By Work-at-Home.org

Some of us work at home as independent contractors.  Some of us work at home as employees. Some of us started home businesses. Generally speaking, if you work at home it is your employer who will determine the legal classification of your work at home job. Most often, if you work at home you will be given an agreement to sign outlining the terms and conditions of your employment. Such agreements cover such things as property that will be used for the work at home job, who will pay taxes, what benefits are or are not available, etc.

The Internal Revenue Service has rules about how it classifies employees into four (4) categories: Independent Contractor, Common-Law (regular) employee, Statuatory, Employee, Statutory Nonemployee.

The latter two categories relate mostly to specific types of jobs. They may or may not relate to your particular work at home job.

The IRS does not have separate classifications for workers who work at home. And working at home does not, in itself, determine which classification will apply to a specific job.  But the fact that a job is done at home, especially if using property belonging to the individual doing the work (instead of the company), are important facts that may be considered.

The simple fact that you work at home does not in itself cause your work at home job to be classified as an independent contractor position.

The IRS considers facts that fall into three categories related to how much control an employer has over its workers or employees, including work at home employees: Behavioral Control, Financial Control and the Type of Relationship itself. As a general rule, the less control your employer has over you and the more control and independence you yourself have over your work at home job, the more likely it will be that you work at home as an independent contractor instead of a regular employee.

Work at home financial considerations

Work at home and characteristics that would suggest independent contractor relationship

Work at home classifications: Differences between contractor and employees