Hello Carol!
I graduated from college in May and am currently working on my masters degree in Elementary Education. A friend put me in contact with one of her family friends for a job opportunity as a homeschool teacher while I complete my degree. I do not work for a tutoring company nor do I teach any other children besides the ones in this family.
My employer said he would send me a 1099 at the end of the year and is not withholding any income taxes from my paychecks. I am wondering if I should be paid as a household employee.
I am wondering how much I should expect to put aside for taxes.
Emma
Hi Emma,
Congratulations on your recent graduation.
Other CPAs may disagree with me, but I do not think that teachers or tutors are household employees. The IRS has a list of occupations that qualify as household employees, that is workers who do household work: “housekeepers, maids, babysitters, gardeners, and others who work in or around a private residence as an employee.” Teachers and tutors are not mentioned in that list.
The IRS explains that “Repairmen, plumbers, contractors, and other business people who provide their services as independent contractors, are not your employees. Household workers are your employees if you can control not only the work they do but also how they do it.” (emphasis added)
So since your “employer” is treating you as an Independent Contractor, you are not a household employee.
It is debatable if being treated as an Independent Contractor is the correct classification for you. You may be the family’s employee (but not a household employee), if the family directs and controls your work. I cannot determine if you are correctly classified as an Independent Contractor from what you told me.
I usually recommend that self employed workers set aside 20%-30% of their pay to federal income taxes. You will pay both federal income and and self-employment tax, which is Social Security and Medicare taxes for self-employed people. Self-employment tax is 15.3% of your net earnings (i.e., your profit from being an Independent Contractor ). Then depending on your state, you may set aside a bit more for state income taxes; I estimate about 5% for state taxes.
So that’s a total of 30-35% of your pay for federal income tax, self-employment tax and state income tax.
Ouch!
I hope the family is paying you well!
I have a helpful ebook ?Taxes for Homeschool Business Owners that will be very helpful to you as you prepare your taxes for 2020.
Carol Topp, CPA
HomeschoolCPA.com
Helping homeschool leaders
