Industries · Trucking
From setting up the company and getting your authority, to paying your drivers by the book. One team for the part of the business you cannot run from the cab.
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In the trucking businesses we have reviewed, most pay their drivers as contractors. In many of those cases the actual relationship looks more like an employee's — and it is almost always because nobody explained it to them. Twelve questions and you will know.
Take The Driver TestThe risk of having it misclassified
These are not three separate risks: it is the same problem. What it ends up costing depends on who spots it first.
When the error was made in good faith and you filed the 1099s, the law provides for reduced rates on what was not withheld. This is the scenario that hurts least.
A review does not only look forward: it reaches back over past periods, with the contributions that were never withheld, plus interest and penalties.
Any good-faith reduction falls away, and with payroll taxes the responsibility can reach the person who decides the payments personally: an LLC does not always work as a shield.
And there is a risk that is not about taxes
If a driver classified as a contractor is injured and there was no workers' comp coverage, two problems show up on the same day: the worker's claim, and the question of why he was not covered.
It is not your fault — much of the industry operates this way, almost always because nobody explained it. That is exactly why we built this test.
The criteria and their consequences are set by the IRS and your state, and they can change. This is general guidance, not individual legal or tax advice.
Two ways to work with us
Setting the company up is not the same as running it. Each moment has its service, and the second starts where the first ends.
We form the company, get your USDOT and your MC authority, and hand you the complete file you need to start working by the book.
One-time fee
See the startupCompliance, bookkeeping, payroll and taxes for one flat monthly fee. By the 15th you know what you actually made and what you owe in taxes.
From $249 a month
See the MembershipIf you start with us, we credit 50% of the package against your first three monthly payments.
What we do for carriers
LLC or corporation, EIN, registered agent and the complete file you need to start operating by the book.
See the startup1099 or W‑2? We show you the criteria the IRS and your state apply, and we document your case.
Take the testPaperwork, bookkeeping, payroll and taxes for one flat fee, with your 15th-of-the-month Dashboard.
See the MembershipThe series
Everything a carrier needs to understand about classifying drivers: what gets evaluated, what is at stake and what can be done in time.
Many carriers believe a signed contract, or asking the driver to open an LLC, settles the classification. It does not work that way. Here is what actually gets evaluated.
The IRS evaluates three areas to classify a worker: behavioral control, financial control and type of relationship. We explain each one with box truck examples.
A driver paid as a contractor is normally not covered by the business's workers' compensation. Here is what happens after the accident — and what you can do before it.
The IRS has a program to reclassify workers voluntarily by paying 10% of one year, with no interest and no penalties. Requirements, deadlines and who it works for.
How we handle this topic
Classification criteria are set by the IRS and your state, and they apply to the actual working relationship, not to the paper that was signed. We help you understand those criteria, document your situation and run your payroll correctly. The final determination of how each worker should be classified is your decision and, when the case is not clear, it is worth reviewing with an employment attorney.
Tell us how you operate today and we will tell you exactly what you are missing to be compliant — no strings attached.
