If you are an independent contractor, you need to pay the "employer" share of taxes, which is 7.6% (social + medicare). This is hidden if you are on W2, as W2 e

If you are an independent contractor, you need to pay the "employer" share of taxes, which is 7.6% (social + medicare). This is hidden if you are on W2, as W2 employees pay the "employee" share of 7.6%. The other benefit of being on W2: disability & unemployment. Often times, many service workers get injured. If one is on W2, the employer's disability insurer covers the treatment and recovery of employees. I have seen many cases where many service workers are gravely injured. Unemployment: if you are on 1099, you won't get unemployment benefits, when your contract ends after 12 months. Health Insurance: W2 does not guarantee that. I worked as a security guard for two companies in 2002. One provided decent health insurance; the other provided super crappy health insurance (like max benefits of $20K per year, if you paid $50 per month)