 work and then complete the employer part of the form. Keep the completed form for your records. Do not return the form to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Two copies of Form I-9 are contained in the UCIS Employer Handbook. Visit the USCIS website or call 800-767-1833 to order the handbook, additional copies of the form, or to get more information.
If you have a household employee, you may need to withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, or you may need to pay federal unemployment tax, or you may need to do both. To find out, read the table below.
Then you need to:
|Pay cash wages of $1,900 or more in 2014 to any one household employee.|
Do not count wages you pay to:
|Withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes.|
(You can choose to pay the employee's share yourself and not withhold it.)
|Pay total cash wages of $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter of 2013 or 2014 to household employees.|
Do not count wages you pay to:
|Pay federal unemployment tax.|
Note: If neither of these two columns applies, then you do not need to pay any federal unemployment taxes. However, you may still need to pay state unemployment taxes.
You do not need to withhold federal income tax from your household employee's wages. But if your employee asks you to withhold it, you can choose to do so.
Tip: If your household employee cares for your dependent under the age of 13 or your spouse or dependent who is not capable of self-care, so that you can work, you may be able to take an income tax credit of up to 35% (or $1,050) of your expenses for each qualifying dependent. For two or more qualifying dependents, you can claim up to 35% (or $2,100). For higher income earners the credit percentage is reduced, but not below 20%, regardless of the amount of AGI. If you can take the credit, then you can include your share of the federal and state employment taxes you pay, as well as the employee's wages, in your qualifying expenses.
To find out whether you need to pay state unemployment tax for your household employee contact your state unemployment tax agency. You'll also need to determine whether you need to pay or collect other state employment taxes or carry workers' compensation insurance.
Note: If you do not need to pay Social Security, Medicare, or federal unemployment tax and do not choose to withhold federal income tax, the rest of this publication does not apply to you.
Note: As of January 1, 2013, the employee social security tax rate is 6.2%. The Medicare rate remains unchanged at 1.45%; however, beginning January 1, 2013, Additional Medicare Tax applies to an individual's Medicare wages that exceed a threshold amount based on the taxpayer's filing status. Employers are responsible for withholding the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on an individual's wages paid in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year. An employer is required to begin withholding Additional Medicare Tax in the pay period in which it pays wages in excess of $200,000 to an employee. There is no employer match for Additional Medicare Tax.
Both you and your household employee may owe social security and Medicare taxes. Your share is 7.65% (6.2% for social security tax and 1.45% for Medicare tax) of the employee's social security and Medicare wages. Your employee's share is 6.2% for social security tax and 1.45% for Medicare tax for wages below the Additional Medicare Tax threshold (see above).
You are responsible for payment of your employee's share of the taxes as well as your own. You can either withhold your employee's share from the employee's wages or pay it from your own funds.
Social Security and Medicare Wages
You figure Social Security and Medicare taxes on the Social Security and Medicare wages you pay your employee. If you pay your household employee cash wages of $1,900 or more in 2014, all cash wages you pay to that employee in 2014 (regardless of when the wages were earned) up to $117,000 are social security wages and all cash wages are Medicare wages. However, any non-cash wages (food, lodging, clothing, and other non-cash items