Publication 926 - Household Employer'S Tax Guide

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employment taxes for 2003. You generally must add your

Maids

federal employment taxes to the income tax that you will

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Caretakers

report on your 2003 federal income tax return.

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This publication will help you decide whether you have a

Yard workers

household employee and, if you do, whether you need to

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Similar domestic workers

pay federal employment taxes (social security tax, Medi-

care tax, federal unemployment tax, and federal income

Workers who are not your employees. If only the

tax withholding). It explains how to figure, pay, and report

these taxes for your household employee. It also explains

worker can control how the work is done, the worker is not

what records you need to keep.

your employee but is self-employed. A self-employed

This publication also tells you where to find out whether

worker usually provides his or her own tools and offers

you need to pay state unemployment tax for your house-

services to the general public in an independent business.

hold employee.

A worker who performs child care services for you in his

or her home generally is not your employee.

Comments and suggestions. We welcome your com-

If an agency provides the worker and controls what work

ments about this publication and your suggestions for

is done and how it is done, the worker is not your em-

future editions.

ployee.

You can e-mail us while visiting our web site at

Example. You made an agreement with John Peters to

You can write to us at the following address:

care for your lawn. John runs a lawn care business and

offers his services to the general public. He provides his

Internal Revenue Service

own tools and supplies, and he hires and pays any helpers

Tax Forms and Publications

he needs. Neither John nor his helpers are your household

W:CAR:MP:FP

employees.

1111 Constitution Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20224

More information. More information about who is an em-

ployee is in Publication 15 –A, Employer’s Supplemental

We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it

Tax Guide.

would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone

number, including the area code, in your correspondence.

Can Your Employee Legally

Do You Have a Household

Work in the United States?

Employee?

It is unlawful for you knowingly to hire or continue

You have a household employee if you hired someone to

to employ an alien who cannot legally work in the

do household work and that worker is your employee. The

United States.

CAUTION

worker is your employee if you can control not only what

work is done, but how it is done. If the worker is your

When you hire a household employee to work for you on

employee, it does not matter whether the work is full time

a regular basis, you and the employee must complete the

or part time or that you hired the worker through an agency

Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Form I –9,

or from a list provided by an agency or association. It also

Employment Eligibility Verification. No later than the

does not matter whether you pay the worker on an hourly,

first day of work, the employee must complete the em-

daily, or weekly basis or by the job.

ployee section of the form by providing certain required

Example. You pay Betty Shore to babysit your child and

information and attesting to his or her current work eligibil-

do light housework 4 days a week in your home. Betty

ity status in the United States. You must complete the

follows your specific instructions about household and

employer section by examining documents presented by

child care duties. You provide the household equipment

the employee as evidence of his or her identity and em-

and supplies that Betty needs to do her work. Betty is your

ployment eligibility. Acceptable documents to establish

household employee.

identity and employment eligibility are listed on Form I –9.

You should keep the completed Form I –9 in your own

Household work. Household work is work done in or

records. Do not submit it to the IRS, the INS, or any other

around your home by the following people.

government or other entity. The form must be kept avail-

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able for review upon notice by an authorized U.S. Govern-

Babysitters

ment official.

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Cleaning people

Two copies of Form I –9 are contained in the INS Hand-

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Housekeepers

book for Employers (Form M –274).

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Nannies

Call the INS at 1–800 – 870 –3676 to order the

Handbook for Employers. If you have questions

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Health aides

about the employment eligibility verification pro-

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Private nurses

cess or other immigration-related employment matters,

Page 2

Publication 926 - Household Employer'S Tax Guide - 2003 Page 2

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