Tax and Legal

The federal laws that cover domestic live-in workers are found in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This law from 1938, has had major revisions in 1974 and 2013. The 2013 changes (which didn’t take effect to 2015) took away the over-time exemption for "third party employers" of live-ins. That meant that home care agencies had to start paying their live-in workers OT after 40 hours.

Another major change that affected agencies is that they had to start paying live-ins overtime for their entire 8 hour sleep shift IF the live-in was not permitted to average 5 consecutive hours of sleep each night.  These two changes to the FLSA ONLY EFFECTED home care agencies, and did not affect families that choose to hire a live-in directly, without an agency This is what Grandma Joan helps families do, legally and within the doctrine of the FLSA.  Most agencies stopped offering live-in care as a service in 2015, and switched to only offering the much more expensive 24 hour care as an alternative. 

Some clients tell us that their insurance agents recommend purchasing an add-on to their home owners insurance called an “Umbrella Policy” to help protect them against liabilities that occur in or on the property. Policies of $1,000,000 extra coverage can be had for as little as $300 per year, and we are told bring great peace of mind.  Check with your insurance agent.

 

In 23 states workers comp insurance is required for W2 domestic employees. Those states are:  Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota. Utah, and Washington.

You can obtain workers comp in most states through a HomePay partner, your homeonwers insurance, or your insurance agent.  The cost varies widely from state to state from as little as $250 to as much as $1800 per year.. Click on the below link to visit your states website that addresses workmans comp. http://www.dol.gov/owcp/dfec/regs/compliance/wc.htm

 

 

Nursing Services
You can include in medical expenses wages and other amounts you pay for nursing services. The services need not be performed by a nurse as long as the services are of a kind generally performed by a nurse. This includes services connected with caring for the patient's condition, such as giving medication or changing dressings, as well as bathing and grooming the patient. These services can be provided in your home or another care facility.
Generally, only the amount spent for nursing services is a medical expense. If the attendant also provides personal and household services, amounts paid to the attendant must be divided between the time spent performing household and personal services and the time spent for nursing services. However, certain maintenance or personal care services provided for qualified long-term care can be included in medical expenses. Additionally, certain expenses for household services or for the care of a qualifying individual incurred to allow you to work may qualify for the child and dependent care credit. See Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses.
 
You can also include in medical expenses part of the amount you pay for that attendant's meals. Divide the food expense among the household members to find the cost of the attendant's food. Then divide that cost in the same manner as in the preceding paragraph. If you had to pay additional amounts for household upkeep because of the attendant, you can include the extra amounts with your medical expenses. This includes extra rent or utilities you pay because you moved to a larger apartment to provide space for the attendant.

 Employment taxes
You can include as a medical expense social security tax, FUTA, Medicare tax, and state employment taxes you pay for an attendant who provides medical care. If the attendant also provides personal and household services, you can include as a medical expense only the amount of employment taxes paid for medical services as explained earlier. For information on employment tax responsibilities of household employers, see Publication 926, Household Employer's Tax Guide. For more information on tax deductible Medical Expenses directly from the IRS go to:   http://www.irs.gov/publications/p502/ar02.html#en _US_pu blink1000178974

 

To qualify for a dependency deduction, you must pay for more than 50% of your qualifying family member or relative’s support costs. They only qualifies as a dependent if he or she meets the gross income and the joint return test. If they doesn’t qualify as a dependent because of these tests, you cannot claim a dependency deduction, but you can still claim his or her medical expenses. The current dependent care tax deduction $3,000 for one dependent, $6000 for two dependents. The care provider must be legal, have a valid social security or tax ID and provide you with invoices. If a group of people are sharing costs for a qualifying relative, a multiple support declaration (IRS Form 2120) can be filed to grant one family member the exemption. Important to point out, is that to claim the above tax deduction you need to pay the caregiver “on the books” and have both their legal invoices, the care providers social security or tax ID number and receipt of payment.
 
Learn all the details at the IRS direct at: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p503/ar02.html#en_US_publink1000203328