Once you have verified that your household employee can legally work for you, your next step is to register with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a Household Employer. You do this by completing Form SS-4 and sending it to the IRS, or visit IRS.gov where you can apply for and obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) online. An EIN is the number used to identify you as an employer, and will be placed on all your tax filings as an employer much like your Social Security number is used to identify you as an employee, and placed on your annual individual income tax return.
At the same time you apply for an EIN, you should also contact your state revenue and labor departments and, if necessary, register with them as an employer as well. The telephone numbers and addresses for all fifty state revenue departments are conveniently listed in the Tax Resources section of this Guide. Most state revenue departments share information with the IRS, and will usually contact you if you don’t call them, so go ahead and get it over with!
Federal law also requires all employers to report information on newly-hired employees to the agency designated by their state. You should obtain information on how and where to report information on your household employee at the time you first register with your state as a household employer. In many instances you can report “new hires” online at your state’s new hire website.
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