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The authors discuss problems with the implementation of the IRS Classification Settlement Program which was instituted as a means to efficiently deal with employer-IRS worker classification disputes. The authors' five month investigation resulted in the finding that IRS agents were not offering the program to employers.

The IRS has found many businesses liable for not withholding taxes from the salaries of independent contractors during compliance checks. Unfortunately, the IRS does not bother to check if the independent contractors have paid taxes on their own. Congress added Section 530 to the 1978 Revenue Act to protect employers against retroactive assessment of employment taxes when independent contractors are reclassified by the IRS as regular employees. Seven rules which employers may use in providing the IRS details about independent contractors are presented. Twenty questions which may be used to determine the status of independent contractors are also presented., INTRODUCTION Your business, whether large, medium or small, generally carries on its business with full-time employees with some part-time employees to handle the day-to-day operations. On occasion, however, you may [...]

Employing independent contractors can get you into tax trouble. Some tips for staying out. Using independent contractors to supplement nursing home staffing is commonplace. Shortages of registered nurses, physical therapists, [...]

Small business owners can take some steps to defend their use of independent contractors in cases when the IRS challenges their worker classification scheme. Specifically, small business must prepare their defense in the areas of data collection by requesting for the assistance of their accountant, who will know how to proceed. If the IRS agent asks for a reclassification of workers, companies can seek 'safe haven' in Section 530., Plenty, when it comes to classifying workers as independent contractors or employees. Here's how you can defend your choice of worker if the IRS comes calling. One day, you get [...]

The IRS interpretation of IRC section 530 regarding classification of independent contractors and employees released in a recent Technical Advice Memorandum is contrary to case law and should not be followed. Case law established that a taxpayer demonstrating a reasonable basis for independent contractor treatment of workers is eligible for relief under IRC section 530. The IRS claims that a two-part test must be satisfied. The IRS test classifies the worker and then asks whether section 530 relief is available.

The IRS has renewed its efforts to crack down on small privately owned businesses that use the services of independent contractors. This crackdown is part of the Employment Tax Enforcement Program which was launched in the late 1980s. Under it the IRS has been conducting more 'compliance checks' and is working on internal guidelines for examinees covering specific industries. Despite the stricter enforcement of the worker classification rules, taxpayers using independent contractors can still seek relief under Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978. To qualify for any one of the section's three safe havens, the employer must have filed on time all necessary returns regarding the worker holding with nonemployee status. In addition, the employer must not have treated the worker in the same way as an employee after 1977. Even if these conditions are not met, relief can still be made available to taxpayers who can provide a good reason for not treating a worker as an employee.

This article deals with the issue of classifying real estate appraisers as independent contractors for employment tax purposes. Based on their experiences representing and advising more than 75 companies in a broad range of industries throughout the United States, and based on their experience taking a case through trial in U.S. District Court, the authors discuss the events that have shaped the current opinions and practices regarding such classification and offer practical guidelines for businesses that use independent contractors. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.), Do you believe that real estate appraisers are independent contractors? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) thinks they are not, and even forced one real estate appraisal business to defend itself [...]

A business that claims a worker as an independent contractor rather than an employee is nearly always asking for trouble with the Internal Revenue Service. Making such a claim automatically [...]

Unbiased, objective evaluations of quality of care are preferred over subjective evaluations. We observed 681 admissions to a pediatric intensive care unit of a community hospital from 1989 through 1990 for outcomes and physiologic profiles of the patients on the admission day using the Pediatric Risk of Mortality score to assess severity of illness. Mortality adjusted for severity of illness was compared with that predicted from a pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary medical center: 32.6 deaths were predicted based on the physiologic profiles, and 23 occurred. The number of outcomes and their distribution according to mortality risk indicated close agreement between observed and predicted results. Thus, a quality-assurance technique developed in tertiary care centers can be used to indicate a comparable level of care in a community hospital., Claims of providing quality pediatric intensive care are common but difficult to prove. Subjective medical record reviews of morbidity and mortality are a traditional method of assessing care but are [...]

Real estate S corporations often face termination of S status due to accumulated earnings and profits (E&P) and excessive passive income. S corporations with prior C corporation status that have accumulated E&P at the end of the taxable year will lose S status in cases where passive income exceeds 25% of gross receipts for three consecutive years. Rental income is often considered passive by the IRS. Owners performing additional services of a substantial nature not incidental to the realization of return on real estate investments greater than those necessary to maintain occupancy will be determined to have self-employment income and avoid having the rental income classified as passive. There is a fine line in the determination of how much additional service turns rental income from passive income into self-employment, so real estate S corporations should obtain a ruling from the IRS.

The Internal Revenue Service has unveiled two new programs dealing with worker classifications and also released a draft of its training manual for IRS agents who conduct employment tax audits. [...]

Despite its profound toxicity and wide distribution, poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) is an uncommon cause of poisoning in children. We report a case of poison hemlock ingestion. Report of a [...]

PHILADELPHIA -- For years, the Internal Revenue Service has attempted to ignore the safe haven provisions of Section 530 of the revenue act of 1978 when it came to defining [...]