Do you plan to pay a cleaning person, cook, gardener, babysitter, or other household worker at least $2,400 in 2022? If you will pay at least $2,400 to one person during 2022, which may include transportation, meals, and housing, you have additional financial responsibilities to consider.
When you pay at least $2,400 in wages to a household worker, you must do all the following:
· Deduct Social Security and Medicare taxes from those wages.
· Pay these taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.
· Report the wages to Social Security.
Accurate reporting is important as employees earn credits toward Social Security benefits and Medicare coverage. You can currently earn Social Security or Medicare credit for every $1,510 in wages that are reported. Generally, people need 10 years of work to qualify for:
· Retirement benefits (as early as age 62).
· Medicare benefits at age 65.
People may also need fewer credits if become disabled or die before age 62 for possible:
· Disability benefits for the worker and the worker’s dependents.
· Survivor’s benefits for the worker’s family.
· Medicare benefits if become disabled or diagnosed End Stage Renal Disease. Contact us for details.
You can learn more about reporting household worker income by reading Household Workers www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10021.pdf
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Social Security offices could not receive visitors except for previously arranged appointments on special limited critical situations. However, we continue providing our services by phone and internet. If you have questions on Social Security benefits and services, please access www.socialsecurity.gov
You could also access our automated services at 1-800-772-1213 or call your local Social Security office Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.. To locate the telephone number of your local field office, please input your residential zip code at www.ssa.gov/locator