Best Way for Filing using Form 8919? Need Help with Worker Classification Issues
So I'm in a weird situation with my taxes this year. I received a 1099-NEC showing non-employee compensation of $41,229.45, but I believe I should've been classified as an employee. I already submitted Form SS-8 to the IRS requesting a determination on my worker status, but haven't heard back yet. From what I understand, while waiting for the IRS decision, I can file using Form 8919 "Uncollected Social Security and Medicare Tax on Wages" instead of paying the full self-employment tax. When I calculated this on the IRS website, it looks like I'd only owe 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare taxes, which comes to around $3,154.05. My question is - how do I actually submit this? Can I eFile with Form 8919 or am I stuck mailing a paper return? I tried using FreeTaxUSA and indicated the compensation should have been wages, but it's still showing I owe about $5,901 in taxes. I'm clearly missing something here. Any advice would be super appreciated! I don't want to mess this up and pay more than I should while waiting on the IRS determination.
18 comments


CyberSamurai
You're on the right track with Form 8919! When you're waiting for an SS-8 determination, that's exactly what you should use. The good news is you can e-file with most tax software, including FreeTaxUSA, but you need to make sure you're entering everything correctly. First, when you enter your 1099-NEC income, you need to indicate it's misclassified wages (reason code G on Form 8919). The software should then calculate only the employee portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes (7.65% total) rather than the full self-employment tax (15.3%). Double-check that you've entered everything under the "Wages from an employer who didn't withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes" section rather than as self-employment income. That $5,901 figure suggests the software might still be calculating self-employment tax. Also make sure you keep a copy of your SS-8 submission as documentation in case of questions from the IRS. The process can take 6+ months for them to make a determination.
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Zoe Alexopoulos
•Does using Form 8919 with reason code G increase your chances of being audited? I'm in a similar situation but worried about drawing attention to my return.
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CyberSamurai
•Using Form 8919 with reason code G doesn't inherently increase audit risk. The IRS is already aware of your situation because you filed the SS-8. In fact, filing this way shows consistency with your worker classification claim. The key is making sure you have proper documentation supporting your worker status claim. Keep records of your work arrangements, communications with the employer, level of control they exercised over your work, and any other evidence supporting employee status. The IRS looks at these factors when making determinations.
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Jamal Carter
After struggling with a similar misclassification issue last year, I discovered https://taxr.ai and it was a game-changer. I uploaded my 1099-NEC and used their document analyzer which immediately identified that I should be using Form 8919 with my return. The system actually walked me through proper entry in my tax software (I was using TurboTax) and showed me exactly where I was going wrong. I had been accidentally entering my income in both the self-employment and wages sections which was causing double taxation. Their AI analyzer confirmed my work situation met the criteria for employee status and generated documentation I could keep with my records to support my filing position. I managed to e-file successfully and save almost $4,000 in unnecessary self-employment taxes.
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Mei Liu
•Did you have to upload your personal info to this site? Not sure I'm comfortable sharing my tax docs with some random AI service.
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Liam O'Donnell
•Does it actually help fill out the 8919 form or just tell you that you need it? Currently using FreeTaxUSA but it's not making this process very clear.
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Jamal Carter
•You don't need to share any sensitive personal information - I just uploaded my 1099 with my SSN and address blacked out. They only need to see the payment amounts and payer information to analyze your situation. The service actually walks you through the exact steps to take in your tax software. It doesn't just say "use Form 8919" - it shows screenshots of where to enter the information in most popular tax programs including FreeTaxUSA. It helped me identify exactly which screens were causing problems in my software.
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Liam O'Donnell
I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here, and it actually worked perfectly for my situation. I was making the exact mistake that was causing my taxes to be calculated wrong - I had my income entered in both the 1099 section AND the misclassified worker section. The analyzer caught this immediately and showed me how to remove the duplicate entry in FreeTaxUSA. After following the step-by-step guidance, my tax bill dropped from $5,800+ to just around $3,000. It also generated a letter I could include with my return explaining my filing position. My return was accepted through e-filing with no issues. Huge relief since I was about to overpay by thousands. If anyone's dealing with Form 8919, definitely worth checking out.
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Amara Nwosu
After getting a runaround from both my employer and the IRS about my worker classification issues, I finally found my way through using https://claimyr.com to actually speak with a real person at the IRS. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I'd been calling for weeks trying to get guidance on my 8919 situation with no luck - just endless hold times. Claimyr got me connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes who confirmed I was filing correctly with Form 8919 while awaiting my SS-8 determination and explained exactly how to e-file with TaxAct. The agent also told me what specific documentation I should keep with my records to support my position if questions came up later. Saved me hours of frustration and uncertainty.
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AstroExplorer
•How does this even work? Seems sketchy that a service could somehow get you through to the IRS when nobody else can get through.
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Giovanni Moretti
•Yeah right... IRS agents don't actually give tax advice or tell you how to file. They just direct you to publications. I doubt this service is legitimate.
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Amara Nwosu
•The service works by using technology to navigate the IRS phone system and wait on hold for you. When an agent becomes available, you get a call back and are connected. It's completely legitimate - they don't do anything you couldn't do yourself if you had hours to wait on hold. You're right that IRS representatives have limitations, but they absolutely can and do provide procedural guidance. In my case, the agent clarified which line items needed to be completed on Form 8919 and confirmed that e-filing was possible with the proper software. They didn't give "tax advice" about whether I should file as an employee versus contractor - they simply confirmed the process for using Form 8919 with reason code G while awaiting an SS-8 determination.
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Giovanni Moretti
I was totally wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I was getting nowhere with my worker classification questions. Got connected to an IRS representative in about 25 minutes (after attempting to call directly for weeks with no success). The agent was actually incredibly helpful and walked me through exactly how to complete Form 8919 with my tax software. They explained that most tax software can handle this form for e-filing, but you need to enter the information in specific sequences. The agent also gave me the direct extension for the department that handles SS-8 determinations so I could check on my status. Honestly never expected this level of help - completely changed my understanding of how to handle my misclassified income.
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Fatima Al-Farsi
One thing nobody mentioned - make absolutely sure you check the right reason code on Form 8919. Since you've filed SS-8 but haven't received a determination, you should use reason code G: "I filed Form SS-8 and haven't received a determination letter." If you use the wrong code, it could delay processing or even trigger unnecessary review. Also, FreeTaxUSA definitely supports Form 8919 e-filing - I used it last year for the same situation. The key is entering the income as "Wages paid as a statutory employee" rather than as self-employment income.
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Andre Dubois
•Can you walk me through exactly where in FreeTaxUSA I should be entering this? I keep getting stuck at the part where it asks if I want to file Schedule C. Should I be saying no to that?
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Fatima Al-Farsi
•You should definitely say NO to filing Schedule C since you're not claiming to be self-employed. In FreeTaxUSA, go to the Income section, then select "Wages paid by an employer who did not withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes" (not the 1099-NEC section). When you get to the screen asking for details, enter your income amount from the 1099-NEC, select reason code G, and enter the employer information exactly as it appears on your 1099. The software will calculate only the employee portion of FICA taxes rather than self-employment tax.
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Dylan Cooper
I dealt with this exact situation last year while working for a tech startup. If you're using TurboTax, be careful - it's especially tricky with them. I had to manually override some calculations because it kept wanting to charge me self-employment tax even after I indicated I was misclassified. H&R Block online handled it better in my experience. The key with any software is checking your final tax calculation to make sure it's only charging you the employee portion (7.65%) rather than the full SE tax (15.3%).
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Sofia Perez
•H&R block was terrible when I tried to file with Form 8919 last year. They kept adding the income back as self employment even after I removed it. Ended up having to paper file.
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