Having a household employee comes with rules and responsibilities. The resources below are designed to help you understand those obligations and why they matter.

1. Are you even an employer? – The answer is probably, “Yes.” IRS Publication 926 is the IRS's guidebook to household employer obligations. Some find it tough to read so we summarized it in our HWS Guide to Household Payroll (we aren't the government so we can use things like color and pictures!). This document lays out your Federal obligations.
2. What taxes do you owe? So you know you're an employer and owe payroll taxes on your employee, but what taxes? This Knowledge Center article will help explain the employer and employee taxes.
3. Can you pay your household employee a salary? No, you can't. The law says that a household employee is non-exempt, which means they must be paid a premium rate for overtime. Wages must be communicated as an hourly rate, but there are ways to help normalize your per-pay-period expense. We are happy to explain those and help with calculations! Overtime laws vary by state, so please see #4 below for more information on those.
4. What are my state's specific laws? The FLSA sets the Federal standards but there are likely additional rules set by your state. You can get one of our state-specific tip sheets here. These will give you an overview of the FLSA rules on the front and state specific laws on the back. Please note that there may be further requirements set by your county or city.
5. Why should I bother? There are a lot of rules here; can't I just pay my household employee cash and be done with it? Not legally. That is tax evasion and there is no statute of limitations on that. Also, here are some benefits you and your employee can enjoy when paying on-the-books.