Step 1:  Determining Your Household Employee's Employment Eligibility
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        Can your household employee legally work for you?  This issue is all too often overlooked but should be the first question any Household Employer asks.  It is unlawful to employ, or continue to employ, any person as a household employee who cannot legally work in the United States.  When you hire a household employee to work for you, you are responsible for verifying that this person is legally eligible to work in the United States. 


        You and your household employee must each complete part of the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.  You must verify that  your employee is either a U.S. citizen or an alien who can legally work in the United States and you must keep Form I-9 for your records.  A copy of Form I-9 and the USCIS Handbook for Employers is included with the software in PDF  format. 


        To fill out Form I-9, your  household employee must give you his or her complete name and Social Security number (SSN).  Later, you will also need your household employee's SSN to complete Form W-2.  If your household employee does not have an SSN, this may be a clue that she can not work legally in the United States since tax laws now require every U.S.-born citizen to apply for an SSN before the end of the calendar year in which they were born.  In any event, eligible persons can get an SSN by completing Form SS-5 .



© Copyright 2012 by Essentia Software Corporation

If you've just hired a household employee, you are probably what the law calls a "household employer". 

If you hire someone to do domestic work such as child care, and you are able to control what work they do and how they do it, you are a household employer.  If the individuals who work for you are self-employed, however, you are not liable for any of the taxes discussed in this program.  Self-employed persons are in business for themselves.  An example of a self-employed person is the owner of a day care center where you leave your child.  This person would not be an employee of parents who use that center.  Also, people who work for you in your trade or business are not household employees.  An in-home household employee in virtually all cases will be considered your household employee.  Other types of household employees may include the neighbor who baby-sits for you on weekends, the person who cleans your house every week, or even the neighbor who cuts your lawn using your lawn mower and tools.

For more information on who is or is not an "employee" under the law, read Caregivers Who Are Not Your Household Employees and get IRS Publications 926, 937 and 15 (also known as Circular E).
Form I-9 is the Employment Eligibility Verification form used by the  Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to verify that a person can legally work in the United States.  You must have your new household employee complete and sign section 1 of Form I-9 at the time he or she is hired by you.  You are responsible for reviewing and ensuring that your new household employee fully and properly completes section 1 of the form, and that you examine the documentation (such as a Social Security card) presented by your household employee proving that she can legally work for you.  The form describes what types of documents your household employee can show you to verify his or her eligibility to work in the United States.  You must then complete section 2 of that form.  You must keep your household employee's completed Form I-9 for at least 3 years after the date she begins working for you, or 1 year after your household employee stops working for you, whichever is later.  You keep Form I-9 for your records.  You do not send this form to the INS or Internal Revenue Service.
Form I-9 is the Employment Eligibility Verification form used by the  Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to verify that a person can legally work in the United States.  You must have your new household employee complete and sign section 1 of Form I-9 at the time he or she is hired by you.  You are responsible for reviewing and ensuring that your new household employee fully and properly completes section 1 of the form, and that you examine the documentation (such as a Social Security card) presented by your household employee proving that she can legally work for you.  The form describes what types of documents your household employee can show you to verify his or her eligibility to work in the United States.  You must then complete section 2 of that form.  You must keep your household employee's completed Form I-9 for at least 3 years after the date she begins working for you, or 1 year after your household employee stops working for you, whichever is later.  You keep Form I-9 for your records.  You do not send this form to the INS or Internal Revenue Service.
Form I-9 is the Employment Eligibility Verification form used by the  Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to verify that a person can legally work in the United States.  You must have your new household employee complete and sign section 1 of Form I-9 at the time he or she is hired by you.  You are responsible for reviewing and ensuring that your new household employee fully and properly completes section 1 of the form, and that you examine the documentation (such as a Social Security card) presented by your household employee proving that she can legally work for you.  The form describes what types of documents your household employee can show you to verify his or her eligibility to work in the United States.  You must then complete section 2 of that form.  You must keep your household employee's completed Form I-9 for at least 3 years after the date she begins working for you, or 1 year after your household employee stops working for you, whichever is later.  You keep Form I-9 for your records.  You do not send this form to the INS or Internal Revenue Service.
Form I-9 is the Employment Eligibility Verification form used by the  Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to verify that a person can legally work in the United States.  You must have your new household employee complete and sign section 1 of Form I-9 at the time he or she is hired by you.  You are responsible for reviewing and ensuring that your new household employee fully and properly completes section 1 of the form, and that you examine the documentation (such as a Social Security card) presented by your household employee proving that she can legally work for you.  The form describes what types of documents your household employee can show you to verify his or her eligibility to work in the United States.  You must then complete section 2 of that form.  You must keep your household employee's completed Form I-9 for at least 3 years after the date she begins working for you, or 1 year after your household employee stops working for you, whichever is later.  You keep Form I-9 for your records.  You do not send this form to the INS or Internal Revenue Service.
A W-2 form is used by employers to report to your household employee and the government the amount of cash wages paid to your household employee and deductions withheld.  You must file Form W-2 for each household employee to whom you paid this year $1,800 or  more of cash wages that are subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes.  To find out if the wages are subject to these taxes, you should read the instructions for Schedule H.  If the wages are not subject to these taxes but you withheld Federal income tax from the wages of any household employee, you must still file a Form W-2 for that employee.
If your household employee is a U.S. citizen and does not have a Social Security number, he or she can get one by filling out Form SS-5 and sending it to the local Social Security Administration office.  You will need your household employee's Social Security number to report income and tax information to the IRS and SSA.  A copy of Form SS-5 is included with the NannyPay software.  You can also get Form SS-5 at any SSA office or by calling 1-800-772-1213.