advice on this I appreciate it

Great thank you