My employer wants me to invoice for the same work: does that make me self-employed?

The whole relationship matters

CRA’s guide assesses the facts of the relationship for employee or self-employed status and CPP/EI treatment. Different factors apply for Quebec and elsewhere. An invoice, registration or contractual label is not the complete assessment. A CRA ruling has a defined purpose and period; provincial employment standards or other rights can require an additional legal assessment.

Compare before and after

Record who controls tasks and methods, supplies tools, bears costs, can hire help and has opportunities for profit or loss. Keep the old contract, proposed service agreement and actual instructions. Identify what truly changes in practice. Do not assume owning a laptop or working remotely outweighs every other fact in the relationship.

Check the financial arrangement

Separate the fee, taxes, CPP/EI, insurance, expenses and time not paid. Ask how invoices and payment disputes would be handled. Compare the actual package rather than a headline gross amount. A higher fee may include costs previously carried by the employer; that budget comparison is still distinct from deciding your legal status.

Use the appropriate determination route

CRA allows a worker or payer to request a CPP/EI ruling subject to timing requirements. Seek tax and relevant labour advice with the documents before relying on one label. Keep the change date and record of consent or objection. This guide does not submit a ruling request, calculate self-employment tax or decide a Quebec civil-law test from a generic checklist.

Illustration: applying the factors

Hypothetical illustration: an agency asks a designer to invoice for the same tasks after a period on payroll. The designer lists what changes in practice: who directs work, supplies software, controls hours, permits hiring help and bears costs or profit-and-loss risk. If only the invoice changes, that label is not a complete status assessment. The useful question is how the whole arrangement is treated for CPP/EI and which separate employment standards apply. Do not turn one favourable factor into a guaranteed employee or self-employed classification.

Questions to ask and next steps

Ask your employer: “What exactly changes in my daily work, tools, and ability to hire help, and how will unpaid time and expenses be handled?” If the answer is only that you will now invoice, that does not settle your status. If you remain unsure, request a CPP/EI ruling from the CRA before the deadline, and consult a lawyer or tax advisor with your documents. If the issue is unresolved, bring your old contract, the new service agreement, and a list of actual instructions to a professional who can assess the whole relationship.

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