Has anyone hired private caregivers "under the table" and if so, how did it work out? What advice would you have?

I work private under the table for my father in law. Taxes and all the legalities dont apply if working under the table. My father in law is a 83 yr old man who's knees ate shot so mobility is not easy. I'm daily about 9 hours. Typical day is getting wiped down with wash cloths, brushing hair,teeth, emptying urine cups,changing dressings on bottom due to bed sores from being in chair 95%of time. Wife is a nurse so shes coached me in correct ways to address wounds and correct products. Take him to bathroom wipe him,shower him, on doctor days transfer him to a wheel chair and load him up and take him to doctor, on bad days we pay for can services with a lift. It's not easy caring for elderly especially your in laws but I love my family and gladly do it. Now I'm not on any payroll mind you I take it in trade. I have his truck, hes traded me for things. My mother is a in home care giver under the table is her main source of income and she typically gets paid 12-15 an hr i my self think 12 is acceptable you'd be paying a company up to 25 n hr and that's not acceptable your loved one deserves care not to be robbed for it!! My father n law also finds it easier for a man to care for him being I'm touching his private places; constantly deeply cleaning showering him ext. He is 6ft 320lbs mind you so it's not easy some times their is no bathroom days so diapers are becoming a new new for us. Good luck on finding a caregiver just be careful. Place cameras to make sure neglect is not happening.

If you plan to hire caregivers yourself, you’ll need to understand:

1 - Your state’s wage and hour laws and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor;
2- IRS and your state’s income tax reporting and withholding requirements; and
3 - Reasons why you must protect yourself and your in-laws, and their caregiver, with unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation coverage.

Domestic workers are household employees, not independent contractors. The employer must withhold the employee’s Social Security and Medicare contributions and pay a matching portion. At the end of the year, the employer is responsible to provide their employee with a Form W-2 reporting wages paid and taxes withheld.

Violations of the FLSA can surface when the IRS or your state's Department of Revenue catches a family’s failure to file employment taxes. You may find an ideal caregiver, who assures you she will take care of taxes on her own, using a Form 1099 issued by a family member.

But when the caregiver goes to her accountant the following year, he may say she was mis-classified as an Independent Contractor, and then file a Form 8919, which reports the individual’s share of uncollected Social Security and Medicare taxes. The Form 8919 gives the caregiver credit for Social Security quarters corresponding to her wages and names the family member as the responsible employer.

This is only one of the risks that you take if you decide to hire "under the table."

An Elder Law Attorney and/or accountant in your state can help you spot the issues. There are also nationally recognized online payroll services that help people comply with the wage and hour laws governing caregiver employees.

I was reading the comments and realized that we call these jobs in the south common sense jobs you smply file 1040 at the end of the year

Yes I'm a private caregiver it better than the angency and cheaper

"Heartfelt Kudos" to ALL you / us caregivers out there ....my heart goes out to each of you as I read your posts. I'm a baby-boomer (64) & many of our parents didn't, wouldn't, or refused to prepare or plan to live to 90-100+ yrs of age. Unless our parents cared daily for THEIR aging parents /or unless they were forced to experience 24/7 care for the elderly.....they probably lived in DENIAL of growing old & sickly....Until that dreaded day came when it hit them right between the eyes FORCING them (& you/ family) to acknowledge a harsh truth....they are Old, are Sickly & Need Help!!
Instead of graciously accepting the truth of their lives, the cultural and/or generational PRIDE & Need to CONTROL kicks in....they are angry-bitter-blaming because it's easier for them to DENY than to accept & change. (They're in shock that their hopes of a quick death: heart attack, accident, etc. didn't happen!!....so they're NOT prepared mentally, emotionally, spiritually & sadly financially).
My story: quit corporate career to be primary caregiver to my 91 yr old mom & dad. I'm married 20 yrs with no children. Husband/I welcomed my parents into our home; gave them downstairs master bedrm suite (King bed; 2-person reclining leather sofa; 6-drawer dresser w/ 32"cable TV lots of windows/light....bedroom has private bathrm (walk-in shower) & walk-in closet.
After they arrived, husband/I experienced "daily steep learning curves" & "kick-in-the teeth reality trials".
Dad-91: COPD; oxygen 24/7, mild heart issue, ungrateful, demanding, prideful, selfish, insomnia, claustrophobic, curses like a sailor, picky re: food, critical & complaining all the time. Right eye blind; barely can read w/left eye, angry I won't let him drive & wants to be driven around; out of house, but can walk, shower, toilet, eat & mentally ok.
Mom-91: Dementia past 15+ yrs,
needs 24/7 care = toilet, bathe
/brush teeth, dress, walk, fed 3 meals, exercise....everything. Like a child; grateful except when she suffers with "Sundowners / Sundown syndrome" at dusk or cloudy, rainy days. (I never heard of Sundowners until I started
caring for my parents!... reason I'm mentioning it here).
**Hard learned realities:**
-my efforts to serve/care for my parents almost ruined marriage. 1st=God - 2nd=husband - 3rd=parents / family - etc.
-family dysfunctions (we all have them!) will be "magnified" with stress of circumstances. Prepare yourself to be hurt, criticized, judged & feel isolated...but your faith will get stronger & although you 'think you'll die" from the weight of responsibility + learning "stuff" you never wanted to know...don't give up - you will survive & if you can really forgive all (including yourself), you will be "free" in ways you never imagined possible!!
-I lost 20 lbs... got 3 hrs sleep daily / exhausted. Changing diapers every 2+ hrs, cooking, laundry, driving / doctor visits / shower / dress / brush teeth / feed mom & fight with dad 24/7.
-get mental competency tests / evaluations!! (2) different doctor letters required depending on the state. Your loved one may look the same, but they are NOT who you (or even they) remember them to be...they can't make sound, logical decisions. I used to give my parents $500.00 /mo... .I later find they spent $250.00 / mo on Publisher's Clearing Hse "Crap"!!
..a total SHAM as previous person posted; PCH preys on the elderly!!
-get legal & medical POA asap
-become their Soc Sec "payee"
so you can step in & are in position to help them.....when they make hateful statements & say horribly hurtful words to you, forgive them & help them anyway.
Very hard to do!
-Have integrity! Stand out; Don't fit in or just get away with things like others may
-A previous post listed harsh realities about elder care...hard to read, yet words were honest.
-Don't isolate yourself!! Love & be kind to yourself. (I said things & acted out from frustration, exhaustion, resentment, etc - talk about it! You can't help anyone if you're not "whole/healthy"

Don’t do it. It is tax fraud and income tax evasion. Should Medicaid become involved it can cause problems. And the caregiver is earning no social security credits.

I am Looking for Private Pay Overnights .

been doing caregiving for along time companies and other ways ..always worked out good for me..never had problems....so when turn 66 you can make any amount of money and it will not affect your social secuirty..anyone have a good way to go about pay cash only for a short lenght of time....live in md....

If you have a domestic help (home health aide) you are not permitted to pay them and report with a 1099. All domestic help are employees (w2) not contractors (1099). Beware if you get caught.

And, you just might get caught. What happens when the aide loses her job with you? She files for unemployment...bang..you are caught. Or..she is injured and files workers comp? Again you are caught.

There is no incentive for the aide to not file for those benefits. If you haven't been doing payroll withholding...you are the only person paying all the back taxes and the fines. Your employee has no reason to not file.

Go read the IRS website...all domestic help are employees...not contractors.

Agency vs private hire both have pros and cons.

Overall, you should do thorough investigation on your choice of agencies and private hire. Involve background checks, check references, interviews and resumes. In this healthcare field it's all about who you know and referrals. When you find a great agency or private hire pay them fair and don't be cheap. The term under the table is reference phrase to cash only. Most agencies have this option cash payment. Private hire mostly would prefer cash payment but personal checks are accepted also. Information provided by a Homecare agency owner in Michigan.

I have been in home care giver for 10 years and I got a 1099 at the end of year I am on social security and 71 I can make all I want I did the bathroom ,fixed breakfast,and snacks made Dr. appointments .so I don't see that a private cargive is all tha bad.

We had the most wonderful woman who worked for my Mom for several years. She even came in at 1am on New Years Day when my Mom had an emergency. You wouldn’t find an Agency that would do that. My Mom loved her dearly and still misses her. My mom’s health declined to the point she needed full time care. She was a treasure. We found her though some neighbors who had used her. If you find the right person I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.

I have a 90 year old friend who gave me her financial power of attorney and another friend her medical POA. (Her children predeceased her, and she has no other nearby family and set up the POA documents without telling us.) She had a stroke and has some dementia. When she had the stroke is when we learned about the POA documents. She is not ready to give me bill-paying authority, so I actually have no access to her resources. I did submit the POA letter to her several banks and have developed a relationship with them. At any rate, her medical POA and neighbor did not like the agency initially hired for 24 hour care. Last month, they hired private caregivers. Home health workers are employees, not contractors, and a W2 is required. I've read a lot and had extensive conversations w/her accountant about setting up payroll. The private health workers may not be paying any taxes at all, won't reply to email asking how their business is set up, and the medical POA and neighbor have overruled my attempts to talk with the caregivers about setting up payroll. They have the client (my 90 year old friend) writing checks to the care givers. The IRS and other agencies have cracked down on this type of behavior. Long story (very long complex story) short, the medical POA and neighbor are doing as they see fit and imagine that in the future, when our friend can no longer pay her own bills, that I will also write checks under the table. Or that if the authorities ever become aware, that the back taxes and penalties will simply be paid out of her estate. The entire situation makes me very uncomfortable. Every time there is a financial emergency (she bounced a check she wrote to one of the caregivers for example), they all call me and ask me to fix the problem. But as soon as things calm down, they tell me I'm in the way. Any thoughts? It's a very strange situation.

I had wonderful results, hiring and custom-training caregivers through a local, immigrant, community center in Jupiter, FL. I paid them cash directly. Most of these people were from Central and South American countries, and they were here on work visas. I found these people to be extremely hard-working, trustworthy, conscientious and - for what it's worth- church going. They were all very caring and good to my mother. In fact, some of them became like family to us.

I also privately hired one of my mother's aides from her rehab center (I asked her to slip me her number). She was great, because she already knew how to be a good and SAFE caregiver, so I didn't need to train her.

I realize this is referencing a very specific and local resource center in my neck of the woods, but you may want to look into something like it in your area.

PS. Because I wanted to avoid the scenario of ever finding that any of my mother's valuables were missing, I purchased a security deposit box at our bank and stored ALL jewelry, cash and small valuables in it BEFORE anyone started working in the house. It turned out that the people I hired were upstanding and honest, but there was no way of knowing that in advance of them working in my mother's house.

Agencies treat caregivers bad and pay too little for caregivers t to be committed and consider client needs before theirs. Private caregivers are the best and know good people who can help whenever they need days off, and they mostly make it their responsibility to ensure who ever they bring offer best care. 

Of course most of private caregivers have worked for agencies or carelinx can hook u up with experienced and reliable caregivers, my grandma private caregiver never left us wondering who will look for her, as the person who has worked for agencies she have so relable fill ins

Now caring for my own mom

I do not mind working, either under the agency or private but surprisingly with all the families I have ever worked for they've always wished to have me attend to their loved ones almost like every day. I love my job and I adore the elderly they are my best. They like consistency but apparently, unless its a live-in no agency will keep their "promise" for consistency of about 2 or 4 caregivers. which is a plus to private caregivers, if both parties take care of the required taxes then every senior person would wish to have a consistent care. I am a part time caregiver and we both meet our tax obligations.

Well , i say anyone can be a caregiver none looks at how elder become babies again . Just like taking care of a new born is the same thing with an elder person . And yes some times it is to trust someone to take care of your loved one's but if you stop to think what makes anyone so sure your loved one's our safe in a nursing home or hospital, haven't you seen how some elders get mess treated , some don't get feed , or some don't get a bath . And these are people that our certificate and are licensed the ones you should hire . And the ones that do get paid cash or under the table whatever you want to call it . Their the ones that are more careful nothing happens cause they don't want to be held responsible for anything. Some people are ready to judge others when only God can do that . Some of you should give others a chance you will be surprised how someone out of an agent company can do just as good as someone that does work for an agency company can . Thank you all may you all have a blessed night.

There are other ways of hiring caregivers outside of agencies. Before you have will have to do a lot of the leg work such as background checks and references, but now we have services like CareLinx and other companies that do that for you. Its cheaper than agencies and they take on the risks and screening for you. I ended up using them instead of going through the local agency because they were becoming to expensive.

Mom and I tried it -- thinking we were helping the person keep more of their cash instead of working through an agency that gets most of it. Even the best agencies' ppl will tell you they will work outside the agency Problem we had is that once they don't have someone to report to -- they take act like they're the boss and pull crap they wouldnt' pull if they knew that would be reported back to the agency. So after 2X of bs with that -- strictly agencies. Plus now we have mom's LTC ins paying so it has to be on the up & up.

Meh .. amending the last line:

".. than the work itself ... when it comes to taxes and legal issues."

(I don't mean to imply that we're just covering a$$. Frankly, to me, that's the LEAST of my concerns. I know it's a huge issue for a lot of people and must be considered. The IRS has no heart. What we're really concerned with is quality life and care.)

It's possible to hire someone as an independent contractor. There are several key factors you'll want to make sure you can meet:

.. They provide you with an invoice for services rendered
.. They provide all their own supplies to accomplish the 'work'
.. They get to determine their own schedule or when to complete the 'work'

.. You supply a 1099 at the end of the year

Where most caregiving would encounter issues, is with the timing factor. It's going to be pretty difficult to cover all the 'shifts' necessary for longterm care.

I can envision several scenarios where it ~might~ work:

You engage the contractor(s) for XX hours or to provide services and they tell you when they're available and you get to juggle the schedule. This might actually work well for the stay-at-home family caregiver who is simply looking for chunks of time to be relieved of caregiving responsibilities, the person who comes in to bathe, the one who comes in to help with housekeeping and 'keep an eye on mom' while you go off shopping, a hairdresser/manicurist who comes in once a week, and you get to peacefully work in the garden, or even someone who does all your shopping for you. Make it a mix and match kind of thing. (Hint: these could all be the same person. Just make sure the billing reflects the separate jobs for which they were engaged/hired.)

The very valid reasons for going through an agency:
.. Their staff should be screened for ability and training (and certification, if desired), as well as complete background checks
.. The agency will cover all the expenses related to health insurance and taxes for the worker
.. The agency will also carry liability insurance
.. The agency should provide relief staff
.. Some agencies even offer bonded staff

For most of us, covering the proverbial a$$ is more important than the work itself.

I *think* what you mean is - you want to hire independent help... a caregiver not acquired through an agency... yes?

If so - my state (IL) has Dept of Health website with CNA and other medically certified person registered in this state. I can simply place an ad in local paper, get someone's info and a "feel" for the person by interviewing, then check credentials online.

I would start by seeing if your state has something similar to this.

Don't do it, it's unethical. Just because the caregiver wants to be underhanded doesn't mean you should agree to it. Is it worth the risk of being caught? Is your loved one protected? Too many "ifs".

Don't hire under the table or work under the table! It is called Tax Evasion which is a federal offense and a felony. Someone can also call anonymously to the IRS Fraud Tip Line to report this type of activity.

I'm not sure what you mean. We hired a wonderful woman who I'm pretty sure didn't pay taxes on the money we gave her. But I figured that was her problem.

We had a woman that worked for an agency, my Mom adored her. But she constantly wanted us to tell the agency that she was working for 4 hours, but she would work for 8, then we would just pay her for the extra 4. She earned more money this way. It always worried me because the fines for doing this were steep. But we never got caught. It also just seemed wrong. We did sign an agreement with the agency.

id avoid privateers who will work for a crack rock. they are alert 24 hrs a day but rather jumpy and unpredictable.

We did for my Daddy ( a Doctor himself for 31 years) He overdosed while they were taking a smoke break. We were paying 9 grand per month for truly very little. Go ask around in your area ( nursing homes , ect ) if any of the staff is looking to pick up extra hours . I would only trust somebody that works around the elderly or in that field.

Your "private hires" will probably leave you with gaps as much as the agency if not more. I suggest you look at some other agencies. They are suppose to send subs when the regular person calls in absent. It is still a hassle. Private hires are cheaper but if they hurt themselves handling the client or when on the property you open yourself up to be sued. The agency takes care of any claims--true or false.

"Under the table" implies you are paying cash, they are not reporting it on their income tax, and you are not reporting it on a 1099 form. If you are having someone come in once or twice a month to sit with your loved one for a few hours, this probably works out OK. But if it is a substantial number of hours it may really be better in the long run to do it above board. It is kind of a nuisance, but it is not really difficult once it is set up.

But as for hiring privately instead of going through an agency, their are some very good people who work independently, just as there are some very good people who work for agencies. For independent workers you'll have to check references and do your own screening. Independents have sick children and get colds and have dental appointments, too, so hiring independently isn't a sure-thing solution to no-shows.

"Under the table" sounds a little sneaky, but yes, you can hire supplemental help. Sometimes the people who work with healthcare agencies appreciate having some extra work on the side. You can check to see if it is allowed with their agency, or hire someone from outside the agency. You may want to check the laws on hiring help to make sure you're not responsible for taxes or other things. If it is a limited number of hours, you probably won't be. I would keep things above board so nothing comes back to haunt you.

We hired someone to give baths to my father. He first met him through our home care company. He was glad to have the extra work and the company was fine with it. Many of the home health workers don't make a lot of money, so it may be a good source for you if it is okay with their agency.