[NA] Contract vs. Salary pay rates for tech jobs

[CJones]

Can someone enlighten me about the look-outs when looking into a contract tech/developer position as opposed to a salary position?

I have read some info that says that a contract position should pay as much as 100% more than the equivalent salary position due to the employee having to pony up for taxes that are covered by the employer for salary positions. Then I've read other info that says that taxes for contract positions equate to about 40% of gross pay. The problem is that all of the numbers I mentioned are from 2010 or earlier and the only recent numbers I can find are for the UK.

As a hypothetical - what would be the expected hourly contract rate for an $80k salary entry/mid-level developer position?

 

[Jim Logajan]

How long is the contract realistically likely to last?
Are you contracting directly or via a recruiter or other middleman?
Is someone else doing the tax withholding, and if so, who?
What part of the country are you in?

These are all factors.

 

[Jim Logajan]

Not familiar with "the 3% rule" ... I was an S-Corp for about 15 years (still am, just not active now)

I hadn't heard of it either - assuming I found the correct reference, it appears to be relevant to those providing contract services to government agencies, as this article explains:

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-mon...-at-odds-on-effort-to-repeal-withholding-rule