househelpcrew

Employee or contractor?

A quick check of the general factors that decide whether household help is your employee or self-employed. It takes a minute, nothing is stored, and the answer is a pointer, not a ruling.

Do you pay a company or agency, rather than the worker directly?
Do you set the days and hours they work?
Do you decide how the work is done (methods, order, products)?
Do you provide the tools, equipment and supplies?
Do they work mainly or only for you?
Is it an ongoing arrangement rather than a single job?
Do you pay by the hour or week rather than a set price per job?
Do they advertise their own business and set their own rates?
Can they send someone else in their place or hire helpers?

If you pay a company or agency, you can skip the rest.

Why it matters

If someone is your household employee, you may need to withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, pay federal unemployment tax, give them a Form W-2, and follow your state's rules on wages, unemployment insurance and workers' compensation. The thresholds change each year, so check the current IRS Publication 926.

If they're self-employed, they handle their own taxes. Either way, a short written agreement and a record of what you paid help everyone.

Read the full guide