Easy way to legally pay your Handyman

[Mark Updegraff]

I've got someone I think will make a pretty good overall "handyman" for the inevitable loose door knob, leaky sink, broken fence, loose step etc.

My question is this:
What is the simplest way to legally pay this person, obviously, without them being deemed an "employee"

Contracting would seem to be the safest, however, logistically writing contracts for this and that seems like a huge burden. Could I contract them on a yearly basis? If so how would that work? Does anyone have a sample contract they use with their handyman that they could share?

Thanks in advance!
MC

[J Scott]

Yes, the IRS will look to you to prove that he is an independent contractor, but may talk to him as well. Keep in mind that if he gets hurt, it may be in his best interest to claim to be an employee, in which case he'd probably tell the IRS lots of stuff you don't want him to tell (and may not even be the truth).

So, with that in mind, make sure you look out for your own interests first!

Here are some things you can do to help the IRS make a determination in your favor:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2010/05/26/are-you-sure-your-independent-contractors-really-are/

As for contracts, I'm a big proponent of them. Even if it's just a master ICA signed up-front with short one-page template form for each job.