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The 13-factor test: is your subcontractor actually a subcontractor?

Last reviewed: August 2026

Thirteen questions covering the factors CRA actually looks at. You get which way they point and which ones are working against you.

Runs in your browser. Nothing reaches us unless you ask us to email you your results. This is the most expensive thing on a contractor's file to get wrong, so it is worth ten minutes.

1. Who decides when and how the work gets done?

2. Can they turn down work from you?

3. Do they work for other businesses as well?

4. Who supplies the major tools and equipment?

5. Whose vehicle do they use for the work?

6. Can they send someone else, or hire their own helpers?

7. How do they get paid?

8. If a job takes longer than expected, who absorbs the cost?

9. Can they increase their profit by working more efficiently?

10. If the work has to be redone, who pays for it?

11. Do they carry their own WSIB coverage and liability insurance?

12. Are they registered for GST/HST and charging it?

13. Is there a written agreement, and do both sides genuinely understand it the same way?

How the factors line up

This weighs the factors evenly. A reviewer will not. Control and the ability to subcontract usually carry more weight than the rest, and a written agreement that does not match how things actually work counts for very little.

Email me the factors working against us Have someone look at it properly

Why this one matters more than the others

CRA applies a two-step approach for contracts formed outside Quebec. First, what did the parties intend. Second, does the working relationship actually reflect that, looking at control, ownership of tools, chance of profit and risk of loss.

A written contract that says "independent contractor" does not settle it. If the relationship is found to be employment, the corporation becomes liable for the CPP, EI and income tax that should have been withheld, on payments already made, plus penalties and interest. That liability sits with the payer, not the worker.

In construction it compounds, because the same relationships drive your T5018 reporting and your WSIB position.

How we handle this for contractors

General information, not a determination. Only CRA or a court can decide status, and a CPP/EI ruling is the formal route if you need certainty.

Came out mixed?

Mixed is the one that gets reassessed. Worth a look at the actual arrangements before CRA looks at them.

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