The label matters less than the math.
W-2 means taxes withheld and certain protections. Your employer pays half your payroll taxes. Benefits may be included. Your take-home looks smaller, but some costs are covered before you see the check.
1099 means higher gross pay and you manage your own taxes. You pay both halves of payroll tax. You handle quarterly estimates. In exchange, the rate is higher — and you can deduct legitimate business expenses a W-2 employee cannot.
Neither is “better” in the abstract. It depends on your situation: your other income, your filing status, your appetite for managing estimates or hiring an accountant.
What clinicians get wrong is assuming 1099 is a downgrade. At these rates, many net more. A psychiatrist at $300 per hour on a 1099 with clean deductions can out-earn the same psychiatrist on a W-2 at a lower rate with benefits they never use.
My contracts are 1099. Credentialing is handled. Malpractice is covered. You practice.
Run the numbers before you decide — or bring the question to a call and we run them together. Know the trade before you sign.