Many families that hire a senior or elder caregiver to care for a loved one want to document the arrangement so that all parties - the senior caregiver, the supervising family member, other family members and the senior receiving the care - all understand the terms and scope of the employment agreement. This is a best practice at all times! You will want this document to restate the terms of employment, including hours and wages, and to memoralize the items you originally agreed upon with the caregiver. So what do you need to include in this senior caregiver work agreement?

 

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, companionship services

Direct hiring of senior caregivers by families continues to increase, and families have questions about minimum wage, overtime and whether to pay the elder caregiver when they are sleeping. US News and World Report recently noted that "by a 9-to-1 ratio, people prefer to stay in their homes as they get older rather than moving into an institution." They often become household employers as they hire individual home-care workers to help them age in place.

Topics: elder care, senior caregivers, companionship services, companionship exemption, senior home-care workers

HomeWork Solutions has experienced a dramatic increase in the volume of calls from employers of undocumented household workers in the past weeks.  The extensive media coverage of Washington’s renewed, bipartisan commitment to implement comprehensive immigration reform - and create a path to citizenship for undocumented workers - raises questions for families employing undocumented domestic service workers.

Topics: nanny undocumented, nanny immigration reform

The IRS reports that audits of tax returns with income over $200,000 increased by 13% in 2012 over the prior year. The Wall Street Journal's Market Watch recently published advice on 5 steps to take to avoid an IRS audit on your Federal income tax return.

Topics: babysitter nanny tax, nanny payroll tax, nanny taxes, payroll tax enforcement

Q. The W-2 deadline has passed by and you haven’t gotten yours? What to do?

IRS requires employers to post mark W-2 Forms no later than January 31^st. 
The IRS encourages you to allow at least until February 15^th for the form to be delivered. They recommend you contact your employer at the earliest possible date to confirm that they have your current address if you have moved in the last year.

Topics: household payroll tax

Q. ¿La fecha límite para recibir tu W-2 ha pasado y aún no la has recibido? ¿Qué hacer?

El IRS requiere que los empleadores entreguen el Formulario W-2 a sus empleados a más tardar el 31 de enero.  Recomienda a los empleados, así mismo, que si éste no ha sido recibido dentro de la fecha límite, se de un plazo adicional hasta el 15 de febrero para presentar su reclamo ante el IRS.  Primero debe contactar a su empleador para confirmar que tiene la dirección actual, en caso se haya mudado en el último año.

Topics: nanny income tax

More and more older Americans are choosing to live in their homes for as long as possible, or aging in place. The senior who wants to stay in their own home often needs some non-medical assistance to meet this goal, including help with housekeeping, driving, cooking, and even some activities of daily living such as dressing and bathing.

Topics: household payroll tax, nanny background screening, Hiring Elder care, senior home care

Nannies are employees of the families they work for. They are not independent contractors, whether the family or nanny wants to be or not.

Families sometimes try to completely side step their employment tax obligations by giving the nanny a 1099 form at year end. In so doing, they avoid paying their share of Social Security and Medicare taxes, as well as unemployment taxes, and they push their tax obligations on to the nanny. This path allows the family the benefit of child care tax credits without the corresponding expense of paying their portion of the employment taxes.

Topics: nanny w-2 form, domestic employer legal responsibilities, nanny independent contractor, household independent contractor

New York State Law requires all private employers to provide written notice to employees of their rate(s) of pay and designated pay day on an annual basis. Notice must be provided between January 1 and February 2 2013. NYS' FAQ on the Wage Theft Prevention Act specifically states that an employer may not choose another time of the year to provide the notice!

Topics: nanny payroll, domestic workers bill of rights, calculate nanny payroll tax, nanny employee, household payroll tax, new york household employment, nanny work agreement

Clients from time to will ask us for assistance helping their departing nanny locate a new position. Many post "Nanny Available" advertisements on neighborhood list servs and bulletin boards. We recently came across the following example and wanted to share. Names have been changed!

Topics: nanny reference check