Not sure if I should withhold taxes in this situation

[Anonymous]

Hello,
I am fairly new to the world of having someone else watch my kids. I have been a SAHM mom for 8+ years, but now I am back in school.

Last semester, we had the same individual doing all of the care- about 18-20 hours per week- and we knew we'd need to pay employer taxes, etc.

This semester, my schedule is a little wild (I'm in nursing school, so my shifts change a lot). Between my husband, other family, and some other occasional sitters, we'll only end up with one regular person who will do about 7-8 hours per week. She'll only end up earning around $800 this semester.

However. . . this summer, I'll likely need more hours (since the kids won't be in school). This sitter has said she's interested, so if she does end up working for us all summer, we'll definitely be paying her enough to require paying taxes, etc. Can I "back pay" taxes if she ends up working for us all summer and we go over the $1500 / year mark? Are there penalties for not reporting her as a new hire right away and then doing it a few months later?

I just don't want to put either of us through unnecessary hassle for a very PT job, but if she does work for us more long-term / regularly, we want to be completely "legal" and above board. It's too early for either of us to say for sure if she will definitely be our sitter this summer. She's a student, too, so who knows if a better internship or something will come along. . .

I appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

No, once you pay her, without withholding, you are on the hook for her employment tax if you go over threshold. You can't withhold retroactively. You really need to withhold scd then refund the money to her if you are under threshold. (Remember, in that case, no one owes employment taxes.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, once you pay her, without withholding, you are on the hook for her employment tax if you go over threshold. You can't withhold retroactively. You really need to withhold scd then refund the money to her if you are under threshold. (Remember, in that case, no one owes employment taxes.)

I agree with this.

[Anonymous]

OP here- thank you!