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>Carpenters bring their own tools. I bring my brain and my library.
>I rely on my employer to supply workstation, OS, software, templates
This is fine if you are openly and unashamedly an employee. It's one of the
factors the IRS looks at in deciding whether an alleged contractor is
actually an employee.
Having and using your own tools at your own site on your own schedule
reassures the feds that you are indeed an independent contractor. Relying on
the client to supply the tools, or worse yet, offering them control of when,
where, and how you do the work makes the IRS think that maybe you're an
employee in disguise.
Whichever you are, it pays to be clear about it. ...RM
