Government shutdown guidelines for 1099s

Government shutdowns, or at least the threat of a government shutdown, have been a regular occurrence over the last decade or so.

As a W2 employee, depending on the size of your company, you'd probably still get your paycheck for at least a month or two, at which point the government would usually reopen.

As a 1099, you can't bill for the time you're not working, which means if your contract stops during a shutdown, you're going to have a gap in income.

So what should you do?

• Don't panic.
• Realize your cash flow problems are slightly deferred due to Net-30 terms
  • (i.e. if you worked September, government is shutdown for October, you will still get paid for September on November 1st)
  • You won't have a paycheck on December 1st, because you didn't work in October
• Use your savings (if you don't have any, make sure you start working on this)
• Enjoy the time off

As a W2 employee, your employer would probably try to find some work for you to do, even if not billable. This sucks because it's usually non-important stuff you wouldn't want to do.

As a 1099, you could try to do some chores and what not, but I'd just enjoy the time off.

Want to take a road trip? Go see family? Catch up on Netflix? Go for it.

1099 life can be a little more volatile than W2 life. It's important to take advantage of it.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.