Carol,
We started homeschooling our daughter who is special needs. We hired a special ed teacher and now with taxes around the corner we don’t know what we need to file.
Regards, B
Dear B,
I wrote a blog post on this topic that you may find helpful: Can I hire a homeschool governess?
In the article I mention the term “Household employee.” That’s the IRS term for nannies, housekeepers, gardeners, etc. who work in or around a personal residence.
Your hired teacher is probably not a “household employee.” Your hired teacher is probably similar to hiring a piano teacher or a tutor.Piano teachers and tutors are business owners, not household employees. You are a customer of a person who is running her own business.
The teacher is the one who has to worry about reporting her income from you (or anyone else she works for) and deducing her expenses on her tax return.
I hope you had a clear discussion or written agreement with the special ed teacher about her employment status.
You do not get a tax deduction for what you pay her. There are (probably) no tax forms for you to give her.
Carol Topp, CPA
Good advice Carol. It is the teacher who need to seek tax advice as they are in business for themselves.