Knowledge Center

Senior Care Employers

• What may happen if I do not pay the nanny taxes?

  What happens if I don’t pay for my nanny taxes? Failure to report wages paid to a domestic service worker – including a nanny, senior caregiver, housekeeper and more – and failure to pay the nanny taxes compromises the validity of your personal income tax return. These taxes are included on your personal federal income… Read more »

• Is Health Insurance for My Nanny or Senior Caregiver Taxable?

  Many employers understand that key benefits such as employer paid health insurance is an important employee recruitment and retention tool. Is health insurance taxable? Household employers with fewer than 50 household employees may reimburse health insurance premiums obtained in the individual marketplace on a tax free basis utilizing either a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement... Read more »

• How frequently do I need to pay my household worker? My nanny wants to be paid weekly. Do I need to do that?

  The pay frequency of a nanny or senior caregiver (and all hourly, non-exempt employees) – the maximum interval between wage payments to the worker – is governed by state law. Nanny pay frequency regulations are summarized below. Payroll calculations for your household employee (nanny, housekeeper, maid, senior caregiver, etc.) are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act…. Read more »

• Are there tax breaks for dependent care? Does this apply when I hire an in-home caregiver?

  There are two popular strategies that families employing nannies or senior caregivers use to minimize their personal income taxes. Many families can utilize a flexible spending plan (cafeteria plan) offered by their employer for child and dependent care expenses. Your employer’s human resources department can provide you with plan details. Another strategy is the Child… Read more »

• What is a wage garnishment order?

  Most of our nanny and senior care employers are unfamiliar with wage garnishment orders and the implications and responsibilities they have in relation to the order. A wage garnishment order is a court order which requires that some portion of an employee’s earnings be withheld by the employer for the payment of a debt. Most… Read more »

• What do I do with the Wage and Benefit Audit form I received?

  States use a Wage and Benefit audit for many purposes. The state may be checking on taxpayer subsidized benefits that the worker is receiving such as Medicaid for a dependent child, or on the veracity of information the employee has previously provided for purposes of child support enforcement, wage garnishment for tax delinquencies, etc. The state will… Read more »

• Human Resource Services for the Household Employer

  It is rare to find a household with it’s own Human Resources Department. The good news is that HWS services go far beyond payroll and include many aspects of household HR functions. We’ve been helping clients understand the big picture of being a household employer since 1993 and are happy to do the same for… Read more »