Siding Contract

When clients hire you to work on a specific project or on a freelance basis, you are usually considered a contractor. You provide the labor, services, and sometimes whatever equipment is needed to get the project done.Subcontractors are companies or individual people that you hire to help you complete a project.

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.

To find subcontractors, GCs and PMs usually go to sites like BuildingConnected, AGC, BIA, and other trade organizations. Once there, a GC will put out a Request for Proposal (RFP). RFPs list out important project details, like the skills needed, objectives, and the project timeline.

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 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.