2019 Tax Season is Here

2019 Tax Season is Here

Don't forget, as a mystery shopper, you are an independent contractor; that means that the way you file is different from an employee.

Investopedia's article about an "Independent Contractor" illustrates the difference, "Workers can have a classification of either an employee or an independent contractor. When a worker is an independent contractor, the employer can control only the quality or result of the job and not the method through which the work is done. When the worker is an employee, the payer can mandate the output occur in a particular place, and at a certain time or pace. A business owner has more control over the completion of the job." As a result of this, mystery shoppers must pay their own Social Security and Medicare taxes.

To break it down, "As of 2018, independent contractors pay 12.4% in Social Security contributions and 2.9% in Medicare payments on the first $128,400 of their earnings." You can do the quick math to estimate what you will be paying in before you go to file your taxes.

Click here to view the full article.

You only need to file your earnings if you made over $600 working for a Mystery Shopping company for the previous year.

At Secret Shopper we create a 1099 tax document for you which is mailed to the address on your shopper profile. If you believe you need a 1099 tax report but haven't received one yet, log in and contact our support line.