My Son received a Job Offer as an Independent Contractor in Salt Lake City? Need Info? (for rent, health insurance)

[Danny K]

Hey All,

My 23-year-old son just received a job offer as an independent contractor for a company in Salt Lake City UT. He is guaranteed a weekly minimum salary of $1300 but depending on circumstances of his job, it could go up to $2000/week. That would be around $62,400/year at the min (assuming his weekly salary is the minimum every week), factoring in 4 weeks of unpaid vacation time which the company offers. None of us are really familiar with Salt Lake City or Utah, as we have never been. So my first question is, is that a livable salary for an independent contractor in Salt Lake? Is that enough?

Since it is an independent contractor, he won't get benefits like health insurance, etc, but I think he is still legally under ours until he is 26 years old so it is not really a concern. What are taxes like in Utah though? Do contractors need to pay more in taxes in Utah?

Also what areas are safe and unsafe in Salt Lake City? He is looking for rent and we just want to make sure he rents in a reasonably safe area. What areas do you recommends he avoids?

He also will not have a personal car for a while. He will be renting one from the company for work but I am not sure if he will be able to use it for personal purposes. He might. But I read that Salt Lake has great public transportation, is that true?

Anymore info we need to know for my son relocating to Salt Lake City? What is cost of living there like? Also if any of you have any clue how we can calculate his net pay from that salary that would be great? I am having trouble doing that because I am not sure how taxes work in Utah and what taxes he will need to pay with that salary as a contractor.

We live in Augusta GA right now and he still lives with us if that plays any part into it.

[irman]

Originally Posted by Danny K

Hey All,

My 23-year-old son just received a job offer as an independent contractor for a company in Salt Lake City UT. He is guaranteed a weekly minimum salary of $1300 but depending on circumstances of his job, it could go up to $2000/week. That would be around $62,400/year at the min (assuming his weekly salary is the minimum every week), factoring in 4 weeks of unpaid vacation time which the company offers. None of us are really familiar with Salt Lake City or Utah, as we have never been. So my first question is, is that a livable salary for an independent contractor in Salt Lake? Is that enough?

Since it is an independent contractor, he won't get benefits like health insurance, etc, but I think he is still legally under ours until he is 26 years old so it is not really a concern. What are taxes like in Utah though? Do contractors need to pay more in taxes in Utah?

Also what areas are safe and unsafe in Salt Lake City? He is looking for rent and we just want to make sure he rents in a reasonably safe area. What areas do you recommends he avoids?

He also will not have a personal car for a while. He will be renting one from the company for work but I am not sure if he will be able to use it for personal purposes. He might. But I read that Salt Lake has great public transportation, is that true?

Anymore info we need to know for my son relocating to Salt Lake City? What is cost of living there like? Also if any of you have any clue how we can calculate his net pay from that salary that would be great? I am having trouble doing that because I am not sure how taxes work in Utah and what taxes he will need to pay with that salary as a contractor.

We live in Augusta GA right now and he still lives with us if that plays any part into it.

Hard to say if this is a good offer or not in the first place...
Your first paragraph says nothing about what conditions are connected with his contract.
You claim a guaranteed minimum... For what kind of work, what if he gets nothing done during that week?
His salary at the minimum level should suffice for a single person if he lives carefully and sets aside as much money as he can each week, religiously. Can he do that? His extra expenses will eat up his extra funds really quick with apparently no insurance etc.

[moguldreamer]

I would tell him "don't take that job."

Tell him to keep looking.

[Zenstyle]

What kind of place offers unpaid vacation? That’s just bizarre.
Tell him to keep looking. “Independent contractor” is often boss-speak for “we’re gonna exploit you.”
Ask him to check out this page.
https://www.score.org/resource/artic...-…-under-law

[Wartrace]

Independent contractor? Take 15.3% right off the top for his payroll taxes. You say he is going to "rent" a car from the company? How much is that? Sure he can probably stay on your insurance for a while but when he has to start paying his own it is quite costly. Also, he is forgoing any 401k match an employee typically gets.

I wonder if he would truly be an "independent contractor" or just an employee without benefits. There are employers that violate that law. Do some research on the job and see if he would really qualify as a 1099 worker.

[Threestep2]

Please tell him to run not walk!

He has no benefits, liability coverage, work men's comp. He is a 1099 contractor.

The pay sounds like piece work. Do you know how that works in reality? First deduction will be truck/tool/insurance on truck/damages/customer claims. Please figure out what will be left. What jobs, what hours/days? How does payroll run? How many weeks will payroll run? How many weeks will the company hold until he gets the first check?

Will he be covered under your insurance if he is working?

Moving to Utah, deposits, changing drivers license, potentially converting trades licenses, bridging to getting paid. Then reverse that.

If it were such a goldmine why does the company have to hire an independent contractor in Georgia to work in Utah?

Looks like a duck!

He should be able to find something in Augusta where he has family and friends and housing.

[skeddy]

Originally Posted by Zenstyle

What kind of place offers unpaid vacation? That’s just bizarre.
Tell him to keep looking. “Independent contractor” is often boss-speak for “we’re gonna exploit you.”
Ask him to check out this page.
https://www.score.org/resource/artic...-…-under-law

sounds like they're offering him four weeks of being unemployed for the year.

[Danny K]

Originally Posted by Zenstyle

What kind of place offers unpaid vacation? That’s just bizarre.
Tell him to keep looking. “Independent contractor” is often boss-speak for “we’re gonna exploit you.”
Ask him to check out this page.
https://www.score.org/resource/artic...-…-under-law

He is going to be a subcontractor which means he is working under independent contractors. It is actually a big company that works in many different states that I believe only hires people as contractors and not employees.

He is paying for things needed to do the job and he signed a contractor agreements. The company works for many clients, and he is just a subcontractor. I am unsure if it is illegal or not, but since it's a big company, I'd think they'd get noticed at this point if they were doing something illegal. My son read reviews as well and all contractors who work there seem to have great things to say and gets really good reviews.

[Danny K]

Originally Posted by Threestep2

Please tell him to run not walk!

He has no benefits, liability coverage, work men's comp. He is a 1099 contractor.

The pay sounds like piece work. Do you know how that works in reality? First deduction will be truck/tool/insurance on truck/damages/customer claims. Please figure out what will be left. What jobs, what hours/days? How does payroll run? How many weeks will payroll run? How many weeks will the company hold until he gets the first check?

Will he be covered under your insurance if he is working?

Moving to Utah, deposits, changing drivers license, potentially converting trades licenses, bridging to getting paid. Then reverse that.

If it were such a goldmine why does the company have to hire an independent contractor in Georgia to work in Utah?

Looks like a duck!

He should be able to find something in Augusta where he has family and friends and housing.

He wants to move to Utah on propose, LOL. He is ready to move out and live on his own. And we haven't even lived in Augusta long anyways. We just moved here in August, so it doesn't really feel like home to him, and he doesn't really have any friends here.

The company will give him a free vehicle with insurance for a month. After that, he'll have to either buy is own vehicle or rent from the company for $160 a week. If he rents from the company, they will provide vehicle insurance. He will get paid every other week. Guaranteed a straight $1300/week but could go up to $2000 depending on how many jobs he gets done during the week, and his efficiency pace. They will train him the first week. He gets the weekend off. The agreement states that he will work 40 hrs a week, but it'll be by the job, and the more jobs he completes, the more he will get paid. But he is guaranteed $1300/week regardless.

[Danny K]

Originally Posted by Wartrace

Independent contractor? Take 15.3% right off the top for his payroll taxes. You say he is going to "rent" a car from the company? How much is that? Sure he can probably stay on your insurance for a while but when he has to start paying his own it is quite costly. Also, he is forgoing any 401k match an employee typically gets.

I wonder if he would truly be an "independent contractor" or just an employee without benefits. There are employers that violate that law. Do some research on the job and see if he would really qualify as a 1099 worker.

Honestly taking 15.3% off the top for payroll taxes isn't terrible in my opinion. Is that full tax? I told him every week to take 30% out of his weekly salary and put it in a savings account to leave that for tax money. Will 30% be enough of his gross income? I'm talking taxes all together that he'll have to pay at the end of the year. So he'll be living off $900/week min which I still think isn't bad for a first full time job.

He'll be able to be under our health insurance until he turns 26. Car is $160/week. He'll have to pay for gas, etc. Also he doesn't plan to be at this job for longer than 2 years, so he will leave and not have to worry about having to pay his own health insurance.