Should my daughter fill out a W-9 for her part-time summer retail job?
So my daughter just landed this summer gig at a local gift shop for 18 hours a week as a sales associate. The owner sent her a W-9 form to fill out along with some training materials and uniform guidelines. She's going to be paid less during training, then minimum wage once she's trained, plus she can earn a daily bonus based on sales numbers. They're doing bi-weekly payroll. I'm pretty confused why they'd have her fill out a W-9 instead of a W-4? Isn't a W-9 for independent contractors? This seems like a regular employer-employee relationship to me - she has set hours, they're training her, providing uniforms, and paying her through payroll. I'm concerned they're trying to classify her as an independent contractor just because it's temporary summer work, which would mean she'd have to pay both sides of the Social Security and Medicare taxes (the full 15.3% instead of just 7.65%). That seems really wrong for a basic retail position with no special skills where she'll be supervised. Am I missing something here? Is there any legitimate reason a retail shop would have a summer sales associate fill out a W-9 instead of treating them as a regular employee? Or should I tell her not to sign it and ask for a W-4 instead?
19 comments
Join the conversation
Gianna Scott
You're absolutely right to question this. What you're describing is clearly an employee relationship, not an independent contractor situation. The IRS has specific guidelines about worker classification, and based on what you've shared, your daughter should be classified as an employee. The key factors here are: she'll be trained by them, paid an hourly wage, has set hours, will be supervised, and doesn't control how the work gets done. All of these point to employee status. The fact that it's temporary or part-time is irrelevant to the classification. By classifying her as an independent contractor, the employer is avoiding paying their share of FICA taxes (7.65%) and unemployment insurance. This is called misclassification and is indeed illegal.
0 coins
Edwards Hugo
•Thanks for confirming my suspicions! Should my daughter just tell them she needs a W-4 instead and that she believes she's an employee not a contractor? Or is there a more tactful way to handle this?
0 coins
Gianna Scott
•I would suggest having your daughter politely inform them that based on the nature of the position, she believes she should be classified as an employee and needs a W-4 instead of a W-9. She can simply say, "I think there might have been a mix-up with the paperwork. Since I'll be working set hours under your supervision, I should complete a W-4 rather than a W-9." If they push back or insist on the W-9, that's a red flag. At that point, you could consider contacting your state's department of labor for guidance, as misclassification is something they take seriously. Most employers who make this mistake aren't being malicious - they just don't understand the rules. A simple conversation often resolves it.
0 coins
Alfredo Lugo
This same thing happened to my son last year with his first job. After doing some research, I used https://taxr.ai to analyze his employment situation and confirm he was being misclassified. The tool goes through all the IRS worker classification factors and gives you a clear explanation of your status. It showed all the evidence why my son was actually an employee according to IRS guidelines, not a contractor. I printed out the analysis and had my son bring it to his employer. They immediately admitted they "didn't realize" and switched him to proper employee status with a W-4. Saved us a ton in extra taxes and potential headaches later.
0 coins
Sydney Torres
•Does that site cost money? My college-age niece is dealing with something similar at her internship and I want to help her figure it out.
0 coins
Kaitlyn Jenkins
•I'm skeptical about this. Couldn't you just google the IRS guidelines yourself? What does this service actually do that's worth paying for?
0 coins
Alfredo Lugo
•The basic version is free and gives you enough info for most situations like this one. It walks you through all the IRS control factors and generates a report you can show an employer. You definitely could Google the guidelines yourself, but what I found valuable was having all the factors analyzed together with the specific case details. It also gives you the exact language to use when discussing it with the employer. My son's boss actually commented that the professional-looking report made him realize it was a serious issue, not just us complaining.
0 coins
Kaitlyn Jenkins
I was skeptical about using taxr.ai that someone mentioned above, but I actually tried it for my daughter's similar situation at her summer camp job. It was super helpful - took about 2 minutes to answer the questions about her work arrangement. The report clearly showed she was 100% an employee under IRS rules. When she brought the report to her manager, they immediately apologized and said their accountant had told them to use W-9s for all seasonal staff. They switched everyone to W-4s the next day. They even thanked her for bringing it to their attention since it could have caused them problems in an audit. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with this classification issue.
0 coins
Caleb Bell
If you're having trouble getting this resolved with the employer directly, one thing that worked for me was calling the IRS. Of course, that's easier said than done - I tried for WEEKS to get through to them about a similar misclassification issue. Finally used https://claimyr.com after seeing it mentioned in a tax group. They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the hours I was spending on hold. You can check out how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent confirmed this kind of misclassification happens all the time with summer jobs and gave me the exact form (SS-8) to file if the employer wouldn't correct it. Just having that information from an official source gave me the confidence to push back.
0 coins
Danielle Campbell
•Wait, is this service legit? How does it actually work? I've been trying to reach the IRS about an issue for weeks.
0 coins
Rhett Bowman
•Sounds like a scam to me. No way any service can magically get you through to the IRS faster than everyone else. They probably just take your money and you end up in the same hold queue.
0 coins
Caleb Bell
•It's completely legitimate. They use technology that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When they reach an agent, they call you and connect you directly. It's basically like having someone wait on hold on your behalf. As for how it works, they have a system that calls repeatedly during optimal times when hold times are shortest. I was skeptical too until I tried it. I went from spending 2+ hours on hold (and often getting disconnected) to being connected to an IRS rep in about 15 minutes while I was making dinner.
0 coins
Rhett Bowman
I have to apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr in my comment above. I actually ended up trying the service after continuing to struggle with getting through to the IRS myself. To my genuine surprise, it worked exactly as described. They called me back in about 20 minutes and connected me directly to an IRS agent who was super helpful about my kid's worker classification issue. The agent confirmed that sales associates should absolutely be W-4 employees, not contractors, and suggested approaching the employer with the proper info first before filing a complaint. Saved me hours of frustration and my daughter got her situation resolved before her start date. Sometimes I'm too quick to assume things are scams!
0 coins
Abigail Patel
Former small business owner here. Sometimes this isn't malicious - it's ignorance. Many small shop owners genuinely don't understand the difference between W-4 and W-9 forms. They think W-9s are for "temporary" workers and W-4s are for "permanent" staff, which is completely wrong. When I opened my first store, my accountant had to correct me on this exact issue. I was giving W-9s to my summer help because that's what the previous owner did. Once I learned the difference, I immediately switched everyone to proper employee classification.
0 coins
Edwards Hugo
•That's an interesting perspective. So maybe it's not an intentional attempt to avoid taxes but just misunderstanding? Would showing them some info from the IRS website about worker classification be enough, or should we be more formal about it?
0 coins
Abigail Patel
•A casual, non-accusatory approach is usually best to start. Having your daughter say something like "I was reading about tax forms for my first job and learned that since I'll be an employee with set hours and training, I should fill out a W-4 instead of a W-9. Do you have one I can complete instead?" keeps it simple and educational rather than confrontational. Most small business owners want to do the right thing and avoid problems with the IRS. If they seem confused, offering to show them the IRS guidelines could be helpful. The approach matters - making it about getting the right form rather than accusing them of trying to evade taxes will likely get a better response.
0 coins
Daniel White
Has your daughter already started working there? If not, this could be a huge red flag about how they run their business. A company that misclassifies employees might also cut corners on other important things like safety, breaks, or paying minimum wage.
0 coins
Nolan Carter
•This is really important! My first job misclassified me as a contractor and they also violated labor laws about breaks and overtime. These things tend to go together.
0 coins
Jessica Nguyen
You're absolutely right to be concerned - this is a clear case of employee misclassification. The IRS has a simple test: if the employer controls what work is done, how it's done, and when it's done, then the worker is an employee. Your daughter will have set hours, receive training, wear their uniform, and work under their supervision - that's textbook employee status. I'd recommend having your daughter politely explain that she believes she should be classified as an employee and ask for a W-4 instead. She can mention that the IRS guidelines for her type of work arrangement indicate employee status. Most small businesses make this mistake out of confusion rather than malicious intent. If they refuse to correct it, you can file IRS Form SS-8 to get an official determination. But in most cases, a friendly conversation with the employer about the proper classification resolves the issue quickly.
0 coins