20 years ago HomeWork Solutions was founded dreaming of creating a service business to help busy families deal with household payroll tax compliance. The failed Zoë Baird cabinet nomination provided the inspiration and belief that many smart, successful families not only wanted, but needed help in this labyrinthine area of tax and employment law.

Topics: nanny payroll, nanny tax, nanny tax compliance

IRS and states recently affected by Hurricane Sandy will extend tax deadlines and waive some penalties to tax payers affected by this natural disaster.

Topics: nanny income tax, nanny payroll tax, nanny tax, household payroll tax, nanny tax compliance

Sharing with you an article prepared by a CPA as part of an October series titled "Women, Work and Money." The series is sponsored by a generous grant from the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York.

Topics: nanny payroll, nanny tax

Social Security and Medicare, collectively known as FICA taxes, are a mystery to many domestic employers. Who is liable for them, how are they paid, and where are they reported are just some of the questions that plague domestic employers. While both taxes are calculated as a percentage of the gross wages, the employee’s portion of Social Security is 4.2% (for 2011 and 2012 only) while the employer’s portion is 6.2%, and both the employer and employee’s portion for Medicare is 1.45% of the gross wages.

Topics: nanny tax, calculate nanny payroll tax, household payroll tax, nanny tax compliance

Do you have a regular person who comes to your home to provide housekeeping, maid or cleaning services? Do you know that this individual is probably your employee under common law and the Internal Revenue Code?

Topics: housekeeper, cleaning lady, maid, nanny tax

IRS data places "nanny tax" compliance (declaration by families of their household payroll) at about 20%. Household employment experts believe even this number is optimistic.  Looking at these statistics, a new household employer has to think that just ignoring this complicated and expensive issue is relatively risk free. What these numbers don't illustrate is the steadily increasing political pressure on the IRS to collect revenue, and the relatively low hanging fruit the "nanny taxes" present. Add to this the very real possibility that the elder care giver or nanny may file for unemployment benefits when the job ends, and the risk evaluation changes dramatically.

Topics: nanny payroll tax, nanny tax, nanny tax compliance

Update: In 2014, the Household Employee Wage threshold increased to $1900. This means that any household employee- such as a nanny, housekeeper or elder care worker- earning $1900 or more per year requires their employer to pay what is commonly referred to as the "nanny tax."

Topics: nanny payroll tax, nanny tax, worker misclassification independent contractor, nanny employee, domestic employer legal responsibilities

As families begin preparing their personal income tax returns, we are often asked whether the "nanny taxes" apply to the family's weekly cleaning person.

Topics: nanny payroll tax, nanny tax, domestic workers bill of rights

Topics: nanny w-2 form, nanny income tax, nanny tax

California State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) is set to introduce legislation in the California State Assembly modeled after 2010's New York Domestic Worker's Bill of Rights.

Topics: nanny employment practices, nanny tax, domestic workers bill of rights, nanny work agreement