PAINTING SUBCONTRACTOR AGREEMENT TEMPLATE
A signable agreement for the 1099 painters and crews you sub work to — scope, pay basis, insurance requirements, punch-list standards, and the independent-contractor language that keeps a classification audit boring. Pre-filled with a real 12-unit townhome repaint. Edit every article, print for signatures, or copy the full text. For the contract you sign with the homeowner, use the painting contract template.
Painting Subcontractor Agreement
Independent contractor agreement — edit every article below
Pre-filled with a realistic 12-unit townhome repaint subbed out to a two-man finish crew. Click any field to edit, switch how the sub gets paid, then print for signatures or copy the full text.
Painting Subcontractor Agreement
Independent contractor agreement for painting services
#SUB-2026-0142
Date: August 24, 2026
Contractor
ProCoat Painting LLC
2841 Commerce Blvd, Suite 4, Austin, TX 78745
(512) 555-0237 · ops@procoatpainting.com
License: TX-LIC-PNT-48291
Subcontractor
Delgado Finish Crew LLC
Hector Delgado, Member
1607 Sunbright Ln, Del Valle, TX 78617
(512) 555-0864 · hector@delgadofinish.com
TX Sales Tax Permit 3-21887-4406-2 · EIN 88-4471029
This Agreement is entered into on August 24, 2026 between the parties named above.
Parties
Contractor (hiring party)
Subcontractor (1099 painter)
Project & Scope of Work
Subcontractor shall furnish all labor to:
- Mask and protect flooring, cabinetry, fixtures, and hardware in all 12 units
- Patch nail holes, caulk trim-to-wall gaps, sand and spot-prime repairs
- Walls: 2 coats Sherwin-Williams ProMar 200 eggshell, sprayed and back-rolled
- Ceilings: 1 coat ProMar 200 ceiling flat, sprayed
- Trim, doors, and jambs: 2 coats ProClassic semi-gloss, sprayed and tipped
- Daily broom-clean of work areas and removal of all masking and debris
Not included in this subcontract:
- Paint, primer, caulk, and sundries — supplied by Contractor
- Drywall repair larger than 6 inches or any texture matching
- Lead-safe work practices on pre-1978 surfaces (Contractor's RRP-certified crew)
- Exterior surfaces, decks, railings, and unit entry doors
Compensation & Payment Terms
| Walls & ceilings (2 coats, spray + back-roll) | per sq ft of surface | $0.55 |
| Trim, base, and casing (2 coats) | per linear ft | $1.10 |
| Doors incl. jamb & both sides | per door | $32.00 |
| Closets & utility rooms (flat rate) | per room | $65.00 |
| Cabinet doors & drawer fronts (3 coats, sprayed) | per piece | $48.00 |
Independent Contractor Status
The clause the IRS and your state labor board care about. Keep the behavior in the field matching what this paragraph says.
Insurance, License & Tax Documents
Nothing on this list is optional. Collect all of it before the sub steps on site.
- Commercial general liability — $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate
- Certificate of insurance naming Contractor as additional insured, filed before the first day on site
- Workers' compensation covering all of Subcontractor's workers, or a valid state sole-proprietor exemption on file
- Current W-9 delivered before the first payment is released
- Copy of any license, registration, or permit the work requires in this jurisdiction
- 30 days written notice to Contractor before any policy is cancelled or allowed to lapse
Workmanship & Punch List
Define 'done' before the first drop cloth goes down — this is what you point at during the walkthrough.
Safety & OSHA Compliance
Term & Termination
Non-Solicitation of Clients
Keep it narrow — clients you introduced, for a set window. Broad non-competes get thrown out.
Dispute Resolution & Governing Law
Signatures
This Agreement is the entire agreement between the parties and replaces any prior verbal understanding. Changes must be in writing and signed by both parties.
Contractor: ProCoat Painting LLC
Printed name & date
Subcontractor: Delgado Finish Crew LLC
Printed name & date
General template — not legal advice. Subcontractor rules, non-solicitation limits, workers' comp exemptions, and worker-classification tests vary by state. Have a local attorney review this agreement before you use it on live jobs, and have your CPA confirm how you issue 1099s.
How to Use This Template
- 1
Fill in both parties
Legal business names, not nicknames. Pull the sub's exact entity name and EIN off their W-9 so the agreement and the 1099 match at year end.
- 2
Write the scope like a spec, not a summary
Products, coat counts, surfaces, and what you supply. "Paint the units" is an invitation to argue; six numbered lines is a standard the punch list can be measured against.
- 3
Pick how the sub gets paid
Switch between per-square-foot rates, a flat work-order price, or a draw schedule. The share meter shows what the sub's number is as a percentage of what you bill the client.
- 4
Read Article 4 out loud before you sign
If any sentence in the independent-contractor clause does not describe how the job will actually run, fix the job or fix the clause — do not sign a paragraph you are about to contradict on site.
What a Painting Subcontractor Agreement Does
A painting subcontractor agreement is the contract between your company and the 1099 painter or crew you hire to execute part of a job. It is a different document from the painting contract you sign with the homeowner — that one sells the work, this one buys the labor. It fixes scope and pay rates, states plainly that the sub is not your employee, and puts insurance, safety, punch-list, and client-poaching rules in writing before anyone masks a floor.
Employee or Subcontractor? The Test That Decides
Painting is a labor-heavy trade with seasonal swings, cash-flow gaps, and crews that move between companies — which is exactly the profile that draws attention from the IRS and state labor departments. The paperwork does not settle it. The IRS weighs three categories of evidence about the working relationship, and the facts in the field outrank whatever your agreement says.
Behavioral control
Who decides how the work gets done?
A sub reads the spec and runs their own crew: their start time, their sequence, their spray-vs-roll call. If you set shift hours, hand out daily task lists, or train them on your method, that is direction over how — the employee side of the line.
Financial control
Who carries the business risk?
Subs buy their own sprayers, ladders, and scaffolding, invoice by the unit or the job, can lose money on a bad bid, and paint for other companies. Hourly pay, your equipment, reimbursed gas, and no other customers all point the other way.
Relationship of the parties
What does the arrangement look like over time?
A signed agreement per project, no benefits, and a defined end date read as contracting. An open-ended relationship where the sub does the same core painting work you sell, week after week, for years, starts to read as employment no matter what the paper says.
What it looks like on a real job site
| READS AS A SUBCONTRACTOR | READS AS AN EMPLOYEE |
|---|---|
| Brings their own sprayer, ladders, and hand tools | Uses your rig, your sprayer, and your ladders every day |
| Paid per sq ft, per door, or per completed unit against an invoice | Paid an hourly wage, every Friday, for hours you tracked |
| Carries their own GL policy and workers' comp or an exemption | Covered under your policy because they had none |
| Sets their own hours as long as the milestone dates hold | Told to be on site at 7:00 a.m. and to break at noon |
| Takes work from other painting companies too | Works only for you and has for the last three seasons |
| Fixes punch-list defects on their own dime | Rework is paid at the same hourly rate as the original work |
Two things to check with your CPA. Several states apply a stricter ABC test than the federal factors — in those states a worker doing your core trade (painting) is presumed an employee unless you can prove otherwise, and a signed agreement alone will not carry it. And if a classification is genuinely unclear, either party can ask the IRS to rule on it by filing Form SS-8, though a determination takes months. Getting this wrong means back payroll taxes, penalties, and a workers' comp audit — start with the basics in how to start a painting business.
Collect These Five Before Day One
Every one of these is easy to get before a sub starts and nearly impossible to get after something goes wrong. Build a folder per sub and refuse to release the first check until it is complete.
Signed subcontractor agreement
Both signatures, dated before the first day on site. One per project, or a master agreement plus a signed work order per job.
Certificate of insurance — you as additional insured
Ask for the COI from their agent, not a copy from their glovebox, and confirm the policy period covers your dates. Diary the expiration date.
Workers' comp certificate or a valid exemption
If the sub has any workers, you want their comp certificate. Solo subs need whatever exemption form your state issues — otherwise their injury lands on your policy at audit.
Completed W-9
No W-9, no payment. It carries the legal name and EIN you will put on the 1099-NEC, and chasing it in January is a losing game.
Copy of any license, registration, or certification
Whatever your state or city requires for the work — plus EPA RRP certification if the sub will disturb paint in pre-1978 housing.
The insurance piece is the one that bites. An uninsured sub is not really a sub — at your next audit, their payroll gets added to yours and you pay the premium for it. Our guide to painting contractor insurance covers what general liability and workers' comp actually cost, what an additional-insured endorsement does, and what to check on a COI before you accept it. If any of the work touches pre-1978 housing, confirm lead paint certification before the sub opens a single can.
How Painting Subs Actually Get Paid
There is no single standard — production repaint crews, trim specialists, and cabinet finishers all price differently. These are typical ranges as of 2026, not published rates; your market, your prep load, and who buys the paint move them all. Price the job first with how to price painting jobs and check the labor side with the painting labor cost calculator before you hand a number to a sub.
| BASIS | TYPICAL RANGE | WHEN IT FITS |
|---|---|---|
| % of the contract price | 35–45% | The most common arrangement for full-scope crews. You supply paint and sundries, sell and manage the job, and keep the rest for overhead and profit. |
| Per square foot of surface | $0.40–$0.80 / sq ft | Walls and ceilings on production repaints, 2 coats, sprayed and back-rolled. Varies with height, cut-in count, and how much prep sits in the scope. |
| Per unit | $25–$45 per door, $1–$1.50 per lf of trim | Cleanest way to pay for trim packages and door counts because nobody argues about square footage. |
| Flat rate per work order | Quoted per job | Best for oddball scopes — cabinets, stairwells, occupied units — where the sub prices the risk instead of you. |
| Hourly | Use with care | Paying a painter by the hour is one of the strongest signals of an employment relationship. If you need hourly, run that person on payroll. |
Whatever basis you pick, put it in Article 3 above and keep the retainage small and time-bound — 10% released on punch-list sign-off is normal, holding money for 60 days is how you lose good crews. When the homeowner adds a room mid-job, price it with a change order before your sub starts on it, and bill the client with a matching painting invoice.
Subcontractor Agreement FAQ
RELATED TOOLS & GUIDES
Painting Contract Template
The client-facing contract: scope, price, warranty, and payment schedule for the homeowner.
Painting Contractor Insurance
What GL and workers' comp cost, and what to check on a sub's COI before they start.
Painting Change Order Template
Price mid-job scope changes in writing before your sub starts the extra work.
Painting Labor Cost Calculator
Check crew hours and labor cost before you set a sub rate you have to live with.
How to Start a Painting Business
Licensing, insurance, and the first crew decisions every painting company faces.