In 2016 31% Of US Labour Force Derived Some Or All Of Their Income From The Gig Economy

February 24, 2023
In 2016 31% Of US Labour Force Derived Some Or All Of Their Income From The Gig Economy

A very in depth report dating from Q3 2016 that speaks to where things were back then as a starting point for where things are today.

The report is highly detailed and the source can be found at the bottom of our post.

It is the earliest comprehensive report that we have been able to find and the trends are quite revealing.

Here is how the importance of the Gig Economy has grown over time :

  1. 2016 - 31% Of Entire US Labour Force derives some or all of their income from the Gig Economy
  2. 2017 - 34% Of Entire US Labour Force derives some or all of their income from the Gig Economy
  3. 2018 - 36% Of Entire US Labour Force derives some or all of their income from the Gig Economy
  4. 2022 - 41% Of Entire US Labour Force derives some or all of their income from the Gig Economy


The 2016 study reveals the following :

  1. 40% Derive 40%+ of their total income from the Gig Economy
  2. 23% Work in professional services (White Collar Gig Work = Contractor/Freelancer/Consultant)
  3. 40%+ Said making money was the most important factor in getting a Gig job
  4. 50% Would not quit their full time job = Side Hustling is important
  5. Represent $734 Billion in Income & 4% of GDP


IRS Has Changed Tax Deduction Requirements For Cellphones

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Gig Workers Are Being Targeted By The IRS For Tax Deduction Analysis & Audit

“A last-minute insert by Democrats looking to offset the cost of their coronavirus aid package would send tax collectors into the gig economy, eventually costing Uber and DoorDash drivers, Airbnb hosts and others about $1 billion annually,” Roll Call reports.

IRS & Tax Courts Are Denying The Ability To Claim/Deduct Personal Usage

“As for the cell phone and internet, Judge Panuthos really wanted to help Ms. Armstrong ..., but he was unable to do that because she could not give him any basis for allocating what amounts of the total cell phone and internet bills
were for work and what amounts were for personal use..."

H&R Block & Intuit (TurboTax) Say Only The Documented & Substantiated Business/Gig Usage Of Smartphone & Wireless Plan May Be Claimed As A Deduction

Direct quote from Intuit/Turbo Tax on their tax advisory note dated July 1st, 2021 : "If you have an expense that is both personal and business (Smartphone) then you need to allocate it between the two."

Direct quote from H&R Block "When you use a personal cell phone for business, the regular monthly expense will not qualify as a deduction. To deduct the expense, you would need to calculate the business-use percentage of the mobile phone on a month-by-month basis. Adequate documentation could include a log with these: ... Notes that indicate whether each call was personal or business Business purpose of each call"

The Likelihood Of An Audit Has Doubled For The Average American

Nearly half of the audits would impact families earning less than $75,000, while roughly one-quarter of the audits would affect Americans earning up to $25,000 per year... the plan will also result in 800,000 more federal tax liens against taxpayer property, including homes and vehicles.

The IRS Has Hired 87,000 New Auditors Targeting Self Employed & Small Business Owners

The [Washington] Post reports the IRS expects a much lower return on all those “rich” people they claim they are going to audit with those 87,000 new agents, which is an eightfold increase in their budget….

80% Of New IRS Revenue Will Come From Small Businesses Earning Under $200,000

Quote #1 : “The IRS will have to target small and medium businesses because they won’t fight back,” Joe Hinchman, executive vice president at National Taxpayers Union Foundation, told The Post.

Quote #2 : In fact, going after the lower and middle class can actually be more lucrative for IRS auditors than trying to get more money from the wealthy. “The rich have their lawyers and fight it — that’s why the poor are easier to go after,” Hinchman adds.

Quote #3 : "Even if small business owners get everything right, they may still be faced with a headache since part of the IRS expansion will involve sending out more notices and letters to businesses, Bunn adds. For individual contractors or small businesses, an IRS letter that they owe more money or made an error on their taxes can put them underwater."

IRS Going After Nickles & Dimes By Lowering Reporting Threshold From $20,000 To $600

Quote #1 : "Before this year, the threshold for filing a Form 1099-K report was at least 200 transactions totaling an aggregate of at least $20,000."

Quote #2 : "When Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, it included a provision that reduced the reporting threshold to a single transaction over $600."

Quote #3 : "President Biden and the Democratic Party have insisted that Americans earning less than $400,000 annually would not have to pay a cent more in taxes."

Quote #4 : "But the Joint Committee on Taxation disputes this, saying that between 4% and 9% of the money collected will come from businesses that earn above $500,000 a year."

Department Of Labor & IRS Are Partnering To Target Gig Workers

Quote : "On December 14, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) signed and published a Memorandum of Understanding for Employment Tax Referrals (the “MOU”). The MOU establishes a system for referrals from the DOL’s Wage & Hour Division (WHD) to the Small Business/Self Employed Specialty Employment Tax unit (“SB/SE”). The stated goal is: “To share information between the SB/SE and WHD to assist in the identification of emerging and ongoing employment tax compliance issues related to misclassification,”1 but its practical effect is to streamline the process for investigating and penalizing businesses that allegedly misclassify their employees as independent contractors. This is the latest memorandum of understanding between federal agencies focusing on perceived widespread worker misclassification in the labor market."

mobilityView Featured By Forbes For New Smartphone Taxation Laws That Went Into Affect In USA & Canada

"To remain compliant with the IRS's cellphone policy, you should document business and personal usage for every call, text message and packet of data."

mobilityView Featured By The #1 Tax Planning Expert (Front Cover Of His Book) As A Necessary Solution For Gig Workers

"I recommend a U.S. patented solution from mobilityView Inc. which automates the separation of business vs. personal use of mobile devices and services.”

Page 581 : “Like all expenses, business expenses for use of mobility devices and networks need to be accumulated, categorized, and recorded.

Time Machine & MCM App Are Fully Tax Deductible


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Our Mobile Cost Management (MCM) Solution :

  1. 70% More cost effective than a Stipend for Smartphone Reimbursement
  2. 75% More cost effective than a Company provided phone
  3. Keeps companies labour law and tax law compliant
  4. Protects companies against class action lawsuits by their employees for failure to reimburse or adequately reimburse
  5. Keeps employees reimbursed & happy in a tax efficient lower cost way than a stipend or company provided phone
  6. Aligns your smartphone reimbursement policy to your mileage reimbursement policy. Tax authorities globally have required a mileage book for years and now require a "mileage book for connectivity costs" denoting the business vs. personal usage & cost



30 Second Explainer Videos On How How We Lower Costs For Gig Workers/Employees & Employers :

Employee WFH / BYOD Reimbursement : https://lnkd.in/dvdupVwz
Employer WFH / BYOD Cost Savings : https://lnkd.in/dZ3wU9bW

Employee & Employer Cost Sharing For Win/Win : https://lnkd.in/grWgF8Tp
Carrying 2 Phones? Save $1,500 Annually On Cell Bills : https://lnkd.in/gCZXXXSM

Tax Deduction Changes For US Gig Workers : https://lnkd.in/ggAfRWhc
Tax Deduction Changes For Canadian Gig Workers : https://lnkd.in/gHFXa5nC
Tax Deduction Changes For Australian Gig Workers : https://lnkd.in/geT95ZTM

US Gig Workers Can Get Up To $3,000 In Retroactive Tax Deductions : https://lnkd.in/gd6DUbSN

Gig Worker & Employee Tax Deduction/Reimbursement For Previous Years : https://lnkd.in/dG5MPP3X
Canadian Employee Tax Deduction Up To $1,000 : https://lnkd.in/gUhm-chC

Non-Canadian Employee & Gig Worker tax deduction : https://lnkd.in/gD5eEke

Get $30 to $80 / Month Tax Free In The Form Of Reimbursement Or Tax Deduction : https://lnkd.in/gQzB8ujx

Smartphone global tax trends : https://lnkd.in/dbvArumk



Article Sources :

  1. 2016 Report Source : https://www.pymnts.com/gig-economy/2017/gig-econom...
  2. 2017 Source : https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activi...
  3. 2018 Source : https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activi...
  4. 2022 Source : https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activi...
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