How many questions are in the IRS's list to determine employment status?

• A. 15
• B. 20
• C. 25
• D. 30

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that the IRS determines employment status by weighing a set of factors that reflect control and economic reality, not by a single rule. The IRS uses a 20-factor test to evaluate the relationship, looking at how much control the payer has over the work and how the worker is economically tied to the payer. Because classification rests on the totality of the circumstances, no single factor decides it; the pattern across many factors shows whether the worker is more like an employee or an independent contractor.

Behavioral control factors consider who directs how the work is done, including instructions and training. Financial control factors examine who provides tools, who bears expenses, whether the worker can realize a profit or incur a loss, and whether there’s significant investment in the business. Relationship factors look at the permanency of the arrangement, whether the work is a key aspect of the payer’s business, and whether benefits or other indicators of an employer-employee relationship exist. When these factors point to the payer exercising control and the worker being economically dependent, the status tends toward employee; if the worker operates with independence and bears business risk, it points toward independent contractor.

Therefore, twenty is the correct count. The other numbers aren’t the standard IRS reference for this test.