Question

Trent Inc. needs an additional worker on a multiyear project. It could hire an employee for a $88,000 annual salary. Alternatively, it could engage an independent contractor for a $95,000 annual fee. Trent's income tax rate is 21 percent. Required: Compute the annual after-tax cost of each option and indicate which minimizes the after-tax cost of obtaining the worker

Answer 1

Answer: The cheaper cost is to hire an additional worker.

Explanation:

Employee:

With an employee, Trent is going to have to pay payroll taxes.

After-tax cost of hiring employee:

= Salary * (1 + Payroll tax)

= 88,000 * ( 1 + 7.5%)

= $94,600

The subtract the income tax from this amount:

= 94,600 * ( 1 - 21%)

= $74,734

Contractor:

With a contractor, only the marginal income tax is accounted for:

= 95,000 * (1 - 21%)

= $75,050

The cheaper cost is to hire an additional worker.