At HomePay, we take great pride in handling all of the household employment tax, payroll and HR obligations required of you. Unlike a typical accounting firm or payroll service, household employment is all we do and all we’ve ever done since 1992. To give you a better idea of what it’s like to use our service, read through the answers to the most common questions we get from families:
Select your topic:
Getting set up
Do you obtain tax IDs for me?
Yes, we work with the state and federal tax agencies on your behalf to get your tax accounts established as a household employer. We also set ourselves up as the mailing address with the state agencies so you don’t have to deal with the stream of alerts and notices throughout the year. We’ll monitor and manage all correspondence for you and advise you as necessary. All you have to do is fill out our Tax Application Packet and we’ll handle the rest.
Why can’t you use my Social Security number to pay household employment taxes?
The IRS and your state require you to register as a household employer and the tax IDs they provide allow them to separate your household employment activity from your personal income tax activity. There would be no way to do this if only your Social Security number was used.
Do you file the state-required New Hire Report for me?
Yes, we prepare the report on your behalf for each employee you hire and make sure it’s filed with the state prior to the deadline. You don’t need to do anything.
Can you help me obtain a workers’ compensation insurance policy?
Yes. We’ve partnered with a leading workers’ compensation insurance broker and an A-rated underwriter that can write policies for most families that employ a nanny, senior caregiver or housekeeper. You can obtain a free, instant quote and purchase a policy online, or contact our workers’ compensation advisor, Clarke White, at 804-267-1210 or wcnanny@allrisks.com.
Payroll
Do you generate pay stubs for my employee each pay period?
Yes, we generate pay stubs each payday. They include line-item details for the current pay period, as well as the year-to-date totals. Your pay stubs will be archived on your online account, so you and your employee have access to historical payroll records anytime they’re needed.
What if the pay needs to change for one specific pay period?
No problem. You’ll be able to change your payroll easily and quickly by logging into your account or by calling us at (888) 273-3356. We have an easy-to-use, mobile-friendly online payroll manager tool that allows you to preview the compensation details for your employee and easily modify the hours or gross wages. If you make a change, a new pay stub instantly appears so you can preview and approve the new payroll.
Do I have to remember to go to my online account or call every payday with my payroll information?
No, we send a courtesy email reminder prior to each payroll deadline. The email shows the gross wages and net pay for the pay period. It also provides you with a link to your online account in case you need to make a modification.
What if I had a payroll change that I forgot to report?
No problem. Just give us a quick call and we’ll correct the payroll for you by reconciling the difference on the next paycheck.
If I’m only supposed to pay the net amount each pay day, what happens to the taxes?
The difference between the gross wages and the net pay are considered the employee’s “tax withholdings.” The tax withholdings remain in your bank account until they are due to the appropriate tax agency. At that time, we remit the taxes along with the appropriate employment tax returns.
If I choose Direct Deposit, how does the money get from my bank account to my employee’s bank account?
We handle the movement of money via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Once we get your bank account and your employee’s bank account set up for Direct Deposit, we initiate a debit transaction from your account three business days prior to payday (the bank clearinghouse process takes three business days). The money is then credited and the funds are available to your employee on payday. Most families and their employees prefer this option because it eliminates writing checks and making trips to the bank.
Tax filing and remittance
Can you show me how much in taxes I can expect HomePay to collect from me for the year?
Yes, we have a Tax Calculator on our website that will give you this information. Just input the hours your employee will work for you or how much they will earn each pay period, and you can see the corresponding taxes both by pay period and by annual total. You can also see the tax breaks you may be eligible for.
Do you prepare and file my employment tax returns?
Yes, we take full responsibility for preparing and filing your household employment tax returns, as well as remitting the tax dollars to each tax agency. We’ll also prepare your Schedule H so you can attach it to your personal income tax return.
Do I get to preview the returns before they’re filed?
Yes, prior to each state and federal tax return deadline, we’ll prepare your tax returns, post them to your online account and notify you via email. All of your tax returns will be archived in your online account so you can access them any time.
What taxes are remitted and how do you collect them from me?
Since you only pay your employee the net pay amount each pay period, the tax withholdings remain in your bank account. At the end of the tax period, all the taxes you withheld from your employee — plus your employer taxes — need to be remitted. We calculate the appropriate amounts that need to go to the federal and state tax agencies and provide you with advanced notice of the amount due and the collection date. All you need to do is make sure your account is adequately funded at least one business day prior to the collection date. We take responsibility for sending the proper amounts to the proper tax agencies by the deadlines.
Using your HomePay account
What can I do when I log into my HomePay account?
There are too many features available to you to list here, but our clients frequently use their HomePay account to do the following:
Make one-time payroll changes for an employee.
View a complete history of past payroll, pay stubs, tax returns and service fees paid.
Add a new employee or inactivate a former employee.
Reactivate a previously closed HomePay account because a new employee has been hired.
Download useful forms like a Dependent Care Receipt from our Resources section.
Close your HomePay account when you no longer need our service.
I just set up my HomePay account, but why can’t I modify the first payroll for my employee?
Your employee’s first pay period has not run yet, so you will be unable to make changes to it until it begins.
Why isn’t my new employee’s Social Security or Medicare tax withholdings showing up on the Taxes tab, but I see it’s being withheld on their pay stubs?
The IRS doesn’t require Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes to be withheld or paid until your employee is paid $2,700 for the calendar year. Once your employee crosses this threshold, you will see these taxes appear. And if for some reason your employee never crosses the $2,700 threshold, the taxes we’ve withheld will be reimbursed to them.
Guidance and support
Do you help me understand and provide guidance on applicable labor laws?
Yes, unlike most payroll services and accounting firms, our specialization in household employment gives us expertise in all the unique and complex labor laws that can affect families. And we’ve built our service to include unlimited access to our team of experts. You can give us a call any time you have a question or a concern and we’ll spend as much time as you need – at no extra charge. Many of our clients call us during or immediately following the hiring process so we can assess their individual situation and make sure their employment relationship is set up properly from the start. This proactive approach tends to prevent expensive mistakes and provide peace of mind to both employer and employee. If you haven’t called us already to have that conversation, we welcome you to do so.
If I have questions, concerns or problems, will I be able to get through to someone promptly?
Absolutely. We’re staffed with experts who answer the phones — often on the first ring! Whenever you call, the expert who answers will access your information and resolve your issue promptly. No waiting, no phone tag, and no getting passed around to different departments. Most of our competitors don’t do this — or if they do, they charge a fee for it. We feel prompt, professional service should be standard.
The last company I used didn’t help with government notices and I wasted a lot of time. Do you help with this?
Yes. Unlike most of our competitors, this is something we handle as part of our service. We know it’s frustrating and time-consuming to deal with government agencies. Like everything else related to household employment, you can relax and let us take care of it.
Who is Breedlove & Associates and why are my state notices being mailed to Texas?
Breedlove & Associates is the formal name of our company as it was established back in 1992. In 2012, we became a subsidiary of Care.com and established the service name of HomePay to better describe what we do. Our physical office location is in Austin, Texas so when your state needs to correspond with us on your behalf, they will send notices to us in Texas.