2. Who Are Employees? Generally, employees are defined either under common law or underspecial statutes for certain situations. Employee status under common law.Generally, a worker who performs services for you is your employeeif you can control what will be done and how it will be done. This isso even when you give the employee freedom of action. What matters isthat you have the right to control the details of how the services areperformed. Get Pub. 15-A, Employer's Supplemental TaxGuide, for more information on how to determine whether an individualproviding services is an independent contractor or an employee. Generally, people in business for themselves are not employees. Forexample, doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, construction contractors,and others in an independent trade in which they offer their servicesto the public are usually not employees. However, if the business isincorporated, corporate officers who work in the business areemployees. If an employer-employee relationship exists, it does not matterwhat it is called. The employee may be called an agent or independentcontractor. It also does not matter how payments are measured or paid,what they are called, or if the employee works full or part time. Statutory employees.If someone who works for you is not an employee under the commonlaw rules discussed above, do not withhold Federal income tax from hisor her pay. Although the following persons may not be common lawemployees, they may be considered employees by statute for socialsecurity, Medicare, and FUTA tax purposes under certain conditions. An agent (or commission) driver who delivers food, beverages(other than milk), laundry, or dry cleaning for someone else. A full-time life insurance salesperson. A homeworker who works by guidelines of the person for whomthe work is done, with materials furnished by and returned to thatperson or to someone that person designates. A traveling or city salesperson (other than an agent-driveror commission-driver) who works full time (except for sideline salesactivities) for one firm or person getting orders from customers. Theorders must be for items for resale or use as supplies in thecustomer's business. The customers must be retailers, wholesalers,contractors, or operators of hotels, restaurants, or other businessesdealing with food or lodging. Get Pub. 15-A for details on statutory employees. Statutory nonemployees.Direct sellers and qualified real estate agents are by lawconsidered nonemployees. They are instead treated as self-employed forall Federal tax purposes, including income and employment taxes. SeePub. 15-A for details. Treating employees as nonemployees.You will be liable for social security and Medicare taxes andwithheld income tax if you do not deduct and withhold them because youtreat an employee as a nonemployee. See Internal Revenue Code section3509 for details. Relief provisions.If you have a reasonable basis for not treating a worker as anemployee, you may be relieved from having to pay employment taxes forthat worker. To get this relief, you must file all requiredinformation returns (Form 1099-MISC) on a basis consistent with yourtreatment of the worker. You (or your predecessor) must not havetreated any worker holding a substantially similar position as anemployee for any periods beginning after 1977. IRS help.If you want the IRS to determine whether a worker is an employee,file Form SS-8, Determination of Employee Work Status forPurposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding.