Using a 1099-NEC vs W2 for dependent child impacts tax filing requirements

You're absolutely right to be concerned. The distinction between W-2 employee and 1099 contractor status has significant tax implications, especially for dependent children. Based on what you've described, your son is likely misclassified. True independent contractors generally set their own hours, use their own equipment, and decide how to complete their work. If your son is taking direction from the orchard owner, using their equipment, and working on their schedule, he should probably be classified as an employee with a W-2. The difference is substantial - with a 1099-NEC, your son is responsible for both the employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes (15.3% total) versus just the employee portion (7.65%) with a W-2. Plus, the filing requirements are different as you noted. You have a few options: 1) Talk to the orchard owner about proper classification, 2) File Form SS-8 with the IRS to request a determination of worker status, or 3) File Form 8919 to report the uncollected Social Security and Medicare tax if you believe he was misclassified.

I went through something similar with my daughter last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which was super helpful for sorting out this exact situation. The tool analyzed her work situation and confirmed she was misclassified as a contractor when she should've been an employee. It gave us detailed documentation showing exactly why she should've been a W-2 employee based on IRS criteria. We showed this to her employer who had no idea they were incorrectly classifying her. They actually thanked us because they were worried about getting audited for other reasons and this could have been another problem for them! The documentation from taxr.ai made it easy to explain the situation without coming across as confrontational.

I was totally skeptical about taxr.ai but tried it anyway after seeing the comment above. Holy cow - it actually worked! I showed my son's boss the classification report it generated, and he immediately recognized the mistake. He admitted he didn't understand the difference between contractors and employees and had been filing 1099s for all seasonal workers for years. The report from taxr.ai clearly explained the control factors that made my son an employee, and his boss agreed to switch him to W-2 status going forward AND issue a corrected W-2 for last year. My son is getting back almost $800 in self-employment taxes he shouldn't have paid. The conversation was actually super positive because we approached it as helping the business avoid potential IRS issues rather than making accusations.

If you've had trouble getting through to the IRS about this issue (which is common these days), I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent weeks trying to get clarification from the IRS about my daughter's misclassification situation and couldn't get through. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes who walked me through the whole process of addressing contractor misclassification. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed that farms often misclassify seasonal workers and provided specific guidance on how to approach the situation with the employer, including which forms we needed if they refused to correct the issue.

Well I take back what I said above. I tried Claimyr out of pure frustration after being hung up on by the IRS 5 times this week. Got connected to an agent in 23 minutes, which honestly seems like magic compared to my previous attempts. The agent explained exactly what forms we needed to file to report my son's misclassification (Form SS-8 and Form 8919) and walked me through the whole process. She even gave me tips on how to talk to the employer first to try resolving it without formal filings. For anyone dealing with the 1099 vs W-2 issue for their dependent child, getting actual guidance from the IRS was super helpful. They confirmed that kids working at farms or orchards on a schedule with supervision should almost always be W-2 employees, not contractors.

My nephew went through this exact situation. The landscaping company he worked for gave all their teenage workers 1099s. When we challenged them, they tried claiming that "seasonal work = contractor" which is 100% wrong! We filed Form SS-8 with the IRS after the owner refused to correct it. It took about 6 months but the IRS ruled in my nephew's favor. They determined he was an employee and the company had to pay their share of the FICA taxes. Be prepared for some pushback from the employer because changing your son's status means they'll have to pay their portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes. That's why some businesses try classifying workers as 1099 contractors when they're actually employees.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - your son could also file Schedule C and take business deductions to offset some of the self-employment tax burden if he decides to just file as a contractor this year. Things like: portion of cell phone used for work, work clothes/boots, travel to job sites, tools purchased, etc. It won't completely solve the problem but might reduce the tax hit somewhat while you work on getting him properly classified for next year.

This is such a common problem with seasonal agricultural work! I've seen this happen repeatedly with local farms and orchards who classify teenage workers as contractors when they're clearly employees. The key test is really about control - if your son shows up at scheduled times, follows the orchard's instructions on how to do the work, and uses their equipment, he's an employee regardless of his age or the seasonal nature of the work. The IRS doesn't have a "seasonal worker exception" that automatically makes someone a contractor. What's particularly frustrating is that legitimate teenage employees earning under $12,550 wouldn't owe any federal income tax and would only pay the employee portion of FICA taxes (7.65%). But with the 1099-NEC, your son is getting hit with the full self-employment tax of 15.3% plus potentially owing income tax if he doesn't have enough deductions. I'd definitely start with a respectful conversation with the orchard owner. Bring documentation of the IRS worker classification tests and frame it as helping them avoid potential compliance issues. Many small agricultural businesses genuinely don't understand these rules and appreciate being educated rather than reported. If they refuse to correct it, you have solid grounds for filing Form SS-8 to get an official determination. The downside is it can take months and might strain the working relationship, but your son shouldn't have to pay extra taxes due to misclassification.