I’m an independent contractor. I just run everything through a corporation. Not looking for employees.
The thing is, if my customer ends the job (i.e. they stop paying my corporation), then I can’t fire myself and collect unemployment from my own corporation. It isn’t allowed – or so I’ve been told. So, why then, should I be paying in ?
The same situation exists for independent contractors working without their own corporation. They work on a “1099” where the client corporation pays them directly as an individual. They still have to pay in to unemployment (not the customer) and are not allowed to draw from it.
It’s called a “self employment” tax
Your corporation can most certainly lay you, the employee, off if there is a business need to do so (no contracts certainly satisfies this condition). And of course if your corporation’s bank account runs dry, the corporation can go out of business and you, the employee can most certainly collect unemployment benefits in that case. Your corporation and you personally are two completely separate entities.
I am not a lawyer although I play one on television 🙂
Self-employment tax is entirely different. It is a federal tax that corresponds to the employer’s contributions to SS and MDCR. Since you are an employee in California, your employer (your corporation) is paying state unemployment, state disability, and probably a few other things I can’t remember at the moment on your behalf. Independent contractors are probably not eligible for state unemployment, although I’m not 100% sure on that one…
I actually just re-read your post and it sounds like you are billing your corporation as an independent contractor rather than having payroll from your company with fed/state deductions, etc… so yeah it may be different in your case.