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Who are you caring for?
Which best describes their mobility?
How well are they maintaining their hygiene?
How are they managing their medications?
Does their living environment pose any safety concerns?
Fall risks, spoiled food, or other threats to wellbeing
Are they experiencing any memory loss?
Which best describes your loved one's social life?
Acknowledgment of Disclosures and Authorization
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
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Mostly Independent
Your loved one may not require home care or assisted living services at this time. However, continue to monitor their condition for changes and consider occasional in-home care services for help as needed.
Remember, this assessment is not a substitute for professional advice.
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I am thinking of hiring a part-time caregiver but don’t know if I have to do something regarding social security and withholding taxes of insurance. What happens if the person falls or is otherwise injured in the home? Does anyone know the answer?
Problems abound. As to someone giving care in your home, that is a question for your insurance agent. You need to know your coverage. Everyone should have both homeowners and a good umbrella policy attached to it, and you need to know if a contracted person is hurt in your home what the coverage is.
www.irs.gov will give you all you need to know on hiring household employees, what forms to fill out and etc. Basically you are responsible for doing this under the law, and they will tell you what forms to use. You will also need to obey minimum wage laws for your area, and that can come back to bite you years late with penalties. So those will be the rules. What you do about following the rules is in your own hands.
The one thing you need to know is you must match the SS withheld. My cousin found out his SS will be effected because his first employer did not do this.
You will need to go online and search for labor rules pertaining to your state of residence. There are rules that dictates what a contract employee is and there may be rules particular to caregivers.
If your person is only going to be part time and will have other clients, they *may* qualify as a contractor, and so you would pay them straight hours with no withholding and no reporting and at the end of the year you will need to create a 1099 form to give them (due by the end of Jan the following year). Then it is up to the caregiver to report and pay taxes on the wages. You have to report anything over $600 paid out in a calendar year.
Specific labor rules can vary by state and this is an international forum. It'd be best to hire a bookkeeper or accountant, IMO.
You should explore liability insurance to make sure it would cover a regular worker on your premises. My MIL worked PT for an aid agency and fell backwards off a low stool while cleaning (something that wasn't in her job description for that client) and hit the corner of the wall, breaking several vertebrae. There was no end to physical and financial problems for her after that. So, stuff like that does happen. Best to be covered and make sure you have a written contract that outlines exactly what duties the aid will and will not be expected to perform.
With the advice of our attorney we had our caregiver sign a private contractor agreement stating that she must pay her own taxes and that we do not provide benefits, workman's compensation, or any tax withholding. She is responsible for reporting her income and making quarterly tax payments. We also raised mom's personal injury on her homeowner's insurance to $1 million.
Have you or your Caregiver filed your taxes yet or a previous year? If not caught yet, you will soon be audited and owe FUTA and FICA back taxes plus penalties. The private contractor contract will not hold for your defense. Your attorney's advice is wholly against Fed and most State Nanny Tax Laws. The IRS Pub 926 covers this. If you set the Caregivers hours and/or duties, the Caregiver is considered a Household Employee not a Private Contractor or Self-Employed Worker.
Weekly charges are NOT small. The service itself cost at least $100 per payroll, regardless of you if you have one or 20 employees. A care contract (non-employee) would really be best, but a lot of caregivers don’t like them because then they have to pay their own Medicare and social security tax.
Nevertheless, you must deal with this one way or another. If you hire the person as an employee, you should get the accounting firm who does your tax return to do the payroll for them. They would probably charge less than one of the commercial services.
Do you have a contract? In case she needs Medicaid within the next 5 years, you need to keep good records documenting that she is being cared for so that she qualifies.
Google care.com and go to their HomePay link. It is a great service that does all the paperwork for you for a minimal charge. They do all the end of year tax forms and direct deposit payroll for you. They also offer workman’s comp insurance. If you are not using an agency for caretaking you need services from a company like this.
There are truly situations where expert help from an attorney, accountant or tax expert is worth the expense. Applying for Medicaid for instance may require expert help. IMO, this is not one of those situations and doing so creates an extra unnecessary potentially expensive wasted step and certainly an unnecessary bill. Anyone can Google the IRS tax rules regarding Nanny’s and home health workers (who, like it or not, are treated the same). Anyone can Google payroll assistance companies that handle the headache of employee payroll and taxes. If you are hiring privately, for substantial regular scheduled hours, the IRS considers your aide an employee (of either the person receiving care or the family member overseeing care) and tax withholding for income, social security, and Medicare needs to be set up. Some states also require workman’s comp insurance- some don’t. The only way to get around this is to hire a home care agency that serves as the aides’ employer and is therefore responsible for those things. You will likely pay more per hour for an agency but they handle the taxes and insurance. Don’t let the promise of a “substitute aide” sway your decision to use an agency. In my experience, that promise rarely works out because most agencies struggle to find a replacement if your scheduled aide calls out. Whether agency or private, sure as the sun rises, there will be times when no one shows up. Have a back up plan. If you hire privately, your hourly cost will likely be substantially lower and all of the wages go directly to the worker, but unless you have experience or a lot of time, you will need to use a payroll service to help you. Care.com is one site that offers both aide searching services and payroll services. There is no way of getting around the IRS rules unless you are only hiring very occasional help. Some people try to call their caregiver an “independent contractor.” Again, Google the rules. You do not need to pay an attorney to tell you that a regularly scheduled private caregiver is an employee under IRS rules. We may not like it - but those are the rules unless changed. Do it right - sleep at night.
A good question for their insurance agent and a good huge umbrella policy attached to homeowners is always an excellent idea no matter WHO you have into or around your home and no matter under what circumstances. Even a friend can fall with disasterous outcome.
Why? So they can raise her homeowners rates or drop her? She needs a payroll company that can also refer her for a workman’s comp policy if required by her state or, if not required, just so she can sleep at night.
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
www.irs.gov will give you all you need to know on hiring household employees, what forms to fill out and etc. Basically you are responsible for doing this under the law, and they will tell you what forms to use. You will also need to obey minimum wage laws for your area, and that can come back to bite you years late with penalties.
So those will be the rules. What you do about following the rules is in your own hands.
If your person is only going to be part time and will have other clients, they *may* qualify as a contractor, and so you would pay them straight hours with no withholding and no reporting and at the end of the year you will need to create a 1099 form to give them (due by the end of Jan the following year). Then it is up to the caregiver to report and pay taxes on the wages. You have to report anything over $600 paid out in a calendar year.
Specific labor rules can vary by state and this is an international forum. It'd be best to hire a bookkeeper or accountant, IMO.
You should explore liability insurance to make sure it would cover a regular worker on your premises. My MIL worked PT for an aid agency and fell backwards off a low stool while cleaning (something that wasn't in her job description for that client) and hit the corner of the wall, breaking several vertebrae. There was no end to physical and financial problems for her after that. So, stuff like that does happen. Best to be covered and make sure you have a written contract that outlines exactly what duties the aid will and will not be expected to perform.
We also raised mom's personal injury on her homeowner's insurance to $1 million.
Weekly costs are very small.
Nevertheless, you must deal with this one way or another. If you hire the person as an employee, you should get the accounting firm who does your tax return to do the payroll for them. They would probably charge less than one of the commercial services.