text: in a sole proprietorship, can you hire consultants to do work and not have to worry about tax issues? i run a sole proprietorship business that offers technology services.  periodically i get work requests that fall outside of my knowledge and experience.  in those situations, i'd like to be able to enlist outside consultants and pay them for the work.   my question is, can i do this without having to pay taxes, etc, or report any forms to the irs.  ideally, i'd pay them for the work and it would then be their responsibility to pay the taxes.  can this be done with a sole proprietorship and if not, how can it be done? 1099 them as independent contractors  or just pay them under the table like everybody else...