Pass on the 1099 Assignments!
If you’re wondering what difference it makes, W2 or 1099, the answer is lots! Sure, you’ll get a much larger check during that assignment with a 1099, because the employer will not withhold any taxes such as social security or unemployment insurance, but that can come back to bite you in the ass big time! Especially the longer you stay at the assignment while remaining, possibly, still eligible for unemployment insurance if you had been laid off from a previous employer. In addition, you’ll have to pay taxes on both sides, that of what your employer should have kicked-in, plus your share of self-employment taxes, and that can be crushing to an independent Official Temp building a new life. Also, as an independent contractor, you won’t be protected by workplace laws that prohibit discrimination, require payment of overtime, entitle you to worker’s compensation, ad infinitum.
So, while the temp-tation might be great for the bigger, instant pay-day, just don’t do it. It’s not worth the mess it will create.
