Hi, thanks for the answer to my previous post. But I do have some other matters that I need clarification from, which I believe I failed to make clear.

1) I earned 4500 for childcare, but tutorials for the same children. I worked for two families, and probably earned 3500 from one family. I did not work for them regularly, on and off over six months last year. I intend to file as an independent contractor. Is that possible?

2) Do independent contractors need to "incorporate," or whatever the term is? Should I have gotten an EIN?

3) I do not want to get the families who paid me for my services into trouble. How will my filing of taxes affect them?

4) Was it legal for me to accept cash and check?

3) I unfortunately have very bad accounting records, I can only estimate how much I made because I pretty much worked the same number of hours each week. What do I need to do at this point, to prove to the IRS I earned the amount of money I did?

Again, I am F-1, OPT, have been here 5 years.

I am eager to hear from you, so I won't make the same mistake this year (2007), if I had made mistakes last year.

Thank you so much.

1. You don't file as a indepentent contractor, you are one or you are not one, it does not change your filing status, it is merely how you are paid.

The people who pay you and the job you do decides if you are a independent contractor or not.

2. Most independent contractors are not imcoroporated, if you are, you are a corporation, not a independent contractor, most independent contractors merely file under their own social security numbers.

3. The people who paid you are not your concern, you are to report all of your income, it is their responsiblitly to claim it

4.You can accept checks or cash, as long as you report it.

5. The people that paid you are suppose to give you a 1099 statement on what they paid you, this is their resonsiblity

6. You need to do better than estimate, since the amount of tax you owe depends on how much you earn.

Tuxedo Cat:

Fr Chuck did an exceptional job covering the issues.

Keep track of your expenses and your income. The IRS expects to see good records if they audit you. You will pay through the nose if you fail to meet their expectations.