The Internal Revenue Service has issued a new tip sheet on employee v. independent contractor, and also warns electronic taxpayers about a phishing scam from fraudsters posing as the IRS.

The tip sheet is part of the IRS Summertime Tax Tip series, and addresses what the agency looks at in determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor. Employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors can end up with substantial tax bills, and additionally, they can face penalties for failing to pay employment taxes and for failing to file required tax forms, the IRS says.

The IRS also warns taxpayers about a fraudulent scheme targeting users of the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. A bogus e-mail claiming that the tax payment was rejected and directs the user to a website for additional information; the website contains malware that will attempt to infect computers, the IRS says.