Part-Time Employee vs Independent Contractor: Which Fits Your First Hire?
Last updated . Every number on this page was checked October 2, 2026.
Part-time employee vs independent contractor: the two can work the same hours for you, but they sit under different rules, and their monthly figures aren't alike. In Texas, a part-time administrative assistant hired as an employee costs $2,048.29 a month at the middle (median) wage. That's 20 hours a week, which is this site's assumption, in wages plus employer taxes, before benefits (BLS May 2025 wages, 2026 tax rates). In Jeremy Kenerson's own hiring, he has paid a part-time contractor about $2,000 a month, and that isn't a market rate. You don't choose the label. An IRS test and a Texas Workforce Commission test decide it.
This page is a plain reading of the rules. It isn't legal or tax advice.
Independent contractor vs part-time employee: what's the difference?
The difference between an independent contractor and a part-time employee is who has the right to direct and control the work. "Part time" says how many hours a person works. It doesn't say which kind of worker they are. So a person who works a few hours a week can still be your employee. Texas unemployment tax rules say it doesn't matter if an employee is full time or part time.
| Part-time employee | Independent contractor | |
|---|---|---|
| Control | The business has the right to direct and control what's done and how | Texas's Form C-8 says an independent contractor does the job their own way and gets few instructions, if any, on the details. The IRS weighs the degree of control and independence |
| Taxes | Generally withheld by the business: income tax, Social Security tax and Medicare tax. It generally pays employer taxes of its own too, the IRS says | Generally none withheld and none paid on the payments, the IRS says |
| Paperwork | Form W-4 and Form I-9 for the new hire, and a new hire report to the Texas Attorney General's office within 20 calendar days | Form W-9 from the contractor, kept for four years. After the year ends, Form 1099-NEC for each person paid at least $2,000, for tax years that begin after 2025 |
| Monthly figure | $2,048.29 for a part-time administrative assistant in Texas. That's 20 hours a week at the middle (median) wage, plus employer taxes, before benefits | About $2,000 a month is what Jeremy Kenerson has paid a part-time contractor in his own hiring |
| Where the figure comes from | BLS May 2025 wages and 2026 tax rates, with this site's math | One owner's statement. It isn't a market rate |
| What the figure leaves out | Benefits and paid time off, the cost of hiring, equipment and software, and workers' comp if you choose to carry it | This site has no list for this figure. It's one owner's number |
For what each one is, see independent contractor vs employee.
What does each one cost a month?
A part-time administrative assistant hired as an employee in Texas costs $2,048.29 a month at the middle (median) wage, counting wages plus employer taxes, before benefits (20 hours a week; BLS May 2025 wages, 2026 tax rates). A part-time contractor cost Jeremy Kenerson about $2,000 a month in his own hiring, which isn't a market rate. The two figures don't measure the same thing.
The employee path. The 20 hours is this site's assumption, and no source sets it. BLS's full name for that job is Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive. It's a middle wage for one job, so it isn't a quote, and a real hire can cost less or more. The second job this site prices, and the US figures, are in a table on how to hire part time employees.
The contractor path. That figure is one owner's number, from his own hiring of contractors.
The two paths aren't like for like. The employee figure is built from a middle wage and the employer's taxes. The contractor figure is simply what one owner paid. The IRS says a business generally doesn't have to pay any taxes on payments to an independent contractor. So this page doesn't call either one the lower-cost path. The first hire cost page shows all four first-hire options by the month, with the math.
DeskTeam360 runs this site. If the part-time hours you need are for production work, a call can show whether a team could cover them.
The button opens DeskTeam360's Book a Call page.
Who pays which taxes on each?
For a part-time employee, the IRS says a business generally must withhold taxes from each paycheck and pay employer taxes of its own. For an independent contractor, it says a business generally does neither.
The employer taxes inside the $2,048.29 are Social Security, Medicare, and the federal and Texas unemployment taxes. The rate for each one, and the math line by line, are on the first hire cost page.
For the steps to hire a part-time employee, see how to hire part time employees. For the steps to bring on a contractor, see hire independent contractor.
Not legal or tax advice. Ask your accountant.
Can you pick whichever one you want?
You can't pick whether a worker is a part-time employee or an independent contractor. The label follows the facts of the work. The IRS and the Texas Workforce Commission each have a test for who counts as a contractor. Agreeing on a label doesn't change that: the Texas Workforce Commission says that even if you and your worker agree, you can't classify an employee as an independent contractor. Two of Texas's 20 points are about hours: set hours of work, and full time required.
A wrong call can cost money, and both agencies say it can mean more taxes. For the test, point by point, and for what each agency says about a wrong call, see independent contractor vs employee test.
Which fits your first hire? Three things to look at:
- Who will set the hours and the method. That's the control both tests look at.
- Which paperwork you're set up for. The table's paperwork row has each side's forms.
- What each monthly figure leaves out. The table's last row has that.
You choose how the job runs. The tests then decide which kind of worker that makes, whatever you call them.
This page can't tell you which one your worker is. Ask your accountant before you bring the person on.
More on employee or contractor
If neither path fits the work you need done, a call can show whether a flat-rate team does.
The button opens DeskTeam360's Book a Call page.
Sources
- IRS, independent contractor (self-employed) or employee
- IRS Topic 762, independent contractor vs. employee
- IRS, forms and associated taxes for independent contractors
- IRS, instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC
- IRS, about Form W-4
- E-Verify and Form I-9
- IRS Topic 751, Social Security and Medicare, for the 2026 tax rates in the monthly figure
- IRS Topic 759, federal unemployment tax, for the 2026 tax rates in the monthly figure
- Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment tax rates, for the 2026 tax rates in the monthly figure
- Texas Workforce Commission, when an employer owes unemployment tax
- Texas Workforce Commission, classifying employees and independent contractors
- Texas Workforce Commission, Form C-8: "Employment Status: A Comparative Approach"
- Texas Attorney General, new hire reporting
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 Occupation Profiles, Texas, job code 43-6014
- Jeremy Kenerson, owner statement on his own hiring of contractors, October 2, 2026
- The math: the total worked out two different ways
- This site's first hire cost page, for what the figures count and leave out
All checked October 2, 2026.
This site isn't connected to the State of Texas or any government agency.
What changed
- October 2, 2026: First version of this page.