I have seen people say no to taking a 1099 job

If you have to ask what is wrong with a 1099 job, don't apply for the job!

Some, maybe a few, can work out fair for the driver. Most do not.

Gain your trucking knowledge with a conventional job before you let someone take advantage of you with a 1099.

 

It's no big deal. You get no benefits, so you have to pay for that stuff yourself. But if the benefits are worth an extra 50% on top of your w-9 pay while the 1099 gig pays 100% more, then you're still doing ok.

 

The only " trouble" you can get into is tax trouble with the IRS and State. No deductions are taken from your paycheck. You are responsible to pay your own Federal and State income taxes, plus your own Social Security Security and Medicare taxes. Figure about 30% of what you earn to pay those. You will also have no workers comp coverage or unemployment benefits. You will not get any Medical or Dental benefits. No 401k either. The Company that you work for comes out on top....you lose.

 

It's just more paperwork. You can get all that stuff on your own, or set up your own corporation and have it do those things. You just have to factor that stuff in when you compare pay since it's not apples to apples. It's up to you if you want $1000 per week before deductions and take home like $700 with benefits, or say $2000 per week with no deductions taken out and you do all the benefits and taxes yourself with the extra money.

But if the 1099 is paying $750 per week instead of the $2000, then yeah, that's a raw deal.

Where the scamming comes in is let's say you're getting a $700 weekly check with benefits and taxes already deducted, and some guy comes along and says hey, I can pay you $800 per week take-home on a 1099, making you think it's more money since the checks are bigger, and then you get a surprise come tax time when you realize you've got a huge tax bill due because it wasn't being taken out of your checks like your old job was. But your boss doesn't care if you quit because he just got himself a nearly-free truck driver for the past 8 months and he can do it again with some poor guy from Belarus.

So there's potential for more money but also more potential for taking advantage of the naive. As long as you know the difference you should be fine. Don't just automatically disregard a job because it's 1099. If the money is right then you can do ok.

 

If you set up your own LLC then yoy can still pay into workman's comp as well as unemployment insurance. The major thing is doing your homework, getting a good TRUCKING accountant, and staying on top of everything. It can work, but it requires significantly more work than just being a driver.