Employee or Independent Contractor? Classification Screener
Walk the factors the IRS and Department of Labor actually use — behavioural control, financial control, the relationship, and economic reality — and see which way they lean for your situation, with each factor named and the official guidance linked.
Works offline — your inputs never leave this device. How that works
The IRS weighs behavioural control, financial control, and the relationship between the parties; the Department of Labor applies an economic-reality test for wage-and-hour purposes. No single factor decides, and the two tests can point different ways for the same job.
Verified 2026-07-31 against IRS newsroom — tax year 2026 inflation adjustments (Rev. Proc. 2025-32); brackets/QBI cross-checked in Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the 2026 Form 1040-ES (effective 2026-01-01)
Estimate only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Only IRS can determine your actual amounts.
Official source: IRS — independent contractor or employee ↗
🎓 Understand this tool
What it is
A walk through the factors the IRS and Department of Labor apply when deciding whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor, showing which way the answers lean.
How it works
The IRS weighs three categories — behavioural control, financial control, and the relationship between the parties. The Department of Labor applies an economic-reality test for wage-and-hour purposes. Each factor here is labelled with the test and category it comes from, and the tally reports the lean rather than pronouncing an answer, because no single factor is decisive.
Getting the most from it
- Answer the factors that apply to your working relationship; skip any you are unsure about.
- Answer at least five to get a reading.
- Read the per-factor list, which shows which way each answer pointed and why.
- Follow the IRS guidance link for the full framework.
Reading your result
A mixed result is a real and common outcome, not a failure of the tool — the two tests can point in different directions for the same job, which is why some workers are contractors for tax purposes and employees for wage-and-hour purposes.
What it can't tell you
It is a screener, not a determination. Only an agency or a court decides classification, on the whole picture. Form SS-8 asks the IRS to rule for federal tax purposes; state tests differ and several are stricter. Wage-and-hour consequences are a question for an employment attorney.
Frequently asked questions
It weighs behavioural control (who directs how the work is done), financial control (investment, unreimbursed expenses, opportunity for profit or loss), and the relationship itself (benefits, permanency, whether the work is a key business activity). No single factor decides.
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