Free tool
Score a contractor engagement for misclassification risk.
Answer 10 questions about control, integration, and trade. Get a risk tier with a written rationale and a factor-by-factor breakdown. No platform login required.
Worker misclassification is the single largest compliance risk in contractor hiring. This free tool applies the IRS common-law test and state-specific variants like California's AB5 / ABC test to a potential 1099 engagement. You answer questions about control, integration, and trade; we return a risk tier (low, medium, high), a written rationale, and a factor-by-factor breakdown. Nothing you enter is saved in a profile — we store only the score and the email you provide so we can email you the result.
Classification assessment
Takes about 2 minutes. Every question is based on the IRS common-law test and relevant state rules.
How the scoring works
- You answer 10 questions covering four categories: behavioral control, business integration, worker trade status, and financial relationship.
- Each answer carries a weight based on how that factor affects the classification analysis in real case law. Control factors carry the highest individual weight because courts and the IRS look at them first.
- State adjustments apply. If the worker is in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, or another ABC-test state, the trade factor (whether the worker runs an independently established business) weights higher because the ABC test's C-prong is the most commonly failed.
- You get a tier and a rationale. Low, medium, or high risk, with a written explanation of which categories drove the result.
- The rationale is written for a reviewer, not a machine. The output is meant to be readable by HR, legal, or a hiring manager, not just a compliance engine.
Frequently asked questions
- Same logic, simpler interface. The Engage platform applies this scoring across every active contractor and adds the compliance dashboard, audit trail, and decision workflow on top. The free tool gives you the score itself for one engagement at a time.
Need managed 1099 compliance, not just a tool?
HQ Simple runs 1099 compliance as a managed service — classification, documentation, filing, audit defense — built on this same scoring logic, with humans in the loop.
Want to run classification across every contractor?
The scorer handles one engagement at a time. Inside Engage, the same scoring runs across your whole workforce with a compliance dashboard and audit trail.