Considering shopping but have a couple of questions

GM to all,

I'm considering becoming a shopper. I signed up with MSPA, and with one company. This would be a part-time side job for me.

I see a lot of comments about becoming an IC. Is this really important?

If I am an IC, does that mean I can count miles traveled to/from shops as "business miles" when I file taxes? And a portion of my cell phone bill? I have a home office already because I am able to telework for my full-time job, so would time I spend on my laptop in my office doing reports count as "home office expenses?"

Thank you for your time....I want to get this right from the beginning!

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Hi and welcome to the forum. I am by no means an expert with any of the tax stuff, but I do know it would be wise to keep track of your miles to and from shops as the mileage deduction is a huge benefit to this so-called job. Check out the new shopper section of the forum for more info. I also believe a portion of your cell phone bill is deductible. My husband is an accountant and does my taxes. He does take cell phone off. I don't know about home office. I believe it must be a dedicated space used only for work. If you're already taking it for your other job, I don't think you can double-dip on that. Also, you don't become an IC. You are an IC. You don't have a choice in that.

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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

Welcome, Just1Starfish. To be able to deduct your mileage, you have to keep a strict record of your mileage during the year (beginning and ending mileage and where you went for that business). You can only deduct just your mileage or just your total vehicle expenses; you can't deduct both. Also, your home office can be deducted but, you can only deduct the cost of the square footage of the office vs your entire home and the office cannot be used for anything but your work for that business. You should not use that home office for anything but your work for that business. Your cell phone bill is much like your home office. You can only deduct the portion of what you used just for business. If you make personal calls on that phone, that portion must be included. If you deduct your home office and it's compliant for tax reasons, you can also deduct things like the portion of your water bill, electricity bill, and even grass cutting. I hope this helps.

Shopping Arkansas, Louisiana, & Mississippi.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2018 04:23PM by ArkLaMissshopping.

As a mystery shopper you are, by definition an IC (Independent Contractor) when working with 99% of the MS companies. . You DO NOT have to join MSPA; it is the group that represents some of the hundreds of MS companies. It work for those companies, not for shoppers, so membership has no real benefits for MSers like ourselves.

Please go to the New Mystery Shoppers area of the forums and read, read, read the topics that are "pinned " to the top of the list there. That will give you a head start and may well help you to avoid scams.

At the foot of the page here you will find a list of well over 100 MS companies, many of whom are NOT MSPA members. However, MSPA membership by an MS company does not mean that it is any better than non-members. Your best info about the MSCs will be the forum members' comments about each of them. You can ignore the "one complaint "wonder" posters who claim foul play by an MSC but cannot explain what offended them. But you should pay attention to "trends" in comments about each MSC. You can easily find posts about any one of them by using the forum's "search" function and setting the time period to "last 12 months" for that MSC name.

Enjoy!

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

There are links at the bottom of the page for the new mystery shoppers area and the official list of MSCs.

Thank you very much, all! Literally, right after I posted this, I found the new shoppers section, and have been browsing there. LOTS of good info.

Maybe to clarify the IC question......should I consider getting a separate EIN number for shopping? One post in the new shoppers area mentioned not to do so as it complicates things...i.e., the county might want business licenses, etc. Another post said it would make book-keeping much easier. My thinking is that I will likely get a separate EIN number....it seems easier to track the income/expenses that was for Turbo-tax, which I have used for years.

I'm REALLY glad I found this website. I travel a lot for my full-time job, and am thinking I will enjoy this as a fun side job in different locations.

Thank you!!!

I don't have an EIN and I have been shopping for 17 years. Pretty sure walesmaven doesn't have one, either. I don't think I should have to pay the city for licenses when they are already getting my tax money. I've been doing my own taxes for years with no problem, but you have to do whatever works for you.

@Just1Starfish..if you travel anyway for your fulltime job..finding shops should be extremely easy for you....good luck!!!

Shopping Idaho and Oregon/Idaho border region.

There is nothing about an EIN that will make bookkeeping easier. I use Turbo Tax and have no need of one. We report IC income on Schedule C, where you can use you SSN. It is made for sole proprietors like ICs.

I do not have an EIN and advise against it. It does NOT make either the IRS or any MSCs respect your self employment status any more than just using Scheduler C to report income and expenses of MS will. In other words, no need to drink the Kool Ade.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Just try out a couple shops to see if you even like it.

Hey Just1Starfish! Welcome to the Forum! I've been shopping since 2005, and don't have an EIN, either. The ONE company that wants you to have one....and then ONLY IF you earn OVER $600, is The Source also known as Trendsource. Every year I shop for them, but only use my SS#, since I never seem to meet their threshold (although this year I'm getting close!). At the end of each page of the Forum you will see a link to the Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies. Click on that and you will see LEGITIMATE companies to sign up with. Sign up with them by using the links, and you will be on their official site.

**HOWEVER** PLEASE beware that there are SCAMMERS out there who are USING the LEGITIMATE NAMES of legitimate companies to scam people into cashing large checks and keeping a portion for themselves, thinking they have earned money doing mystery shopping jobs, when all they've done is given themselves a HUGE financial headache!! If you get ANY sort of large check in the mail for a company that you have not done any work for, DO NOT cash it!! It will most likely be a scam artist, trying to dupe you. It happens ALL the time, and there are MANY posts on this Forum about that.

So take the plunge, and hope you do well!

@walesmaven wrote:

I do not have an EIN and advise against it.

I have one and see no need why someone would want to have one as a mystery shopper. Full disclosure I have one from a previous business where I did need one. I have actually stopped using it. The only reason one might want it as a shopper is if you wanted to open a business checking account and your bank required it. And I'm not sure why you would want to do that. Business checking accounts have no benefit for a shopper usually and normally have higher fees. I do recommended that you open a separate personal checking account just for MS though. Even if doing it part time.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

OK, so overall, the consensus seems to be that I don't need one. I thought it was necessary to be considered an IC, so for ease of taxes, etc, I think I will proceed without it. Still have a lot to learn, and thank you all again!

All good advice above. Also a good idea to have a separate email address for MSing. If I could go back to 2001 and know I was going to get this involved with it, I would have done that then.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

All good advice above.

Especially my advice cause my advice is always the best advice!

Also totally agree on the separate email.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Of course, LOL.

Hi Starfish, just a shout out from a very part time shopper. Most of the above advice is being given to you by our seasoned and very active members. Collectively they have done a whole lot of shopping. If you look at the little box by each person's name you can see how long they have been on this forum, although it does not indicate how long they have been mystery shoppers. In many cases quite a bit of time before they found this forum. I too had a regular job when I started shopping so I started out with five or six shops a month. Now I do more but usually not more than just a couple in one day. I too do not have an EIN. You will find that some mystery shop companies (msc) have jobs that are regional and some have jobs almost everywhere so if you will be traveling it is in your interest to sign up for many companies to easily find shops in other states and cities. But do a few first in places you are most familiar with until you get the hang of it. As a part time shopper I do not keep my finances separate and have no problems with that but it is up to you to decide which is easier.
Good luck and happy travels where ever you go.

Yes to everything that sandyf posted. This is just a little reminder for the unknowable future. Depending on whatever may happen in life, you can just keep this tucked away for future reference. At any time, you can obtain or activate an EIN, a separate email address, separate accounts, or whatever you may want or need to do. Making such changes would require you to update each profile for each MSC with which you work as an IC, but that would only take a few minutes per profile. You would also need to file taxes for your SSN and EIN in any year in which you work with both numbers or identities. (This work is so flexible!)

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2018 01:09PM by Shop-et-al.

@walesmaven wrote:

There is nothing about an EIN that will make bookkeeping easier.

That may be true if your only IC work is mystery shopping, but I have 2 different schedule C businesses. I use the EIN for one and my SS for the other (Mystery shopping). That makes my bookkeeping component much easier. I am also distributing 1099's to other ICs as part of my main business, so I much prefer to list the EIN on those instead of my SS number....

I use an EIN so I don't have to give out my SS#. Some companies require one or the other. The EIN was free and easy to get.

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Considering shopping but have a couple of questions

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