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Sec. 3121(d)(2); see sec. 1402(d).
The question of whether an individual performs services for
another as an employee or independent contractor is generally
considered a question of fact. Packard v. Commissioner, 63 T.C.
621, 629 (1975). This Court has enumerated seven factors that
should be considered in determining whether an individual is a
common law employee: (1) The degree of control exercised over
the details of the work; (2) the individual’s investment in the
work facilities; (3) the individual’s opportunity for profit or
loss; (4) whether the work is part of the principal’s regular
business; (5) the principal’s right to discharge the individual;
(6) the permanency of the relationship; and (7) the relationship
the parties think they are creating. Profl. & Executive Leasing,
Inc. v. Commissioner, 89 T.C. 225, 232 (1987), affd. 862 F.2d 751
(9th Cir. 1988). These factors are not weighted equally but must
be evaluated according to their significance in each particular
case. Teschner v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1997-498.
Although no one factor is controlling, the most fundamental
is the degree of the principal’s control over the details of the
work. Packard v. Commissioner, supra. Generally the common law
employer-employee relationship exists when “the person for whom
services are performed has the right to control and direct the
individual who performs the services, not only as to the result
to be accomplished by the work but also as to the details and
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