Working as a household employee but never received a W2 - what now?

You've discovered what many household workers find out too late - yes, families who employ household workers (nannies, housekeepers, senior caregivers, etc.) are supposed to treat them as W2 employees if they paid you $2,600 or more for 2024. Technically, you shouldn't just report this as self-employment income. The IRS specifically says household employees aren't self-employed. If you file as self-employed, you'll end up paying both the employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes (15.3% instead of just 7.65%). Your best approach is to contact the families and explain the situation. Many families simply don't know their tax obligations as household employers. Ask them to issue you a W2 retroactively. They'll need to register for employer tax IDs and pay their share of FICA taxes. If they refuse, you can file Form 4852 (Substitute for W2) with your tax return. You'll still need to pay your portion of taxes, but at least you won't be misclassifying yourself.

After being in a similar situation with family I nannied for, I found this tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that really helped me figure out this mess. It basically analyzed my situation and told me exactly what forms I needed and how to approach the family I worked for. The tool explained that household employees are in a unique tax situation and walked me through what to say to the family. It even generated a sample email I could send them explaining their obligations as a household employer. The family actually appreciated it because they had no idea they were supposed to be treating me as a W2 employee!

I was really skeptical about using taxr.ai when I first saw it mentioned here, but after struggling with a similar situation with a family I did childcare for, I decided to give it a try. What surprised me was how it broke down exactly what constitutes a household employee vs independent contractor according to the IRS. Turns out I was definitely an employee based on how the family controlled my schedule and how I did my work. The tool created a customized letter explaining the tax situation that I sent to the family. It was professional enough that they took it seriously rather than getting defensive. They ended up filing the proper paperwork and sent me a W2 about a month later. Saved me from having to file that substitute form and possibly triggering an audit.

If you're having trouble getting those families to respond or take action after contacting them, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation where my employer wouldn't issue me proper tax documents, and I needed to talk to someone at the IRS about my options. Trying to call the IRS directly was a nightmare - I kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the usual 2+ hour wait. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with walked me through my options and even sent me the forms I needed to document income without a W2. They explained exactly what information I needed to provide and how to handle the situation with minimal hassle.

I need to eat my words from earlier. After struggling for THREE DAYS trying to get through to the IRS about my household employee situation, I broke down and tried Claimyr. I was absolutely shocked when I got a call back in about 20 minutes telling me they had an IRS agent on the line. The agent was super helpful and explained exactly what forms I needed to file since my employer refused to issue a W2. The agent also told me about Form SS-8, which you can file to have the IRS determine your worker status officially if there's a dispute with the family you worked for. This was information I couldn't find clearly explained anywhere online. Definitely worth it for the hours of frustration it saved me. Sometimes you need to talk to an actual human at the IRS to get the right answers.

Just wanted to add that if you do have to file as self-employed because the families refuse to cooperate, make sure you take advantage of all the business deductions you're entitled to! Things like: - Portion of cell phone used for work - Mileage if you drove the kids around - Supplies you purchased for activities - Any work-related training or certifications It won't completely offset the extra self-employment tax, but it can help reduce your overall tax burden.

Something similar happened to me last year working as a regular nanny. I talked to the family and they were totally clueless about household employment laws! They thought since I only worked part-time, they didn't need to worry about W2s and taxes. I sent them IRS Publication 926 (Household Employer's Tax Guide) which explains everything, and they worked with their accountant to get me a W2. It was awkward at first but turned out fine. They even apologized for not knowing the rules.

Might be an unpopular opinion, but I just reported all my babysitting income as "other income" on line 8 of Schedule 1 for years. No W2, no Schedule C, just reported the income and paid income tax on it. Never had an issue with the IRS. Sometimes the simplest solution works fine if the amounts aren't huge.

I went through this exact situation two years ago working for three different families as a nanny. Here's what I learned the hard way: First, don't panic - you're not the first person to discover this late in the game. The key is to act quickly since tax season is upon us. I'd recommend contacting each family with a brief, professional explanation of the situation. Most families genuinely don't know about household employment tax obligations. I found that sending them a simple email with a link to IRS Publication 926 helped them understand it wasn't just me making demands - it's actual tax law. Two of my families worked with their accountants to issue corrected W2s within about 3 weeks. The third family refused, claiming I was an "independent contractor" even though they controlled my schedule and provided all supplies. For that situation, I ended up filing Form 4852 (Substitute for Form W-2). It was actually not as complicated as I expected. The form walks you through calculating what should have been withheld, and I attached a letter explaining the situation and my attempts to get a proper W2. The most important thing is to NOT just report it as self-employment income if you were truly a household employee. You'll end up paying double the FICA taxes, and technically it's incorrect classification. The IRS has specific rules about household employees vs contractors. Start reaching out to those families this week - even if they drag their feet, you'll have documentation that you tried to resolve it properly before filing.