The most prominent question that comes into your mind while choosing a retirement plan is “how much is enough.” George Foreman said, “The question isn’t at what age I want to retire, it’s at what income.” There isn’t any definitive figure that can help you survive through retirement and the best strategy is to build a fund that never ends.

For self-employed professionals and small business owners, investing in real estate with a Solo 401k retirement plan could be the answer. Real estate has always been a safe investment option with minimal management requirements. Solo 401k has gained popularity because of its freedom to invest in real estate and similar investment opportunities. For real estate professionals, investing in real estate is the safest investment choice and Solo 401k retirement plan facilitates it.

The investment landscape of Solo 401k investment plan is not only limited to real estate. One can invest in precious metals, private businesses, tax liens, tax deeds and hard money lending. It is important that every investment made with Solo 401k funds should be withdrawn from the Solo 401k account only. At the same time, the capital gains or interest from any such investments should return to the account only.

How to invest in real estate with Solo 401k?

• Understand the eligible property clause: Before you plan to purchase a commercial or residential property, make sure that the property satisfies the legal regulations. First, neither the investor nor any other disqualified person should be the owner of the property. At the same time, the Solo 401k account owner should not use the property for primary residence or office space, or for any other personal use.
• Open Solo 401k account: Choose a Solo 401k retirement service provider and transfer funds from your existing retirement account into the Solo 401k plan. Keep in mind that any purchase made would be under the name of the Solo 401k account.
• Use non-recourse loan for funding: Real estate transactions require large investments and if you do not have sufficient funds; you can use a nonrecourse loan for funding. A nonrecourse loan does not require personal guarantee and it considers the property as collateral.

Once you have the loan, make sure to consult qualified attorneys for the transaction and follow all the rules. The key to achieve success with real estate investments is to comply with regulations and avoid any tax penalties in the process. 

Small business owners and self-employed individuals face multiple problems every day and the biggest one is the lack of time. It is quite common among these individual to outsource their business and personal finance responsibilities.

If you are a small business owner with a Solo 401k retirement plan, it is equally important to monitor your retirement plan, as it is to contribute. It could be lack of time or limited understanding of the investment landscape out of which, self-employed individuals let their Solo 401k provider handle everything.

Here are five signs that indicate that it is time to reevaluate your investments and hire a new Solo 401k plan provider.

Your Solo 401k Provider doesn’t offer fee disclosures

According to the Department of Labor (DOL), every single retirement plan provider charging more than $1,000 for retirement plan is bound to provide complete fee disclosures. If you never received these disclosures from your retirement plan provider, ask for them. In case the provider denies your request for fee disclosures, you can contact the DOL and fire that provider immediately.

Your retirement plan provider is overcharging for services

It is important that you pay only for the services you receive and that too within a reasonable limit. Service charges may vary depending upon the quality of service. The best way to identify the right fees is to benchmark your current services against the ones provided by the other Solo 401k providers.

You are not satisfied with administration services of your provider

For small business owners with several employees, it is important to devise an optimal retirement strategy for the company and its employees. If your retirement service provider does not help you with the strategy or provides only vague answers, it is time to look for a new provider. A well-qualified retirement plan provider dedicated towards the job would help you avoid critical planning errors and build sufficient retirement savings.

You only hear from your retirement plan provider during quarterly fee collection period

Does it sound surprising? Well, many third party administrators (TPAs) only visit their clients while collecting their quarterly fees. The problem with these TPAs is that they do not keep track of the changes in regulations governing retirement plans and things might go south for the clients. They inform only when something has already gone wrong. It is best to replace such service providers and choose a company that works proactively.

You came to know about multiple errors through an IRS audit

Solo 401k providers that lack the competence to do their job end up with several plan mistakes and unless you conduct an independent plan review, you will hear about them from the IRS only. Such mistakes can cost you thousands of dollars in penalties and taxes. It is all right to make a few mistakes but the provider must take the responsibility for the same. If your provider always has an excuse for his/her mistakes, it is time to hire a new retirement plan provider. 

“Be slow in choosing a friend,

Slower in changing.”

Benjamin Franklin

How does this quote relate to your retirement plan? Well, a retirement plan is the only thing that will get you through your golden years and you don’t want to put your these years in the hands of someone who wouldn’t care for your best interest.

Choosing a retirement plan is an important decision for self-employed and regular employees alike. For entrepreneurs or small business owners, it takes a lot of convincing to prioritize retirement planning over the current business needs. If you are ready to start a Solo 401k plan for your retirement, it is equally important to choose a Solo 401k provider carefully. One of the key features of Solo 401k is the freedom to invest and you want all the expertise that you can get to make the right decision.

5 Factors to Consider When Choosing a Solo 401k Provider

You are going to invest and stay invested in your retirement plan for several years to come. Here are 5 important factors that you should review periodically to ensure the competency of your retirement plan provider.

1. Investment Options: Solo 401k allows investment in real estate, private businesses, precious metals, tax liens, and several other options. However, these options differ from one provider to another and you need to inquire about these investment options upfront. At the same time, it is best to have someone who can offer appropriate investment advice and has the qualification to do so.
2. Service Level: Just like there are two types of customers, one seeking the lowest fee and the other seeking the best service, service providers follow the same rule. If you are a business owner or self-employed individual, managing all the paperwork could get difficult. It will help to choose a provider who can take care of these matters and keep you posted accordingly.
3. Plan Administration: There could be very few things worse than being chased by the IRS for breaking any regulations. Always look for a service provider that could perform due regulatory diligence and help you understand your responsibilities as the plan owners.
4. Recordkeeping service: You are going to invest in different areas generating multiple transactions every time. If you are choosing a Solo 401k plan, always have a recordkeeping service to keep record of your transactions and choose one that offers on-demand reporting.
5. Fees Disclosure: Unlike regular one-time business transactions, your retirement plan will accumulate substantial wealth and a single decimal change in provider fees will have a huge impact. Make sure that you choose a Solo 401k provider that discloses every relevant fee upfront with no hidden clauses. 

Every small business owner requires a retirement strategy. Do you own a small business? Probably the idea of retirement planning isn’t as enticing as opening another store for your business. According to a survey conducted in 2014, nearly one-third of the small business owners didn’t want to retire whereas a quarter had no plans for retirement. More than one-third said that they would divide their retirement equally between work and leisure. Does that sound like your plans?

Here are two factors that you must consider:

• You don’t have an employer to set up a retirement plan for you.
• You are not likely to receive any kind of pension during retirement.

Investing in a retirement plan allows you to choose whatever path you want with more confidence.

Solo 401k: A Perfect Match for Small Business Owners

Solo 401k is a retirement plan that allows self-employed individuals and small business owners, without full-time employees, to save money for their retirement. It is important to understand that you qualify for Solo 401k plan even if you are working with your spouse.

What makes solo 401k Special?

• High Contribution Limits: Solo 401k has higher contribution limits than IRA accounts allowing you to contribute up to $53,000 in 2015 (additional $6,000 catch up contributions for individuals above 50 years of age).
• Flexible Investment Options: The flexibility to diversify your investments is the primary advantage of Solo 401k plan. You can invest in real estate, private business, precious metals, and other traditional investment options. In case you have a Roth option, all your investments will grow tax-free.
• Roth Contributions: Traditional Roth IRAs do not allow contributions for individuals that make more money than a certain limit. The Solo 401k retirement plan offers freedom to pay your taxes upfront, regardless of your income. You can contribute up to $18,000 in Roth contributions for 2015 and an additional $6,000 in catch up contributions for professionals above 50 years of age.
• Solo 401k Loan Access: The last US recession (Dec 2007 to June 2009) had a huge impact over small business owners and all the major banks scrutinized their loan access. Solo 401k is here to the rescue. It offers borrowing from retirement plan and you can borrow up to 50% of your retirement fund (maximum limit of $50,000) during financial distress. Solo 401k loan is available at prime rate plus one percent interest rate, which makes it extremely affordable.

On top of everything else, you are free to direct your investments without any intermediary. There is no need to file a return until your account balance crosses $250,000 in value. Solo 401k is a complete retirement solution for small business owners. 

“Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”

William Jennings Bryan

Being a self-employed, every professional holds his destiny in his hands. Taking control of your life is the first step towards achieving success and retirement is an extremely important part of life. How do you achieve maximum benefits with your retirement plan?

Step I: Asking the right questions

Step II: Look out for best options

Step III: Analyze them and start investing your money

Top 5 Questions You Should Ask Your Financial Planner

• What are the plans that offer maximum contributions? Solo 401k and SEP IRA are the two self-employed retirement plans with maximum contribution limits of $52,000 for 2014 and $53,000 for 2015. Solo 401k allows catch up contributions for individuals above 50 years of age whereas SEP IRA doesn’t. In short, professionals above 50 years of age can add additional $5,500 for 2014 and $6,000 for 2015 in a solo 401k plan.
• Does it offer traditional investment options? Solo 401k retirement plans offer multiple investment options including real estate, tax liens, private business, precious metals, and regular stock and mutual fund investments.
• What is the deadline for Solo 401k contributions?  One can make both employer and salary deferral contributions up to April 15, 2015 for the financial year of 2014 and April 16, 2016 for the financial year of 2015. One can even file an extension for contributions up to October 15 of subsequent year depending on the type of business that sponsors the plan.
• Can a retirement plan offer financial support during off-season? For every business owner, surviving through an off-season is the toughest challenge and it takes every single dollar to push the company further. Solo 401k retirement plans are designed to accommodate any such financial urgency. One can borrow up to 50% of fund value up to a maximum limit of $50,000. This loan is available at Prime Rate plus 1 percent, which makes it an affordable source of funding.
• Are there any downsides of Solo 401k retirement plan? The only downside of solo 401k retirement plan is that one has to file returns if the fund value exceeds $250,000. However, even then, plan holder only needs to file a quick and simple form. At the same time, Solo 401k is only suitable for small businesses with no full-time employees (employees who do not qualify for retirement plans).

It is important to understand that investment options differ from one institution to another and it is extremely important to choose a flexible plan provider for Solo 401k retirement plans. 

“Real estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it be carried away. Purchased with common sense, paid for in full, and managed with reasonable care, it is about the safest investment in the world.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt was able to sum together the entire thought process of real estate investors and agents in a single sentence. Real estate business is back on its track after the last recession and property prices are faring well throughout the United States.

As a real estate agent, it is quite common to ignore retirement planning and most of the agents do not have a solid retirement plan in place. In some cases, it could be lack of awareness and in others, overestimation of one’s ability to work. However, if you are to find a retirement plan that can help you in capital funding during a period of financial drought, isn’t that wonderful?

Solo 401k is a retirement plan for self-employed individuals and real estate agents can benefit a lot from it. It has comparatively higher contribution limits and one can contribute up to $53,000 in 2015 (excluding catch up contributions).

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

Chinese Proverb

Top 3 Benefits of Solo 401k

• Higher contribution limits: $53,000 for 2015 (excluding catch up contributions)
• Flexible investment options: Real estate, private business, precious metals, tax liens, traditional stock and mutual funds
• Loan Option: Borrow up to $50,000 or 50% of fund savings

For real estate agents Loan option is one of the biggest benefits.

Solo 401k Loan Option

• Who can borrow: Every Solo 401k plan participant can borrow up to 50% of fund savings to a maximum limit of $50,000. If you have $100,000 in your solo 401k, you can borrow $50,000. However, if you have $30,000 in your solo 401k, you would be able to borrow up to $15,000 only.
• Interest rate for loan: In most of the cases, it is prime rate (3.25%) or primate rate plus 1% interest.
• Frequency of repayments: A solo 401k loan is repaid on a monthly or quarterly basis with at least one payment per quarter.
• No credit qualifications: You do not have to fulfill any credit qualifications unlike regular bank loans. For realtors, it can be difficult to get a credit during a financial drought and solo 401k loans can help them get necessary funding.
• No tax penalties: Unlike regular retirement plan, you do not have to deal with a tax penalty on borrowing from your Solo 401k until all repayments are made on time.
• Interest paid back to the account: The best part of solo 401k loan option is its low interest rate. Plus, instead of paying interest to another lender, your interest payment will be paid directly into your Solo 401k. Essentially, you are borrowing from yourself, and paying interest to yourself.

Real estate transactions involve different types of fees and Solo 401k loan option can help you handle those. For an instance, you might need money to cover legal costs or research work in the transaction. At the same time, it can help you grab crucial real estate opportunities and offer financial support.  

What is a Self Directed Individual Retirement Account and Why Should You as a REO Professional Care?

First, you need to know what an individual retirement account is before you can truly appreciate what a self directed individual retirement account is.

Per the Internal Revenue Service, you basically have two types of individual retirement accounts. Those are Traditional IRA or Roth IRA.

A Traditional IRA is just a way for you to save money for retirement with tax advantages. Some of those advantages are tax deductions for contributions and the fact that generally speaking, you aren’t taxed on those earnings and gains till the money is distributed. For more information on IRA, please visit the IRS website here: http://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Traditional-IRAs

A Roth IRA is a IRA with a few exceptions. Some of those are…..

1. You can’t deduct contributions to a Roth IRA

2. You can contribute to your Roth IRA after age 70

3. You can leave amounts in your Roth IRA as long as you live

My list of exceptions above is not a complete list. For a complete list of exceptions, visit the IRS website link here: http://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Roth-IRAs

Now, the biggest single difference between a IRA and a SDIRA or Self Directed IRA is the fact that a IRA is set up with a bank, life insurance company, mutual fund or stock broker whereas with a SDIRA, they are set up with a Trustee. This difference is very important for you to understand because, this difference goes t the very nature of what makes a SDIRA so different than a IRA.

You see, with a Traditional IRA or Roth IRA, the bank or organization you set it up with manages the money for you. Your bank will have different funds that you can pick from and those funds have all kinds of disclosures, prospectus and degree of expectations on performance. Sure, no investment is ever 100% safe and anytime you invest, you really should know your risk however, my point is, you aren’t doing any leg work. The bank you set up your IRA is doing everything for you and all you had to do was pick the fund to put your money in. This is where a SDIRA is different.

As I said before, with a SDIRA, you set up your account with a Trustee. This Trustee is nothing more than a place to hold your money. They do not offer you investment advice and they don’t make investments on your behalf. They aren’t going to send you a list of funds you can choose from….because they don’t have any. You aren’t going to get a prospectus telling you what to expect when you invest because, they have nothing for you to invest directly in. Think of the Trustee as a holding house for your money. That is really all they are. There purpose is to be a middle man between you and your retirement money. The reason they exist is to provide transparency, accountability and to enforce regulations over your money.

Finally, with a SDIRA, you don’t make money unless you get out there and invest it. Like I said, the Trustee is nothing more than a holding house, they don’t make investment on your behalf so, if you don’t get out there and find opportunities to invest in, your money will not make gains, it won’t grow. This is the attraction for many because it gives the owner of the money much more control of what gets invested in and likewise, the possibility for much greater gains……with much greater risk.

For many who decide to get a SDIRA, the typically already have substantial experience in one of the areas of allowed investments. For example, I am a Realtor and I have access to many different tools and substantial experience that allows me to assess value on real property pretty accurately. I can use my tools and experience to invest my SDIRA funds into real estate. That’s right, real estate is just one of the many SDIRA investment options. As a Realtor, naturally I would be drawn to invest my retirement in real estate that will create gains and grow my retirement funds, using my own knowledge and experience. The reason I do this is because, I realized I can use my expertise in my career field and create gains for my retirement much more substantially than some bank, insurance company, mutual fund or stock broker every could.

Granted, some people don’t have any experience in one of the approved investment areas however, those people partner with experienced investors in the field of interest they want to invest in. For example, maybe the only experience you have in real estate is buying and selling your own home however, you would like to invest in real estate. What you would need to do is find a real estate investor who has a proven track record of success and let them teach you. Maybe you know a Realtor who has a proven track record of success that would be happy to get out there and find you money making opportunities to invest in? My point is, just because you may not have experience in a particular investment opportunity, don’t let good opportunities pass you by. You can always find the expertise you need, just stand up and look around.

Finally, it’s important to know that I am not an Investment Advisor, Attorney or Tax Professionals. I am a Realtor who has used my own SDIRA to invest in real estate. What you have read above is my own experience and opinion and you should not consider it Investment, Legal or Tax advice because, it’s not. If you need Investment, Legal or Tax advice, go seek out licensed and insured professionals in your state.

To join a social network of other like minded investors, visit www.MatherNetwork.com

Like many Affiliate Brokers, at some point in our careers we determine it's time for us to go out on our own and do our own thing. Now, that time has come for myself however, I don't have the personal funds I need to start my own office. Like many others I need money. You can get money all kinds of different places however, banks seem to be the most obvious choice for most of us. In fact, I myself have seriously considered my local bank, the one I actually use for my personal money but, I am almost completely debt free and I really don't want to acquire additional debt through traditional means. Without saying it, yes.....I listen to a famous particular radio broadcaster who is known and preaches about living debt free and yes, I am trying to do just that however, I know that some debt is good. In this case, this is debt I can take on that will further my long term goals.

Now, with all that being said, let me just say, for those of you who do traditional lending...banks, etc.... I am not saying not to use you. In fact, I believe you have a valuable place in the market place and do good by lending dreamers like myself the funds we need to bring our plans into reality however, I just don't think that type of lending is a good fit for me.

So, my next option are Investors and let me tell you, I have found out in the past 2 months, not all Investors are created equal. I learned about debt partners, joint venture partners, equity partners, etc... and for a while, it all had my head spinning.....really spinning. Now however, I feel a little better and I can actually say, I think I know what I want. I think what I am looking for is a Self Directed IRA Investor who is prepared to invest in a LLC as a Debt Partner. Now, where do you find them, how do you connect with these people? That is the question.

Several IRA Custodians have reached out to me in the past couple weeks because many of my blogs have revolved around this idea. Truthfully, I really don't know why more of us, especially those of us in the REO industry aren't completely and utterly schooled in this type of investing and likewise, making it work for ourselves but, that is another blog for another time. None the less, these IRA custodians, due to heavy regulations, can't just come out and say, or do for that matter, "we want to invest in your company". So, how in the "h""e" double hockey sticks to you find these investors?

So, here is the goal. I need a Self Directed IRA Debt Partner Investor who wants to invest in a real estate brokerage focused on Traditional buying, selling and investing, distressed homeowners / REO / Short sales and the Self Directed Private Banking Concept. Anyone out there know of anyone? IF you do, please send them my way, I want to talk with them, I want to send them our business plan, I want to earn their investment. Granted, I don't need a lot, less than 50k so, even a "small time investor" would be cool.

If you don't know how to use your IRA to invest in a LLC, ask me. I can guide you to resources that will educate you, people who can offer you insight. If the only thing stopping you is that you don't know enough about it, don't let that stop you from picking up the phone and calling me because, I can help guide you.

Self Directed IRA Network??

Well, as many of you know, for the past couple months I have really been digging deep into the self directed IRA world and I have to admit, I am truly disappointed. Here I was expecting a world filled with information, people everywhere willing to share, professionals offering advice and services however, I ended up finding a world almost as closed off as REOs. After further investigation, I started to realize that it's not closed......it's just not open. In other words, no one has blown it up. Well, that got me thinking, why not REOPro, why not me?

Here is what is going to happen. Here in the next few weeks, likely right at the start of the new year, I am going to start a social network for self directed IRA investors and professionals. Like REOPro, it's going to offer people the opportunity to come together, freely share information, ideas, resources through blogs, forums, video sharing, picture sharing, on-line chat and, much more.

What we need now are advertisers. Unlike REOPro, I don't want to stay in constant debt with this new network, in fact I am thinking of having some portions of the site closed and only open to paying members however, I am curious as to just how many people may be interested in something like this. I am thinking of a really low annual fee, like $5.00 a year....really low but, keep in mind, I am not trying to get rich of my site, just trying to pay the site bills.

What we need now is some "pre" advertisers. We need to get some people on board who would be willing to pay to have their banner randomly rotating across the top of the site. I will only have 3 opportunities...that's it. Similarly to REOPro, the three banners will rotate randomly on a 30 second interval and no, we aren't fancy enough to see how many people click your ad and all those other tracking things but, if you put in a promo code in your ad, you can track it that way. No contracts, no required length....very simple, $200.00 a month, pay 3 months in advance, if you decide to leave, we will refund the prorated remaining balance to you in full.

If interested in this new network to launch in January 2013, let me know, email me at JGonzalez@RealTracs.com

The market is always changing and as such, I have learned that I too need to always be changing or at least growing. With that being said, for the past 3-4 months, I have been doing a lot of reading on self directed IRAs. More specifically, the "Private Bank Concept" within the self directed IRA industry. Honestly, this concept amazes me, in fact, I am struggling to understand why more of us in the REO industry aren't cornering this market.

I guess first off, I had to realize that many people don't even know they have the ability to direct their own IRA. I had read somewhere that 3.4 trillion dollars is setting in IRA funds right now across this country and most people (like 99%) aren't making more than 1-2% annually.....if that. Granted, most of these people have their money with some investment firm who has the money diversified in stocks, bonds or mutual funds and they make money by managing those funds for you so, it's not in their interest to tell you, "hey, did you know you can do this better on your own and save the money you are paying us?" so, most of you don't know anything about self directed IRAs. Don't feel bad, as of 3-4 months ago, I didn't either. I don't even remember how or who told me about them so, I can't even source or thank anyone for directing me to this awesome opportunity.....sad but, true.

At this point, it's important to tell you, I am a Realtor, not an Investment Adviser, not a Certified Public Accountant and most definitely not an Attorney (no offense). I am simply a Realtor who is looking to drum myself up more business, make more money and start my own brokerage by the start of 2013. Like any good small business owner, I need to find capital however, I don't want to be tied to the SBA (Government Secured Loans) or tied to a bank, personally, I would like to work with individual investors however, it's tricky. Yeah, I have a proven track record and yeah, I have a great business plan...as told to me by my SCORE counselor but, it's not easy to convince someone to give me their money to grow my business and in return, I will give them their money back plus interest. Let's face it, money is tight these days for us all however, what if I was able to tap into money you aren't using to pay your day to day bills? Ok...so, who isn't living paycheck to paycheck, I get that but, some of us worked hard enough that we have nearly 3.4 trillion dollars that isn't doing much for us and my thinking was, how could I convince people to give me some of that money. My thinking was, what if I told potential investor, Priscilla Penny Pincher that I was able to find a real estate investment (flip) that would net her a 10% return on her retirement money, why would she say no? Ok....yes, I am sure you can think of many reasons to say no but, really.....10% return in 6 months on money that is making 1% return in 12 months, it's a no brainer, right?

Well, that is where the Private Bank Concept with self directed IRA funds comes into play. It's nothing more than a strategy that real estate investors are using to complete more deals than ever before. Basically, it allows me to borrow money from an individual...not a bank, to do my flips with while paying the individual back the money borrowed plus a interest rate triple, quadruple or even quince the rate they are currently getting on the money.

Yes, it's risky, it's real estate and yes, we can't guarantee anything but, we can reduce risk by implementing strong, robust loss mitigation and exit strategies so, risk is minimized. Let's also not forget, the loan you are providing me is secured by real estate....real property so, it's not like you're going into this with no collateral.

So, here I am, learnded (yes, that is my Honey Boo Boo term for the day) about this Private Bank Concept and all I need now are the funds however, I am curious, are any of my REOPro member doing this already? If so, let me know, let's talk, let's exchange resources, let's work on creating our own Private Bank!

Sometimes the differences between your employees and independent contractors seems negligible. Their work may be the same and theirsalaries almost indistinguishable, but regardless of whether you seesignificant differences among the people you pay, there is someone whodoes: the IRS.

With employees, companies are required to withhold and pay certain work-related taxes like income, Social Security, Medicare andunemployment. With independent contractors, they aren’t. In fact,companies are only responsible for filing one form (1099-MISC) forcontractors, and that's only if their salaries exceed $600. If a companymistakenly classifies an employee as an independent contractor, itfaces a load of paperwork and penalties and is generally held liable foremployment taxes and then some. So it's important to carefully
distinguish between your workers and your independent contractors.

Remember these qualifications of contractors so you can stay out of trouble with the IRS, an agency not generally known for its forgiveness:

1. They provide their own training.
   Independent contractors already have experience in their fields and require no specific training from employers.
2. They have control over the means of accomplishing their work.
   They can decide when, where and how the work is done. They don't have tofollow any instructions, and the only control the employer has over thework is the end result. Keep in mind that sometimes employees may seemto fit this description, but in this case the company still maintainsultimate control of the situation; with employees, an employer canchoose whether to exercise that control.
3. They have control over their salaries.
   Independent contractors decide how much their work is worth. If you are paying oncommission or by the job — or any other way other than on a fixed,periodic basis — you are probably dealing with independent contractors.
4. They can only be fired for a breach of contract.
   You cannot fire contractors because of general cutbacks or poor work ethicthe way you can fire employees. Generally, you can only fire them forbreaking contract stipulations.
5. They cannot terminate their relationships with employers at will.
   Conversely, independent contractors are usually contractually obliged to finish ajob, and they can be held liable for failure to do so.
6. They have their own tools.
   Independent contractors will always rent or use their own tools. However, so do manyemployees in certain trades, like painters and plumbers, so it's bestto consider the personal costs of the equipment. If these these toolsrequire a significant investment and expensive maintenance, you'reprobably working with an independent contractor.
7. They have to pay for all business and traveling costs.
   Like their tools, independent contractors are responsible for their businessand traveling costs, so if you don't foot this bill, you can reasonablyassume that you are not working with employees.
8. They run the chance of making a profit or incurring a loss.
   If the worker carries the risk rather than the employer, the worker is anindependent contractor. He or she has the responsibility of balancingequipment costs, delays, operating costs and the like with the salary
   being paid, hoping to come out on top.
9. Their services are available to the public, and they usually have multiple clients.
   If workers are offering their skills to anyone and everyone, they areprobably independent contractors. They are not bound to companies theway employees are. They strive to get as much business as possible, andthey do so by taking on as many clients as they can. Because of this, acontinued relationship with a single organization, though possible,usually does not exist.
10. Your company has no control over the contractor's assistants.
    If your company hires, pays or supervises any assistants helping a worker,that worker is an employee. Contractors take care of their ownassistants if they use or need them.
11. Oral and/or written reports are not required.
    Companies only exercise this control over employees. Independent contractors areunder no obligation to provide the company with any updates of theirprogress or anything except the end result the two parties agreed upon.
12. Their services are not completely integrated into your company.
    Chances are the work performed by an independent contractor will not becritical to your business as a whole. The more crucial their servicesare, the more likely workers are employees.

Knowing how to distinguish your employees from the independent contractors you hire allows you to maintain the upper hand in workerrelationships by knowing where your organization does and does not havecontrol. Plus, this knowledge can help you be completely prepared foryour employment-based taxes, so that not even those formidable IRSagents will be able to bring you down.

Hope This Helps