Statutory employee

A statutory employee is an independent contractor under IRS common law that is treated as an employee, by statute, for tax withholdings. For a standard independent contractor, an employer cannot withhold taxes, as this would change the independent contractor relationship into an employer-employee relationship. Statutory employees are also permitted to deduct work-related expenses on Schedule C instead of Schedule A in the United States tax system. As a result, they are allowed a greater tax deduction for business expenses than standard employees, as Schedule C expenses are not subject to the 2% adjusted gross income threshold as seen with Schedule A.