Many household employers are only now beginning to seriously consider the costs and risks related to paying nannies and other household workers “on the books.” In fact, complaince rates hover around 20%. More families are recognizing the merits of filing as employers, and helping household workers with required withholding and tax payment. While filing and paying taxes on household employees brings with it additional costs and paperwork, it also avoids stiff penalties if you are audited by the Internal Revenue Service.

New Jersey has several new employment related laws that go into effect on January 1, 2014.

HomeWork Solutions provides professional payroll and tax services to household employers, nationwide. Our company has more than 20 years of experience helping families comply with their household employment payroll and taxes.  Our office is staffed with 18 payroll professionals and 2 interns 100% dedicated to simplifying this complicated process for YOU!

Negotiating a salary is never a comfortable situation; both parties involved will be looking for what is best for them, individually.  The key to establishing a good relationship with your household employee right from the beginning, and to succeed in the negotiation, is to think like you are part of a “Win Win” situation, where both parties win and are happy with the result.  A happy household employee will perform better and make your life easier – That’s a fact!

As part of National Payroll Week, payroll services and financial services firms are participating in Paycheck Literacy Money Matters National Education Day today. Volunteers will be visiting high schools and youth groups nationwide to teach teens  about the way paychecks are calculated, the payroll withholding system and electronic payment methods like direct deposit.

Payroll, by definition, is the sum of wages, bonuses and deductions paid to an employee for a job performed in a period of time.   Payroll is one of the most time sensitive and crucial areas in a household employer’s relationship with their household staff for a variety of reasons:

El Congreso de los Estados Unidos está debatiendo la reforma migratoria que podría liderar un camino a la ciudadanía para los cerca de once millones de trabajadores indocumentados que viven y trabajan hoy en las sombras, evadiendo la legislación fiscal.  Una buena parte de éstos trabajadores, están empleados como niñeras, empleadas domésticas y personas al cuidado de adultos mayores.

Going on vacation?  Visiting the family?  If you are ready to hit the road with your child and you are taking you nanny with you, allow us to share these helpful tips to avoid any misunderstanding, uncomfortable situations and make your trip a complete success!

Today I woke up with the song “I believe I could fly” in my head.  I could not associate this phrase with anything other than the feeling a child has for their dad, their first super hero.  That person who makes the impossible … possible!  When talking about dad, I don’t just refer to our biological dad; but to all male figures that influence and make a difference in a child’s life.  Father figures can include fathers, step-fathers, fathers-in-law, grandfathers and great-grandfathers and even other male relatives.  I am talking about that powerful man, able to solve and fix every broken thing around the house, and even, the entire world!

A majority of American wage earners live paycheck to paycheck.  We start dividing our take home pay between mortgage or rent, water, phone, electric, internet, XYZ bills, and those little cravings such as Starbucks, the movies or that new outfit at the mall as soon as we receive our pay.  Before you know it, our salary is gone and we wait anxiously for the next pay day.  While we know our current earnings are not guaranteed to keep coming in forever, neither in the frequency or amount, we fail to make provisions for that ‘rainy day.’ American’s on average save only 2.7 cents from every dollar we earn! 

Household employees, including nannies, follow this familiar pattern all the time. Scary, right?  Nanny and other caregiving jobs are temporary in most situations.  The child will grow up and the nanny is no longer needed.  This is the nature of the nanny’s business, with some exceptions, of course.