What's Up Doc? Employee or Not?

Ed Zollars' Tax Update Podcast

The definition of an employee is this week's key issue--and we look at the matter in the case of Maimon v. Commissioner, TC Summary Opinion 2009-53. Dr. Maimon attempted to argue that he was not an employee of the professional corporation he worked in (and owned some shares in), but rather was an independent contractor. He was interested in holding this position because he had ended up personally paying over legal fees and, ultimately, a $1 million settlement, in a case involving his medical services.The case is interesting because the Court held Dr. Maimon was not an officer and thus actually stepped through the common law tests for employment status. In the end the court found Dr. Maimon was an employee, but the case gives a good outline of the analysis to go through even in cases that aren't quite as "bad facts" as this one.Materials for the podcast are available at http://www.edzollars.com/2009-04-25_Employee.pdf .The podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Services, located on the web at http://www.leimbergservices.com .