If you hire a gardener who comes a couple times a month and he's subject to your control as far as hours and how he works, he's your employee. But a landscaper who holds himself out as in business and who takes care of your yard and several others is self-employed, freeing you from the obligation to pay his employment taxes.
Similarly, if you hire a maid who sets her own schedule and uses her own supplies, that's another case of independent contracting. But if you hire a housekeeper who provides cleaning services exclusively for you, using materials you provide at a time and in a manner you determine, says Enrolled Agent and National Association of Tax Professionals Research Coordinator Cindy Hockenberry, you are in charge and must pay the taxes.
The amount of control is most easily identifiable in cases of personalized in-home care, either of children or for ailing dependents who need nursing help.
And while there may be some leeway in determining a worker's status, Hockenberry cautions against going overboard to make an employee look like an independent contractor just to escape employment taxes.
The employment definition may depend on facts and circumstance that can be altered to fit the needs of the worker or employer, but the IRS takes the differentiations very seriously -- enough to print Publication 15-A, Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide. This 70-page booklet provides household employers with additional guidance on the various employer-employee relationships and tax rules.
Paying federal employment taxes
Once you've resigned yourself to paying employment taxes for household help, how exactly do you get the money to the IRS?Previously, individuals who hired home workers had to file quarterly tax paperwork just like a business. But lawmakers found that such complexity produced a major tax collection headache for the IRS.
"Because the rules were so complicated, no one ever paid," says Hockenberry. "So they tried to make it simple and developed Schedule H to attach to your regular 1040 when you normally pay taxes."
But to file Schedule H, you first have to get a second tax ID number. The IRS wants your employer identification number, or EIN, as well as your Social Security number on the form. You should apply for an EIN as soon as you hire any household help by filing Form SS-4.
When you've filled in all the ID numbers, as well as the particulars of your domestic help's salary, Social Security and Medicare taxes due and any unemployment taxes you may owe, you transfer the amount to line 59 in the "other taxes" section of your individual Form 1040. Be sure to check the "Household employment taxes" box. This section is added to your income tax liability to get the total amount of tax you owe.
Don't get caught short
And because the employment taxes are filed as part of your routine individual income tax return, you need to stay on top of the amount you will owe so you won't be surprised when you figure your final tax bill in April.If your return shows a tax of more than $1,000 due, you could owe the IRS penalties and interest for underpayment of taxes throughout the year. Because of that potential cost, household employers should consider filing estimated tax payments to cover any tax shortfall.
Or, if you have a job, you can file a revised W-4 and ask your boss to adjust your income tax withholding to make sure you pay enough taxes that way.
Remember, too, that in addition to complying with tax laws, you'll need to follow federal and state labor laws that apply to household help.
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