Gig economy

I retired in 2011. Went to graduate school in 2012 to get a Masters in Health Care, but couldn't stand the left wing slant of the education. I had a professor in a clinical psychology class spend 2 hours of class time saying that Ronald Reagan deliberately caused the AIDS pandemic to kill minorities. So I left college and entered the gig economy.

I began teaching on my own. I taught CPR, ACLS, bloodborne pathogens, and other classes. I landed a lucrative set of classes teaching the staff of a hospital. I was being paid to come in 2 days a month and train the staff, and was charging them $3,000 a month. In order to be able to give CPR, ACLS, and other certification cards, an instructor needs a school affiliation. The owner of the school affiliate was a guy named Antonio (name changed for various reasons). I paid him $2 for each CPR card, and $25 for each ACLS card. 

Antonio also paid me $20 an hour to teach college courses at his school. I taught phlebotomy, paramedic, EMT, physiology, pathophysiology, and other medical classes. I was only paid for the time I was actually in the classroom teaching. All of my prep time, computer software, and other materials had to be paid for by me, out of pocket. I had to wear a uniform that I paid for (5.11 pants in black or khaki, polo with school logo embroidered on it).

Many employers do that now- they claim that you are a contractor, even though the law plainly says that you are an employee. They do that because, if you are a contractor, they don't have to pay for insurance, workers' comp, the matching half to your Social Security, overtime, health insurance, and a host of other expenses and benefits. 

Since I had to buy the certification cards from Antonio, that was how he found out I was teaching at the hospital. He went over there and underbid me. He agreed to do the same classes for half the price. Then called me and demanded that I teach the class for him at $20 an hour. 

My own supplier undercut me. Let's say that I taught 20 staff members ACLS for that $3,000. The cards cost me $500 which I paid to Antonio, and I would make $2,500 for the two days. Antonio came along and made $1,500 for the same 2 days and then wanted to paid me $240 for teaching it. 

That was one of the reasons why I decided to become a teacher. If I could go back, I would have found a school affiliate who would sign a contract prohibiting him from taking my customers, not that he wouldn't have slimed his way out of it.

Then the next year, he sent me a 1099, then sent a copy to the IRS with a significantly higher amount on it. I am sure it's because he was trying to hide income and committing tax fraud. All I know is that it triggered an audit. 

Off topic, but when I was audited, the IRS said that they contacted the college where I was attending graduate school, and the school told them that I was never a student there, so the IRS disallowed my tuition deduction The disallowed deduction, along with the increased 1099 income increased my income taxes by $800. 

I told the auditor that I had no problem paying the taxes and penalties. I just wanted a copy of the letter from the school saying that I was never a student, so I could refuse to pay the $14,000 in outstanding student loans. After all, if I was never a student, this loan is obviously not mine. The auditor said "never mind."