10-18-2013, 04:37 AM
Sometimes it's just semantics: if you call yourself a "plumber", you better have the license... but if you're a "handyman", and you don't engage in regulated activities (granted, this is difficult considering the broadly-worded statutes), there isn't any licensing for that.
Same thing with "independent" contractors: the IRS litmus test goes beyond "filing a 10-99". If they provide their own tools, and you don't tell them how to do their job, they're probably a "contractor". If you provide office space and micromanagement, they're an "employee" in the eyes of the IRS, regardless of how they're paid.
Last I checked, it becomes "plumbing" when you change the fixtures or move/add the pipe; you have to be an "electrician" to replace an outlet or light switch. Changing the faucet handle or replacing a light bulb is "maintenance".
I would use the "faucet washers" example, but all the modern ones are washerless; it looks like you just install a new one when it starts to leak, and that's probably considered "plumbing". Not even a little ironically, the cheap plastic kitchen sink faucet is $20 at Home Despot, hiring the plumber to install it is probably a 1-hr minimum at $75 or so.
Same thing with "independent" contractors: the IRS litmus test goes beyond "filing a 10-99". If they provide their own tools, and you don't tell them how to do their job, they're probably a "contractor". If you provide office space and micromanagement, they're an "employee" in the eyes of the IRS, regardless of how they're paid.
Last I checked, it becomes "plumbing" when you change the fixtures or move/add the pipe; you have to be an "electrician" to replace an outlet or light switch. Changing the faucet handle or replacing a light bulb is "maintenance".
I would use the "faucet washers" example, but all the modern ones are washerless; it looks like you just install a new one when it starts to leak, and that's probably considered "plumbing". Not even a little ironically, the cheap plastic kitchen sink faucet is $20 at Home Despot, hiring the plumber to install it is probably a 1-hr minimum at $75 or so.