A few months back I took a job offer from a company who, I know now, lied to me about the work I would be doing and what they would be paying me, but that's not really relevant, since the burden of proving that rests on me. The problem is they made me sign a contract that clearly stated I was an independent contractor, but at the same time as signing the contract they made me fill out a W9 for taxes. It's my understanding that a W9 is used for employees and a 1099 is for independent contractors. This brings us to my question, where does this leave my contract, me, and the legal status of my work and services rendered?
Thats tough. Really, if you are going to get into it with them, you'll want to consult a lawyer. I know your situation though, try and find some free legal advice from a lawyer friend or connection, so you don't have to pay for it. There is probably a lot to take into account. Good luck.
A W-9 is for an independent contractor, a W-4 is for an employee. You receive a 1099 at the end of the year for the wages you earned as an independent contractor. You receive a W-2 at the end of the year as an employee. You filled out the correct form.
Thanks for that. It does raise a new question in my mind as to why they are treating paying me and withholding taxes on my checks as if I'm an employee.
Thanks jaxrefinance, you've been helpful. I guess I'm back to the starting point of what does this all mean in regards to me, my contract, and services. I mean they're violating the law by withholding the taxes but not giving me a w-4, and this violation makes the contract valid.
What I would question is how they know how much to withhold... the info on the W-4 tells them how much to withhold. As to the status of your contract, I doubt I can be of any help but I think a phone call to the person on the other end who is responsible is in order. It doesn't have to be confrontational... you can just tell them that you see some inconsistencies and you would like to tidy things up a bit.
I'll actually be calling the IRS with that question tomorrow, to cover my bases come taxes. Once I've sorted out the monkey business in regards to my taxes, I'll talk to him about my contract.
I'd talk to him first. It could just be a misunderstanding, or a goof up. Accidents happen. And the contract standing, well, that really depends on your local law. Some states have it where if any part of the contract is proven invalid, than the entire contract is invalid. Others have it where only that specific clause it invalid. Funny thing is, the army failed to pay me my enlistment bonus. After about 6-8 months in (about 4-6 months after all my training) I started getting mad and going higher and higher about it. I received a letter saying I could feel free to exit the army based on an erroneous contract, or I could continue in with the rest of the contract. I decided to stay simply because I had gone through all the training. now I'm kicking myself for it