The short answer
If you set the schedule, provide the van and equipment, and tell the detailer exactly how to do the job, they're almost certainly a W-2 employee under IRS rules — not a 1099 contractor — even if the work happens at different customer locations every day. Misclassifying that relationship is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes a growing detailing business makes, because "mobile" work feels like it should qualify as contractor work when the actual IRS test has nothing to do with location.
This isn't legal or tax advice — talk to a CPA or employment attorney before you classify your first hire. But knowing the real test before that conversation will save you from asking the wrong questions.
The mobile-detailer trap
Auto detailing has a specific version of this mistake that other service industries don't run into as often. A shop owner hires someone to run mobile jobs, reasons "they're not in my shop, they're driving to customers all day, that sounds like a contractor," and classifies them as 1099.
The IRS doesn't care where the work happens. It cares who controls how the work happens. If your business owns the van, supplies the pressure washer and chemicals, sets the daily schedule, and specifies exactly how a ceramic coating job gets done, that's behavioral and financial control resting with the business — which is the definition of an employee relationship, regardless of the fact that the job site changes every day.
The actual IRS test
The IRS uses three factors (Publication 15-A / Form SS-8) to determine classification. No single factor decides it alone — they're weighed together.
- Behavioral control — does the business control or have the right to control how, when, and where the work is done? Setting a fixed schedule and dictating exact work methods points to employee status.
- Financial control — who provides the tools and equipment, who bears the risk of profit or loss, and is the worker free to offer services to other businesses at the same time? A worker using their own equipment and working for multiple detailing shops looks more like a contractor.
- Type of relationship — is there a written contract describing the relationship, are benefits provided, and is the work ongoing (a key aspect of the business) rather than a one-off project? An ongoing, indefinite relationship doing the business's core work leans toward employee.
What each option actually costs
The numbers below are the real, current federal figures — state costs (unemployment insurance, workers' comp) vary significantly and can be substantial for physical labor like detailing, so get a real quote from a payroll provider or insurance broker before deciding based on cost alone.
- W-2 employee: you pay a 7.65% FICA match (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare) on top of wages, plus federal unemployment tax (FUTA) — 6.0% on the first $7,000 of wages, typically reduced to an effective 0.6% if state unemployment is paid on time. State unemployment insurance and workers' comp are separate, state-specific costs on top of this.
- 1099 contractor: no tax withholding, no employer FICA match. You must issue Form 1099-NEC to anyone paid $600 or more in a calendar year. The contractor pays their own self-employment tax — 15.3% (12.4% Social Security + 2.9% Medicare) on their net self-employment income — which is real money they're accounting for on their end, not a cost you're avoiding for free.
- The lower sticker cost of 1099 is only real if the relationship genuinely qualifies as contractor work under the test above. A misclassified "1099 contractor" who's actually an employee under IRS rules doesn't save you money — it creates back-tax and penalty exposure that costs far more than the payroll tax would have.
A simple way to decide
Ask these plainly, in order: Do you supply the equipment and set the schedule? Do you tell them exactly how to do the job, step by step? Is this ongoing work that's core to your business, not a one-off project? If you answered yes to those, you're very likely looking at an employee, not a contractor — regardless of how the work is structured day to day. If you own a growing team and want each person logging into their own schedule rather than you coordinating everyone by text, DetailFlowPro's staff accounts (Growth and Professional plans) handle that piece — but the classification decision itself comes first, and it's worth getting right before you hire.