Household Employment Center

Hiring someone to work in your home raises several separate questions. Is the person your household employee? What information should you collect before payroll begins? What records should you keep? If you use a payroll service, which tasks will it actually handle? This center gives you a route through those questions and links to the government guidance behind them.

1. Understand the working relationship

Start with the real arrangement rather than a job title or contract label. The IRS's Household Employer's Tax Guide explains its test for whether someone working in or around a private home is a household employee. The Department of Labor's domestic-service fact sheet addresses a related wage-and-hour question. Read our household employee starting guide to see how to frame the first conversation with an adviser.

Write down who chooses the tasks, schedule, tools, and way the work is done. If an agency or more than one household is involved, bring those details to a qualified professional rather than assuming the answer follows from the worker's title.

Before making an offer, use our before-hiring guide to define the role and assign the setup tasks.

2. Prepare for payroll

Before picking software or a service, collect the proposed duties, schedule, pay arrangement, and the people who will approve time and payments. Our household payroll starting checklist turns those into preparation questions. The IRS guide covers federal employment tax and form topics; state and local requirements need a separate check for the place where the work happens.

For a regular household employee, our Form I-9 guide explains the separate work-eligibility verification step and links to the current USCIS instructions.

3. Plan for records

Decide how hours, payments, and employment documents will be organized and accessible. The IRS guide has a section on wage and tax records. The Department of Labor's domestic-service recordkeeping fact sheet describes federal wage-and-hour records for covered work. A payroll provider can help collect information, but ask who keeps the records and how you can export them.

Use our household employment recordkeeping guide to set up a weekly pay trail and separate tax-file retention reminders.

4. Compare outside help

If you are considering a household payroll provider, ask for a written explanation of setup, time entry, tax forms, filings, support, record exports, and what remains your responsibility. Use our questions for a household payroll provider and payroll comparison overview to make a comparison based on the services you need. Confirm any provider's current features and fees directly with that provider.

Our guide to payroll-provider support turns the sales description into a task list and an employer review routine.

Hiring and onboarding resources

• Hiring a nanny: define the position and prepare an offer.
• Nanny job-description template: customize the role and download an editable copy.
• Household employee onboarding checklist: assign setup tasks through the first payday.

More roles and planning tools

• Hiring a housekeeper
• Hiring a newborn care specialist
• Templates and planning tools
• Using templates safely

State guidance

California household employment guide: check state payroll registration, wage-and-hour questions, leave, insurance, and local requirements alongside the federal starting points.

Texas household employment guide: review unemployment-tax liability, federal wage rules, Texas paydays, new-hire reporting, and insurance planning.

Choose your next step

• Read the household employee basics if you are still deciding how the working relationship should be assessed.
• Use the payroll starting checklist if you are preparing to hire or set up payroll.
• Take questions to a payroll provider if you are comparing services.
• Browse all HHP resources to see the current guides in one place.

Information only: This center is a navigation aid, not a classification decision, complete compliance checklist, or legal or tax advice. Check current federal, state, and local rules for your arrangement and consult a qualified professional. Federal source review: October 18, 2026; no specialist sign-off.