This is because HR got involved. BTDT.
And we had to get one or two riders for comprehensive in case
someone fell over our briefcase -- and we were never on site....
Sigh,
Steve Thompson
On 2/9/2026 6:21 PM, Doug Fuerst wrote:
The biggest difference that I ran into with W-2 vs. CTC (and I
still do some CTC) was insurance. E&O can get expensive, and
W-2's are covered by whatever company (client or consulting
company) they W-2 to. CTC you have to cough up E&O at the very
least, and in some cases, alot more. One client wanted auto
insurance in the amount of $2MM in case we had an accident in
their parking lot. The fact that we were working remote made no
difference. The box said auto insurance, I was expected to pony
it up. But they refused to pay any more hourly despite the
ridiculous demands.
Doug Fuerst
------ Original Message ------
From "Tracy R Reed" <[email protected]>
To [email protected]
Date 2/9/2026 17:45:05 PM
Subject Re: Recruiters
Hi Mark,
Being that you mention W2 and C2C:
I'm sure that there are a lot of businessmen/independent
consultants here with a lot more experience than I. Maybe some
of you can enlighten me with your experience. Because I have a
lot of questions about W2 vs C2C.
Questions such as:
Why do employers always seem to want W2?
Why do more people not insist on C2C? Particularly once you
are making more than around $120k/yr which is where my
accountant tells me the overhead starts to become worth it?
I’ve been making it no secret that I prefer C2C work. I would
take a really good direct W2 job but I really prefer C2C. It
just makes things so much better for me economically but costs
the employer the same.
Then the recruiter or business owner will typically say, “But
we want someone full time.”
Me: “Yeah, I want full time too. 40 hours per week.”
Them: “They don’t want to do 1099.”
Me: “I don’t want to do 1099 either. That’s not what C2C means.”
Them: “But they want someone who is going to stick around.”
Me: “I want to stick around! I was at Splunk, a famous $25B
logging/SIEM/cybersecurity company, for two years and would
love to still be there! My dream job would keep me for many
years!”
Them: “But they want someone with some loyalty to the company.”
Me: “This is an at-will position right? They make that
specifically clear in the offer letter. They reserve the right
to let me go at any time for no specific reason and make zero
promises and by hiring me incur no obligations beyond those
required by law, right? And they will explicitly put it in
writing that this is at-will so there is no confusion. So they
want totally one-sided loyalty. Are they looking for someone
who doesn’t know what at-will means? A rube with no business
skills?”
At my level, the tax savings from C2C are huge. My accountant
says that once someone starts making more than a certain
amount (which I exceed) and has deductions that it can start
to make a lot of sense to go C2C vs W2. And that is how it has
certainly played out for me these past few years. I love being
able to write off my internet, my phone, my computer, my
computer books, my professional organization memberships, etc.
C2C doesn’t cost the employer any more. The idea is that the
burden of certain expenses are shifted to the
employee/corp/contractor and they do their own taxes,
accounting etc. But in this way the employee/corp can handle
their taxes and expenses in a way which is uniquely suited to
their needs.
Since it does not cost the employer any more it makes great
sense for the contractor/worker/employee/partner to go C2C.
The C2C rate is typically 1.3-1.4x the W2 rate. The company
saves on overhead which gets shifted to the employee. This
definitely isn’t for everyone. But for people with good
earnings who have deductions it can save a ton.
The insistence on W2 really just looks like a sort of
mind-game and a way to take advantage of the employee.
Is it just an ego game on the part of the employer? “I want to
have real employees reporting to me and not contractors. I
don’t want to be their client. I want to clearly be their
employer and sole source of sustenance. But I want to reserve
the right to can them the week before Christmas with no
notice, no severance, and no reason given.
"There is no non-imaginary advantage to me as your employer to
have you W2 instead of C2C but I want you on W2 anyway. Here,
pay tens of thousands extra in taxes!”
Where am I wrong here?
- Tracy Reed
On 2/9/26 07:49, Mark Jacobs wrote:
I've been telling them $135 W2, 1099/CTC much higher.
Mark Jacobs
Sent from ProtonMail, Swiss-based encrypted email.
GPG Public Key
-https://api.protonmail.ch/pks/lookup?op=get&[email protected]
On Monday, February 9th, 2026 at 10:29 AM, Steve
Beaver<[email protected]> wrote:
I have a suggestion for all American consultants even if you
have a job when a recruiter calls you tell them you’re part
of a group in our minimum rate as a group is $120 per hour W-2
Sent from my iPhone
No one said I could type with one thumb
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