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Patti's right, IC status only cost you $300...sm

Posted By: Old MT on 2006-02-11
In Reply to: taxes - Patti

7.5% of $4000 which is your self-employment tax. The rest would be the same whether you made it as an employee. And don't forget, the tax refund is your own money coming back at you after the government used it for a year. So don't be too gleeful about a big "refund."


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agree with Patti and can't believe how many people freak over having IC status...sm
just over the taxes. I mean, we're all grown ups here right? Get over it.
You're probably doing nothing wrong, employee status seems to be the norm with IC status primaril
SE status instead of IC? For me,SE status is heaven -with part of taxes paid and flexibility in my schedule. Have you ever applied to MDI-MD? They only accept qualified, experienced MTs and stress quality in their transcription. From what I read of your qualifications, it sure would be worth contacting them.

Per "see mssgs" comment regarding age discrimination later on in this discussion, I'm 64 - no problem getting hired at a line rate higher than average. Age is not a factor with MDI-MD - knowledge and quality is !!!
Who has gone from IC status to employee status? sm

I'm sure this has been asked a million times, but I am an IC and I am thinking of going to employee status to get benefits.  My husband will be self-employed in 2 weeks and we will have no insurance or anything.  I love the freedom of being an IC but need bennies.  We have no kids but probably will in a year or two.  Would like to know who has done the switch and if you regret it.


Thanks


Are you asking about IC status or employee status? sm
As an IC, I must have a contract before I will work.  However, never heard of employee status signing a contract. 
Patti, I'm a big fan of yours
I always make a point of reading your posts. You should do some sort of column. The networks do pay well for transcription. They can afford to only charge $20 per transcript because they sell hundreds of them. Keep in mind that the Transcriptionist is producing a product that they mass produce and make a huge profit on.
hi patti ...
I'm in lower Westchester County, NY, about 1/2 hour north of NYC. Do you know of a good, reputable MT company that I can contact?

Thanks ...
Joanne
Thanks Patti
I'll ask about it again this evening if there is still no check in my mail box when I get home.  At least I am not doing this full-time.  I have an outside FT job and I do this in the evenings for supplemental income, but I still need it as I am on my own. I have learned my lesson about not signing a contract again that states I get paid when the client pays them, never again.  I've started sending out resumes, might as well get ready to move on. 
thanks again Patti...
I was just doing the math for the 3$ per page with sample copies in Word, and it wasn't adding up (many more lines on a page than I had anticipated. I thought a page would only have 30 lines or so...not!) You all are GREAT. All this advice is helping tremendously.
Patti, you are right...
I used to have my own accounts and at my highest, I made $60,000. I have gone to remote only and my income has dropped significantly. I just wanted to give my input and back you up, you are absolutely right!
To Patti

Hello Patti


I definitely agree that this can be done.  I believe back 3-4 years ago, you might have been the one who inspired me to get my own accounts and even offered me wonderful technical information.  I am not sure though.  Anyway, I am offering you my support.  I make about $30/hr, but I only work about 7 hours a week as an MT.  I have great dictators, use expanders, and charge 0.13 cents per line.  The other MTs in the area charge about 0.15 cents per line, and the one that I asked said she made $45,000 last year working part time.  It can be done.  Good for you.  Keep up the good work!


Patti - sm

Their fee is $40 a month, which I didn't think was too bad.  The total I will be paying them is almost what I am paying now.  The difference will be the interest rates and time it takes to pay them off.  My husband is really upset that we are going to do this, but as I said before, I don't see any other way.  I am keeping one credit card with a low limit for emergencies, travel, etc. and the rest of them will be history!!  When I get out of this mess, it will never happen again.  Again, I appreciate your info.


Patti....

you don't need to explain yourself to Tikki (aka Kikki) or anyone else on this board.  You took a bashing about the cookies and now about tapes, and money for gas, and on and on and on and on.


You are obviously a very successful and talented MTSO/MT/WOMAN.  I admire you.  May you continue to have good fortune shine down on you.


 


 


Patti, maybe if you... sm
explain to her that not capping a brand name drug would be like you lower casing her name (or the doc's name). Maybe that would help.  =)
Hi Patti!

Boy Patti
You've been one busy little MT today posting left and right under all these different names of yours about your 1,000 sq foot mansion on the water and your hefty checking account of $20K a year!  Okay, it's gorgeous, the most beautiful home we've all ever seen and could ever imagine having and with a yearly income like you've got, well who needs to win the lottery?  LOLLOLLOL.
Patti - sm
Could/would you be willing to post a picture of the views?
And we wish you the same Patti.

May you one day realize your life is worth living and trying to impress people on newsboards with what little you have is not necessary to make your life whole or meaningful. 


Prayers and blessings be with you honey.



Thank you Patti ---- nm
.
I do like Patti. sm
I have created a simple macro to do it for me as my accounts have rather small margins that need to be changed to get 65 characters/spaces in a line. My macro highlights the whole document, changes the margins to 1 and 0.9, and then changes the font to courier 12, very quickly.
I like Patti too.
LOL
Thanks Patti! NM
:)
Thanks Patti ...
Your reply is so encouraging--I thought that sounded a little "squirrely."  In my opinion, this office mgr has been misleading me ever since I started work there, and really was not too disappointed in leaving, even though I liked the other people very much!
I know you did, Patti--sm
and I appreciated it. At that point in time, there were only a few that did support me and most of the ones that did not believe me really were pretty nasty about the whole thing. I really detest being called a liar when I know I am not. I know how hard you work too, and you are so smart about taxes and all, and you really help out so many people on this board. You are a really great person! You have had your days with some of these people criticising your ways of doing things too in the past, so believe me, I know what it feels like. I so envy you! Take care, and have a great evening. (I was able to do 58000 gross lines this month--37000 the past two weeks, so we are pretty comparable)! :^)
To Patti

I know you are busy and I don't want to interrupt you, but you are so knowledgeable about tax questions and I thought maybe you could help me, somehow.   If you could possibly email me, I would really appreciate it, as I do not want to divulge personal tax info on this site.   thanks so much.  When you have time, of course.   


WOW Patti
That is an awesome line daily line count!  Is that consistent, every day or nearly every day?  Do you use shortcut software?  How have you been able to escape wrist, neck, shoulder stuff? 
To Patti
I want to go out on my own but don't quite know where to begin.  Please e-mail me.  TIA. 
We really need to know if Patti follows BOS?
If so, then Hayseed is correct.  If not, then she may or may not use a dash as she so desires.  Same rule would apply, I guess, for the comma....   LOL    
Thanks Patti!
Thank you Patti
Thanks Patti

I will only be typing short letters to referring docs. I have listened to some of types and you are right about the meds. I had trouble with some of the topical creams. 


Thanks Again


Patti

Patti,


I have had the same account(oncology) for five years. I would also like to pick up other accounts; however, this doctor keeps me sooo busy it is almost impossible to transcribe for someone else. I have picked up dermatology account, but only 26-30 letters per month.


I am going on vacation in June for about three days and worried sick about coming back from vacation and having to type over 200 notes!! This doctor sees over 75 patients a day and also has a Saturday clinic (40-50 patients). Any suggestions????


Thanks Patti!


Hello Patti

The medications is what I am having a hard time with as the doctor tends to mumble and speaks very fast. His notes are very short, no OP notes.


What usual drug pages are you referring to - Is this a list that you have started?   


       


Hi Patti--sm
Congrats on attempting digital!! I think you will like it once you get used to it.

Anyway, whether you transfer a file through e-mail or FTP, you will still retain a copy of it on your computer until you decide to delete it. Once you have the file on your computer, you can transfer a copy to any of your ICs and still keep the original for yourself. Your ICs can go to the FTP and download also, but they have to be set up with the FTP site to do that. It is kind of like *permission*. They have to have a user ID and password, just like you will have, to be able to access the file.

I wish you all kinds of luck! ks.
Thanks Patti

So, there is NO WAY to do any kind of short cuts???


Thanks 


Thank you Patti....
I appreciate a response coming from another Transcriptionist trying to keep everybody happy.
Patti
too funny!  I have a keyboard like that.  When I worked in-house I went through three or four keyboards because the letters were gone.  The IT people hated to work on my computer because they did not know where the letters were.
Patti is right
It is easier to use plain good quality paper for everything and not waste time switching paper. It is so much more efficient to print the letterhead and some print jobs you can load and walk away without directing documents to bins and sheetfeeders and even can generate the envelopes all at the same time. One client I have I do this for. They thought they didn't want it until it started and now they are sold. Just raise your rates to pay for the extra expense and by all means use only laser. You can even pick up a used HP laser at some printer repair places refurbished. I have one new one and an old HP workhorse that cost me little and keeps on going and going and going day in and day out. About once a year I get it cleaned and serviced for less than $100.00 and it is so much faster than ink jet and I too only buy about two or three cartridges a year. Take advantage of their request and make it work for you too!
Thanks Patti. I'm definitely going to
check out transcriptiongear.com and am in the process of doing more research on this but trying to do this quickly so I don't lose this opportunity.  Thanks again for the info!
Hi Patti...
Thanks for responding, for the advice, and tips.

I see where you guys just talked about this and I got a lot of info. there as well.

Thanks.
Thanks patti! (sm)

I can't wait to run these ideas and things past our big boss.  Hope it helps them.


 


 


What status are you?


An employer should constantly evaluate the employment status of its workers to ascertain if any of them should be reclassified from an independent contractor to an employee. Misclassifying a worker could end up being quite costly in terms of time, money, and resources. If an employer is forced to reclassify independent contractors as employees, the payment of back taxes, penalties, and interest could create major financial problems. Ultimately, the risks of incorrect classification are borne by the employer. 


 


These factors should be used as indicators to determine whether sufficient control exists for a worker to be classified as an employee. However, they should serve only as a guide. They are subjective in nature, and each factor may not be present in all situations. Moreover, the weight apportioned to each one is not always constant. No single factor can determine a worker's status; all must be used in conjunction with each other to assess whether sufficient control is present to establish an employee-employer relationship. They are as follows.


 


1. Instructions. If the person for whom the services are rendered has the right to instruct the worker how, when, and where to work, then the worker is ordinarily an employee. This control factor is present if the employer retains the right to require compliance with the instructions, irrespective of whether the employer actually exerts the right to control. The instructions can be either oral or in the form of manuals and/or written procedures that state the details and means in which the result is to be achieved. In contrast, an independent contractor is responsible only for the end result.


 


2. Training. An employer trains workers by requiring them to work with experienced employees, holding training meetings, corresponding with them, or any of several other methods. By training a worker, the employer explicitly or implicitly states that the services to be rendered must be performed in a particular manner. The employer demonstrates a right to control by teaching the worker to achieve the desired results in that manner. Independent contractors, however, use their own methods and means to obtain a result and do not receive training from an employer.


 


3. Integration. If a worker's services are integrated into the business operations, then the worker is generally subject to direction and control. When the success or continuation of a business depends to an appreciable degree on the performance of certain services by a worker, those services are assumed to be subject to a certain amount of control by the employer.


 


4. Services Rendered Personally. The requirement that services must be rendered personally by the worker indicates that the employer is interested in the methods used to accomplish the work as well as in the result. Generally, inability to delegate the services to another individual indicates that the employer controls the details and means by which a result is to be achieved.


 


5. Hiring, Supervising, and Paying Assistants. if the employer hires, supervises, and pays a worker's assistants, then the employer has control over those assistants and the worker should be considered an employee. However, if the worker hires, supervises, and pays his own assistants and provides the employer with materials and labor under a contract in which the worker is responsible only for the results, he is an independent contractor.


 


6. Continuing Relationship. Continuous interaction between the worker and employer indicates an employee relationship. Such a relationship may exist in which work is performed at frequently recurring, though irregular, intervals.


 


7. Set Hours of Work. Establishing certain hours in which a worker is to perform a job indicates an employer's control. The fact that an employer can dictate a worker's hours is indicative of an employee relationship.


 


8. Full Time Required. If a worker must devote full time to the employer's business, the employer has control over the amount of time the individual actually spends working and, by implication, restricts the worker from performing other gainful work. In contrast, independent contractors are free to work when and for whom they choose.


 


9. Doing Work on Employer's Premises. Workers required to perform their services on the employer's premises when the work could be performed elsewhere are under the employer's control, which is beyond that which would ordinarily be exerted over an independent contractor. The importance of this factor depends on the nature of the services involved and the extent to which an employer generally requires its employees to perform services on its premises. Control over the place of work is indicated when the employer compels the worker to travel a designated route, canvass a territory within a certain time, or work at a specific place.


 


10. Order or Sequence Set. If an employer has the right to indicate the order or sequence in which work is to be performed, then the worker is probably an employee, particularly if the same results can be achieved in a different order or sequence.


 


11. Oral or Written Reports. The requirement that a worker submit regular reports to the employer can indicate a degree of control. It means the worker must account for his actions on the job to the employer.


 


12. Payment by the Hour, Week, or Month. When a worker is paid by the hour, week, or month and such payment is guaranteed, whether or not certain results are achieved, the worker is generally an employee. In contrast, payments made by the job or on a straight commission basis generally indicate that the worker is an independent contractor.


 


13. Payment of Business and/or Traveling Expenses. The IRS is of the view that when an employer pays a worker's business or traveling expenses, the worker is ordinarily an employee. Conversely, a worker who is paid on a job basis and must pay all incidental expenses is generally an independent contractor. Another issue to consider when evaluating this factor is the agreement between the employer and worker as to how such expenses are to be paid.


 


14. Furnishing Tools and Materials. If the employer furnishes tools, materials, and other equipment for a job, this indicates that the worker is an employee. Independent contractors ordinarily furnish their own tools and materials. In determining what the classification should be, the value of the tools and materials supplied to the worker should be considered as well.


 


15. Significant Investment. A significant investment by a worker in the facilities used in performing services for another is a factor that often establishes an independent contractor relationship. Conversely, the lack of investment in facilities indicates a dependence on the employer for the facilities--which means an employee relationship exists. The rationale is that whoever provides the equipment necessary to perform the services controls the use of the equipment.


 


16. Realization of Profit or Loss. A worker who stands the risk of suffering a financial loss or realizing financial gain as a result of providing services to the employer is generally an independent contractor. In contrast, a worker who has no risk of financial loss is usually an employee.


 


17. Working For More Than One Firm. If a worker performs services for more than one unrelated person or firm at the same time, it generally indicates that the worker is an independent contractor.


 


18. Making Services Available to the Public. Workers who make their services available to the general public on a regular and consistent basis are usually independent contractors.


 


19. Right to Discharge. Employers generally possess the right to discharge only employees. The threat of dismissal demonstrates a degree of control over workers. In contrast, the IRS's viewpoint is that independent contractors cannot be fired unless they violate the terms of the contract for services rendered.


 


20. Right to Terminate. If the worker providing the services can terminate the relationship with the employer at any time without incurring liability, an employee relationship usually exists. Conversely, an independent contractor engaged to accomplish a task or provide a service may incur a legal liability if the relationship is unilaterally terminated before the results of the task are accomplished.


 


These 20 factors may not always be appropriate for determining a worker's employment status, especially in the case of a professional, such as a physician, lawyer, or dentist. Control may not be the dominant issue in determining a professional's employment status. Revenue Rulings 72-203 and 66-274 state that other factors should be considered when determining the employment status of a professional, taking into consideration the skill required for the task, the intent of the parties involved in the employment relationship, and the custom in the industry.


IC - status

Have been an IC-MTSO for close to 20 years.  Deduct my office part of the house, phone, internet, cell phone, mileage for anything work related including banking, errands,  (of course  I pick up and deliver and that give me a $5,000 write off), medical insurance payments, retirement contributions,  supplies,  partial utilities.   Start out with 50 to 55K and pay my SS taxes on 12 to 15K.  To me it is well worth it.  I always over withheld from my husband pay check or just paid the small penalty at the end of the year but you can do quarterlies.   I went to a tax guy for one year saw how he did it and then just bought Turbo Tax and followed him.   Works well for me.   Sure his fee is deductible but you still gotta pay it.  I prepared so much for him that I felt I could just as easily plug those figures in as his "help" so that is what I do.  Any more questions, youcan e-mail me at pjsword @aol.com.


Patti


IC status
Just discussed a few days ago, do a search and it will come up.  If not I will let you know but just wrote a long answer to this last week. 
For the SE status
Because where I live it is rural and both hospitals outsource, one to MQ, the other to another big trans service.  While being an SE, I had a flexible schedule which my TC allowed me to work around my other full time job as that one was not flexible.  In order to move on, most companies do not supply the equipment and I did not want to put out another $1,000+ on another computer when I had just updated the MQ computer in the year 2000 and again in 10/2004, to transition to DQS.  So, I stuck around thinking well being an SE at least, if nothing else, I have flexibility.  Well, I have nothing anymore, the flexibility made everything else tolerable.  Nothing with MQ is tolerable anymore.  However, the new company I just hired on with has better pay per line, higher tier, higher differential and higher incentives plus, IMHO, better benefits.  To all of you MQ lovers, great, glad you have a job you love, however, I sure wish you would check around, talk to some recruiters..You will be amazed at what other companies offer.
IC status

I have a question about independent contractor status. Have do you pay taxes? Can you deduct office supplies, electricity, etc? If anyone have information please let me know. Thank you.


IC Status
If you are working as an independent contractor, you are responsible for all of your taxes, federal, state, and local, in addition to self employment tax.  You can deduct for office space in your home, supplies, and a percentage of your utilities.  Depending on the amount of work you are doing, it may be beneficial to look into incorporating yourself (S Corp).  I did years ago.  I bought a book called How to Incorporate in Ohio Without an Attorney.  It cost me 40 dollars to form as S corp, and as a corp, I did not have to pay self-employment tax.  You may want to talk to a good accountant.
IC status
 Thank you very much for the information. I will look into it.
MT status
I am 44 years old, have been an MT for 5 years.

Have 3 grown children.

Hope this helps.
what is SE status exactly
?
IC status
I had an office, and the rent was not that high, so that was a huge deduction. Unfortunately, I had to give it up and have not started working from home as I do not absolutely not want to include my home in my deductions (very tricky). Here are some things I deducted. The writer is internet based so it may not apply to her. Gas to and from everywhere, bank, office supply store, clients., etc, keep track of miles personal and business. Postage, supplies (of course), telephone bill, office cleaning, accountant fees, health care plan for myself, education (college courses which applied to my profession), dues and professional fees, i.e., memberships in AAMT, CMT fees, subscriptions to publications to enhance my business acumen. It's a whole new world working from home - don't like it. I feel for the writer as well. My accountant would charge me $250, only saw him once a year but it was worth it. He would make up four quarterly payment envelopes, according to what I made the year before. He told me if my income increased to call him and he would increase my payments. I usually did not owe anything, would be owed a refund and instead of taking the money would apply it to my first quarter of the next year. These are just some tips I hope will help someone else. I always feel if you want to be a professional, you have to spend money for professional advice, they know how to help you. Hope this helps someone. If I decide to work from home there is no way I will claim part of my house, when I go to sell it or die, I don't want it to be part of my "estate" in any way. This could happen to you.
IC status PS sm
Of course, i forgot to mention I claimed all of my equipment, computer, transcribers, books, etc., and the accountant took care of all of that as it was deductible either over time or for that year. It worked out great, always had the best equipment, etc. and it was mine to keep.
IC status

I am currently an IC with a small service and would like to venture out on my own to make more money.  My service now takes 25% of my earnings each month and this seems a little high to me. 


What I would like to know is how should I determine a line rate with new docs? Or starting out on my own.  I have 3 years experience and have also worked in a hospital setting. Any feedback would be appreciated.