Tax Guides

84 guides on Trade contractors · show all guides

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• Job costing & pricingJul 10, 20266 min

  What Does It Cost to Insure Work Trucks, Tools, and a Small Crew?

  This comes up again and again in contractor forums: "What are your business insurance costs for trucks, tools, and crew? "The answers swing wildly because the question is missing context....

• Job costing & pricingJul 10, 20266 min

  Big Jobs vs Small Jobs: Are the $500K Projects Actually More Profitable?

  This comes up again and again on Jobber community: a contractor lands a small gig, knocks it out fast, and the homeowner refers them to a neighbor with a massive...

• Hiring & payrollJul 10, 20268 min

  True Cost of Employee vs Contractor: Why a $25/Hour Hire Costs You Nearly $40 in 2026

  When business owners ask me about the true cost of employee vs contractor hiring, they are usually staring at an hourly rate and wondering what they will actually write checks...

• Hiring & payrollJul 10, 20267 min

  Workers Comp Cost Contractors: What You Pay and When You Can Skip It

  I get this question constantly: do I actually need workers' comp if I'm the only employee? Here is the short answer. If you have W-2 employees, you are almost certainly...

• Hiring & payrollJul 10, 20265 min

  When Can You Afford to Hire Your First Employee? What the Numbers Actually Look Like

  When can you afford to hire your first employee? When you have three months of fully burdened wages in cash and enough revenue stability to cover the payroll even if...

• Trade contractorsJul 10, 20267 min

  You Want to Merge With Another Contractor — Here's the 2026 Tax Reality

  If you're thinking about merging with another contractor, the first thing to understand is that the IRS doesn't care what you call it. Whether you call it a merger, a...

• Hiring & payrollJul 10, 20267 min

  The Real Cost Employee Turnover Contractors Face (and How to Stop the Bleeding)

  The cost employee turnover contractors absorb includes payroll taxes, lost billable hours, and training wages that never get billed to a job. Most owners see the recruiting fee and miss...

• Hiring & payrollJul 10, 20265 min

  Hiring Kids Tax Strategy: Deduct Wages and Shift Income in 2026

  If you are searching for a hiring kids tax strategy that actually holds up, the concept is simple. You put your child on the payroll for real work. You deduct...

• Hiring & payrollJul 10, 20268 min

  Pay Per Performance vs Hourly vs Commission: What Actually Works for Field Crews

  This comes up again and again on Jobber community: Pay per performance model using jobber. Contractors want to know if they can pay field crews by the job instead of...

• Hiring & payrollJul 10, 20268 min

  How to Build a Pay Raise Ladder for Field Crews

  If your field crew doesn't know exactly what stands between their current wage and the next one, you don't have a pay raise ladder for field crews. You have a...

• Job costing & pricingJul 10, 20266 min

  Free Inspections Marketing Downturn: Should You Give Away Estimates When Work Slows?

  I tell clients that a free inspections marketing downturn strategy only works if the tax math supports it. When work slows down, the instinct is to say yes to every...

• Job costing & pricingJul 10, 20264 min

  First Solo Job Take Home Math: What You Actually Keep vs. What Stays in the Business

  If you are searching for first solo job take home math, here is the split I use with new contractors. A payment from your first solo job is not spending...