If you are an ORISE and doing the same work as a CDC FTE - and you have been forced into paying a larger portion of your FICA taxes because of a forced self employment status --- you may want to fill out an SS-8 form with the IRS to determine your worker status. Go to irs.gov and look up “SS-8”

There was a 1999 "SS-8" ruling against ORISE because of their unfair practices among CDC assignees......
ORISE has not changed their ways – but an ORISE may seek a SS-8 determination under this ruling ---they may be entitled to a bigger tax refund if they paid the extra 7.5% of their wages that most employers usually pay in payroll taxes. The IRS position, as stated in formal correspondence to myself and others who have sought SS-8 determinations, has been that ORISE should have been paying the employers portion of payroll taxes for their contractors.

Why doesn’t ORISE pay these taxes? Price advantage? They don't pay any taxes on employees and who knows why they get away with it. Federally, they are only penalized by IRS if individuals file these SS-8 determinations. The refund you get (with interest) should you get an SS-8 determination and refile your taxes - is really a penalty to ORISE. I am not a tax consultant or attorney but after I got my FTE – I was able to recover a significant portion of a tax refund. (think about 7.5% of a few years of your salary since you have been ORISE at CDC) In spite of this ruling ORISE still doesn’t do the right thing – why? I would assume because their overhead charge or cut – is greater than the few individual SS-8 determinations against them. I would guess they get about 20% and this employer portion of the payroll tax is chump change.

Is it worth the trouble to an ORISE to do this? Well even if you work with a tax consultant 7.5% of 50K earned over 3 years is 11,250.

For those of you dedicated CDC monitors – don’t be alarmed this determination doesn’t impact CDC. ORISE is penalized for every SS-8 determination against them. I guess an ethical question is – if there is an IRS determination against a major CDC contractor – does CDC have any responsibility to work with contractors who are non-compliant to encourage them to do the right thing? Well I have no grand illusions that CDC would do this - - but hopefully some other ORISE fellows/contractors will see this posting and look into the SS-8 determination process. I was able to use the refund from overpayment of payroll taxes to set up a retirement account. Retirement -- another benefit perhaps offered by CDC to their employees, and by some of the expensive contractors like Booze Allen, Bearing Point -- but not offered by ORISE.

If anyone else has successfully received an SS-8 determination -- encourage others to do so?
Note: The blog administrator has no knowledge of ORISE contracting and tax issues and suggests that concerned persons seek expert advice from the IRS, CDC, and/or ORISE, as they feel appropriate. BKeegan