Insights? Ask up front whether you'll be an employee or an independent contractor. Try not to be an independent contractor, but if you have to be, ask for more money. Then keep every reciept- gas to get to work? deductable, as long as you say it was a meeting and log your miles. Computer and software? deductable. Part of your rent? May be deductable. Architectural books and supplies? Deductable.

These basic questions determine whether you should really be an employee or an independent contractor:
Do you work specified hours?
Do you work at the company's office?
Do you work on the company's computer equipment (vs. being required to provide your own)?
Do you have other requirements such as a dress code?
Is your work determined by a specific project/tast (vs. by fulfilling a certain number of hours)?

If the answers to these questions are "yes", then you are being screwed, and your employer is committing tax fraud, because you are actually an employee. You technically cannot deduct things like rent or computer software, etc., but it's basically the only way you'll survive.

I'm actually working on this for my taxes for 2004. I got screwed big time. It was my first arch. job and had no idea what I was getting into. Probably should have picked up on their excitement at me agreeing to go contract for the first three months, after which nothing else was said. And I had to use my own computer. In hindsight, I wasted too much time and loyalty on them.

My question is can I still claim these deductions without all of my receipts?

You can claim anything you want without a thing. If you get audited, though, you will be asked to provide proof of your costs.

Do you think they'll audit me if I made less than the standard deduction?

What I would do is get copies of your bank and/or credit card statements, and hilight the relevant items in lieu of reciepts.

You should check cause in some states if your not registered a firm can not hire you as an independent contractor. They also are required to pay you overtime, if your not registered. So you could go back on them and have them pay their share of your taxes and all overtime work if it is documented.

I did see this done in Arizona.

fyi...... try to charge double of what you want to make...i.e. you want to make 20 and hour...charge 40.... cause they are billing you at 60-80 anyways.......

i got jacked a few times over the years and just now being able to get caught up on the tax end......

items you can write off

car/truck if used to/fro work
gas/oil
paper/pens
computer if you supply your own
if you work at home, you can deduct part of your rent/mortgage
printer/scanner
etc....

anything that you use for work.......

always get a receipt for everything even if you dont think you can write it off...

cryzko.....even the evening escort?

I am in the same situation and I just did my taxes last weekend. Even if you deduct, deduct, deduct (and believe me I did), you will still have to pay social security. I earned approximately $18,000 as an IC last year, even after all my deductions (house and business expenses) I am paying about $1800 in state and federal taxes. Avoid this situation like the plague.

I had a great boss who ran a foreign firm, so I accepted the situation, but anything less than absolutely loving your job, it's not worth it.

Hmm, another thing they don't teach in architecture school, how not to get taken advantage of in the "real world." Across campus in the computer science department do they have classes on independent contracting, or is it just word of mouth because it's common in their profession?

The idea behind Indepedant Contracting is that it's temporary work. Even if the firm is paying you $100/hr, they are making money off you because 1) they aren't paying taxes or benefits for you and 2) without your help they couldn't finish their work and get paid. Other full time staff can take a hit just so they can have their paycheck at the end of the day.

If a firm is using this as a loophole to avoid costs on someone they want to keep around full time, well that's fraud. Unfortunately fresh interns can be duped into accepting an IC job at $20/hour. Meanwhile over in the IT world, where IC is quite common, nobody would consider anything less than $100/hour.

I know people doing this and living quite well. Over a years time one friend works about 1000 hours, has months of no work and earns in excess of $100k. Then again he has to pay 2x the taxes, buy his own insurance, be willing to travel and work crazy hours while on contract. Still in the end he's earning over $50k net for a relaxing work load most of the year. Job security is nill so it's not for everybody, but an option if you know what you're doing.

So $30/hr for drafting work is still too low?

Hit enter too soon. Has anyone had trouble with declaring themselves a business?

I actually got around that part of it.... because it was only the City of Los Angeles that wanted business taxes from me, and more than half my work was in the City of Long Beach, I ended up under the minimum taxable income for LA. Once I sent in a letter explaining that, they left me alone.