South Carolina Subcontractors

Licensing. Scope of Work and Payment. Timing. Defense and Indemnification.

A rule of thumb for independent contractors is that the vendor should be allowed to mark up your pay rate by about 15 percent when billing the client. This allows the vendor a respectable profit without making the bill rate outrageous.

All subcontractors must file and pay taxes including state, local and federal income and self-employment taxes on their own. The general contractor must file IRS Form 1099-MISC if the subcontractor earns over $600.

The payment bond is backed by a surety company, and protects the owner and subcontractors. If a general contractor refuses to pay his subcontractors, they can make a claim against the payment bond. The surety company will pay out the subcontractors for at least part of their money and take the contractor to court.

Subcontractor markup will vary by trade and can be upwards of 25% depending on the trade and whether the work is union or non-union. To summarize, the contractor marks up work performed his own employed workers and each subcontractor (or supplier) hired by the contractor will mark up their own work.

Start with procurement standards. Execute all subcontracts prior to starting your projects. Help those who help you. Award the job to the lowest fully qualified bidder. Use contract scope checklists. Make sure you have tight clauses. Meet to review the proposed subcontract.

In South Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations is responsible for the licensing of all contractors. General, mechanical, specialty and manufactured housing contractors must be licensed in order to work in the state.

Clients withhold retention against main contractors and main contractors withhold payment against sub-contractors. Retentions typically take the form of a percentage on the contract value. The rate can vary wildly but is typically around 5%.

A subcontractor will carry out duties on behalf of a contractor - who is responsible for their health, safety, and actions - and might be an individual or an organisation. However, the employees of a contractor are not considered subcontractors, they must be separate altogether.