Instructions For Schedule H (Form 1040) Household Employment Taxes

does not matter if the wages paid are for work done hourly, daily,

Important Dates!

weekly, or by the job.

Note.

If a government agency files Schedule H for the worker, you

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

You must

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

do not need to file it.

January 31, 2006

Give your employee Form W-2.

Cash wages.

Cash wages include wages paid by checks, money

orders, etc. Cash wages do not include the value of food, lodging,

February 28, 2006

Send Copy A of Form W-2 with

clothing, or other noncash items you give a household employee.

(March 31, 2006 if

Form W-3 to the Social Security

you file

Administration.

For 2005, you can generally give your employee trans-

electronically)

portation benefits such as transit passes worth up to

TIP

$105 per month without the benefits counting as cash

April 17, 2006 (see

File Schedule H and pay your

wages. However, the value of benefits over $105 a

page H-3 for

household employment taxes with

month is included as wages. See Transportation (Commuting) Ben-

exceptions)

your 2005 tax return.

efits in Publication 15-B, Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits,

for more information.

A calendar quarter is January through March,

Calendar quarter.

April through June, July through September, or October through

The Basics

December.

Workers who are not your employees.

Workers you get from an

Reminder

agency are not your employees if the agency is responsible for who

does the work and how it is done. Self-employed workers are also

If you must file a 2005 Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, for

not your employees. A worker is self-employed if only he or she

any household employee, you must also send Form W-3, Transmit-

can control how the work is done. A self-employed worker usually

tal of Wage and Tax Statement, with Copy A of Form(s) W-2 to the

provides his or her own tools and offers services to the general

Social Security Administration.

public in an independent business.

Example. You made an agreement with Paul Brown to care for

your lawn. Paul runs a lawn care business and offers his services to

Who Needs To File Schedule H?

the general public. He hires his own helpers and provides his own

You must file Schedule H (Form 1040) if you answer “Yes” to any

tools and supplies. Neither Paul nor his helpers are your employees.

of the questions on lines A, B, or C.

For more information, see Publication 926, Household

Employer’s Tax Guide.

Depending on your answers, you may

Only 8 lines for most people.

find that you only have to complete lines A, 1 through 4, 6, 8, and 9.

Who Needs To File Form W-2 and

Did you have a household employee?

If you hired someone to do

household work and you were able to control what work he or she

Form W-3?

did and how he or she did it, you had a household employee. This is

true even if you gave the employee freedom of action. What matters

You must file Form W-2 for each household employee to whom

is that you had the right to control the details of how the work was

you paid $1,400 or more of cash wages in 2005 that are subject to

done.

social security and Medicare taxes. To find out if the wages are

subject to these taxes, see the instructions for Schedule H, lines 1

Example. You paid Betty Oak to babysit your child and do light

and 3, on page H-4. If the wages are not subject to these taxes but

housework 4 days a week in your home. Betty followed your

you withheld federal income tax from the wages of any household

specific instructions about household and child care duties. You

employee, you must file Form W-2 for that employee.

provided the household equipment and supplies Betty needed to do

her work. Betty is your household employee.

If you file one or more Forms W-2, you must also file Form

W-3.

Household work is work done in or around your home. Some

examples of workers who do household work are:

Do You Have an Employer

Babysitters

Drivers

Nannies

Identification Number (EIN)?

Caretakers

Health aides

Private nurses

Cleaning people

Housekeepers

Yard workers

If you do not have an EIN, see Form SS-4, Application for Em-

ployer Identification Number. The instructions explain how you

If a worker is your employee, it does not matter whether the

can get an EIN immediately over the internet, by telephone, or in

work is full or part-time or that you hired the worker through an

about 4 weeks if you apply by mail. See How To Get Forms and

agency or from a list provided by an agency or association. Also, it

Publications on page H-7 for details on how to get forms and

H-2

Instructions For Schedule H (Form 1040) Household Employment Taxes - 2005 Page 2

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