He is what is called a Statutory Employee. It's quite common, and nice for contractors so they don't have to come up with ALL of their FICA. He would also not be covered under workman's comp. If the OP's BIL is a contractor or a Statutory Employee, it wouldn't matter if the injury happened at work or home, there is no work comp, LEGALLY, and his regular insurance would just pay. They will get the letter, the insurance company will investigate to see if it falls under work comp, and rightly so. They will find he is a contractor and they will pay the claim. Even in larger companies that are privately owned, the owner has work comp on his/her employees but owners are not covered under work comp.
Thank you! That is exactly what he is! He has done this for 24 years, long before I met him, so most aspects of his business I don't know the details to. I pay in taxes to fed/state. We pay quarterly and have not had any trouble, so I kinda lean in to the accountant and my dh. I trust dh because he is meticulous in his record keeping and he is not one to try and deduct anything. It took his accountant 3 years to convince him his cellphone is a work related expense and he could deduct it! Dh is very conservative when it comes to the IRS. I have no idea re: workman's comp for my dh. I do know that we have to a large insurance policy that covers only the 'business' in case someone gets injured in his truck or while he is working. We actually have to have the policy protection for him to work.
OP, maybe your sis DH is a statuatory employee and the taxes being taken out are for the FICA taxes. Even without a W2 his paycheck stubs should reflect where the money was taken. Hopefully this will all work out in the end and it doesn't seem as bad tomorrow!
Kelly

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