Quarterly taxes for self employed

Laurie,

Tax avoidance becomes tax EVASION, for both parties, and you are
looking at BIG fines or worse. 
I AM paying taxes and not avoiding anything on the money I earn
from my "contract" job plus anything else I earn privately. I know
about the penalties and have no intention of paying the government
anything else, heaven knows they take way to much from all of us! 

Well, I’m sorry, you are very incorrect. You may THINK you are
paying taxes as a self-employed person, because you THINK you are
one. However, in the situation described, you ARE an employee, plain
and simple.

As a self-employed person, you are allowed many deductions that an
employee is not. I would assume you have been filing your Fed taxes
as a self-employed person.

When the IRS discovers that you are actually an employee, according
to THEIR guidelines, all those deductions will be disallowed and
penalties added. PLUS, a fine which accrues interest every 30 days
from date of infraction, not date of discovery.

Laurie, you are poorly informed. I don’t think you are a criminal,
but your employer is, by definition. He will get hit hardest, but
you will feel a lot of pain if you don’t get some professional tax
help, and not from the so-called accountant who is “helping” you
now.

Most state revenue agencies will conduct a free audit without
penalty on errors they find like this, might want to check out if
your state offers that.

In case you’re wondering, I made the same mistake 33 years ago. As
an employer. Very expensive. Then got audited every year for the
next four years.

Good luck.
Wayne Emery

He will get hit hardest, but you will feel a lot of pain if you
don't get some professional tax help, and not from the so-called
accountant who is "helping" you now. 

Potentially - even likely from what’s been said - IF the IRS does
become involved they’ll just put a seal on the door and anything
inside will go “Poof”.

if it even SMELLS like the guy is calling you a C to avoid or
lower taxes, insurance, etc., both of you can come to great legal
and financial harm. 

Would somebody with professional legal experience please comment on
this?

When I ran a business, it seemed very clear that any governmental
legal and financial harm from making this mistake fell entirely on
the employer. I have never heard of an employee being accused of
fraud, or penalized in any way, as a result of being claimed as an
independent contractor. As John points out, there can, of course, be
great harm e.g. if you are injured and can’t collect workers comp
(which unfortunately, in California at least, has been pretty much
gutted anyway–they even took away my permanent medical award). But
this is a different kind of harm.

Lisa Orlando
Albion, CA, US

PS: My first-ever post to Orchid was in response to a similar
question about workers comp.

Can’t believe I’ve been posting for almost four years. Maybe you all
could use a break!

Potentially - even likely from what's been said - IF the IRS does
become involved they'll just put a seal on the door and anything
inside will go "Poof". 

This just brought up a memory for me. About 5 years ago, I had to
separate from a business I was involved in. Everything went fine
with the buyout…all the way up until it was time for them to cut
the check. I had to pursue the matter in small claims and I won. Come
to find out, if a matter goes to small claims and the person still
doesn’t pay you…the local marshal goes to them and sells off
whatever he/she needs to in order to satisfy the claim. Though I
didn’t have to go that far, I found it very comforting that the court
was willing to back me up all the way to the end.

An independent contractor by definition is an employer, NOT an
employee!

Ray