COMMISSION-ONLY JOBS DISCLAIMER

University of Utah Career Services may post positions for some commission-only jobs in our online job databases. However, our job-posting policy attempts to limit commission-only job postings to jobs within the following parameters:

  1. The company must provide training and ongoing mentoring as part of the work experience.
  2. The company must provide marketing and advertising of its products (Employees should not be liable for marketing or advertising costs.)
  3. No up-front, out-of-pocket, non-refundable fees, memberships or business start-up fees should be required of new employees.
  4. No part of an employee's compensation should be dependent on recruiting others or selling new distributorships.  (No multi-level marketing programs.)

University of Utah Career Services strives to screen and evaluate job opportunities posted by employers.  Nevertheless, the University of Utah Career Services has no control over an employer's representation of the quality, safety or legality of the jobs; the truth or accuracy of the listings; or the ability of employers to offer job opportunities to candidates. You assume all risks associated with dealing with companies, individuals or other users of this website with whom you come in contact through the University of Utah Career Services website.

If you're considering commission employment, we recommend that you fully explore the position to assure it will be a good fit for you. The following are some questions we recommend you ask the employer:

  • Are licensing costs and training provided by the company?
  • Do I need to buy anything in order to represent this company?
  • Does the company provide sales leads?
  • Does the company provide benefits? (Medical? Dental? Vacation? Sick Time? Other?)
  • Does the company offer long-term career track positions?
  • Are the company's employees covered by workers' compensation?
  • Are the company's employees independent contractors? *
  • Does the job require a business license?
  • Can the company provide me with some current and past employees to talk about their experience?
*

Independent contractors must pay ordinary income taxes, Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) taxes, and Social Security taxes in the form of the self-employment "Federal Insurance Contributions Act" (FICA) tax, which is about 2 to 3 percent less than the FICA tax a company employer would have to pay for an employee. (When a company pays FICA tax, part is borne by the company and part is deducted from the employee's wages.) Self-employed independent contractors also must estimate their individual income taxes for each year, then pay a quarter of the estimated amount owed to the federal and state governments each calendar quarter. Failure to pay or late payment means hefty penalties and interest added.

Independent contractors receive a Form 1099 at the end of the year. Like the W2, this form reports to the IRS the amounts paid, but in the case of the report on 1099 there is no tax withheld.

You must report income you receive of tax form 1099 if you received payments over $600 per year. See IRS and your state's tax codes for details.