Independent Contractor Templates

Hiring a contractor instead of an employee is legitimate, but the label in the contract does not decide the question. Tax authorities, labour regulators and courts look at how the work is actually done, and several states and provinces now apply strict tests or require a written contract with specific contents for freelance work. A business that gets classification wrong can owe back wages, taxes and penalties, and a freelance contract that leaves out a required term can expose the hiring party to damages.

Each template is written for a named jurisdiction's classification test and freelance payment law. It describes the work as a business-to-business engagement, sets payment dates the law will accept, deals with ownership of work product and confidentiality, and includes guidance notes explaining which facts support independent contractor status.

The agreement only helps if the relationship matches it. Review the classification factors in the guidance notes before you sign, and revisit them if the work changes.