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Starting piano studio

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adamspianstudio

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas

I am creating a piano studio in Lawrence Kansas that operates by me going to the customer's house and teaching in their home. 1, will I need a business license to do that, and 2, can i hire my fellow piano students as contractors so that they can use the payment and scheduling features of my website, but I wouldn't have to hire them as an employer?
 
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FlyingRon

Senior Member
The first question (and many of your others I suspect) are answered by this page and the sites it links to: http://www.kansas.gov/businesscenter/starting.html
To my knowledge piano teachers do not need to be licensed. There's rules for business registration on that site as well. While instruction doesn't fit under the category of something that requires sales tax, if you sell materials such as method books or other music, you will need to follow the instructions for collecting and remitting sales tax.

You can treat people as independent contractors only if they qualify to be so. If you're scheduling them and telling the where they need to report, it sounds like they are employees. This is an IRS thing...http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Independent-Contractor-Self-Employed-or-Employee
 

Dave1952

Senior Member
Would you explain your second question a bit better. Why do you wish to contract with or employ your students? What will they do for your business?
 

adamspianstudio

Junior Member
Independent contractor or employee?

Would you explain your second question a bit better. Why do you wish to contract with or employ your students? What will they do for your business?
Sorry, the language of the second question was a bit unclear. I am a college student studying piano, so I am starting this piano studio to earn some money and get teaching experience. My fellow piano students would also like to teach under the name of the piano studio I am creating. I would let them use my scheduling and payment system, and they would teach for my piano studio. So, I would tell them when and where to teach (based on where the customer schedules them), but I would not be telling them how to teach. Thus it is my opinion that I could hire them as "independent contractor teachers," and file a 1099 for them. I am hoping to get the opinion of this forum on whether the IRS would see it that way too. Thanks for your help!
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Sorry, the language of the second question was a bit unclear. I am a college student studying piano, so I am starting this piano studio to earn some money and get teaching experience. My fellow piano students would also like to teach under the name of the piano studio I am creating. I would let them use my scheduling and payment system, and they would teach for my piano studio. So, I would tell them when and where to teach (based on where the customer schedules them), but I would not be telling them how to teach. Thus it is my opinion that I could hire them as "independent contractor teachers," and file a 1099 for them. I am hoping to get the opinion of this forum on whether the IRS would see it that way too. Thanks for your help!
That really is an iffy one. Who would be providing the materials from which to teach? Will you get any percentage of their earnings or will it all be theirs? Who will control the price that is charged?

You might be able to pull it off if you are merely charging them a fee to use your scheduling and payment system...a monthly fee that is not directly tied to their earnings and you don't control how much they charge...or that all of you together make decisions on uniform pricing, on a cooperative basis.
 

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