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Filing Schedule H for a Household Employee

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Paying a caregiver directly turns a family into an employer in the eyes of the IRS, and Schedule H is where that status becomes a single number on the family's own tax return. This article walks through who actually has to file it, what information it requires, and what happens if the filing gets skipped.

Last updated: July 2026

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What Schedule H Actually Is

Schedule H is the form a household employer attaches to their own federal income tax return, Form 1040, to report and pay the employment taxes owed on a household employee's cash wages — Social Security, Medicare, federal unemployment tax, and any federal income tax that was withheld at the employee's request 1. Rather than filing separate quarterly business payroll returns the way a company would, a family folds an entire year's household employment tax into this one schedule, filed once a year alongside their personal return 2.

Schedule H is what turns 'I pay a caregiver directly' into an actual line item on a family's own tax return, rather than something handled informally.

Who Actually Has to File It

A household employer generally needs to file Schedule H if any one of three things happened during the year: cash wages paid to a single household employee crossed the annual Social Security and Medicare reporting threshold, total cash wages paid to all household employees together crossed a separate federal unemployment tax threshold in any calendar quarter, or federal income tax was withheld from any household employee's wages at their request 1. These dollar thresholds are set and adjusted by the IRS, so the specific current-year figures should be checked directly on the live Publication 926 page rather than assumed from a prior year 1.

A family that pays a caregiver only occasionally, or below these thresholds, may not need to file Schedule H at all for that year — but crossing the threshold partway through the year still triggers the filing requirement for the full year's wages, not just the portion above the line.

Getting an EIN Before You Can File

Filing Schedule H requires an employer identification number, not a personal Social Security number, since the IRS tracks household employment tax the same way it tracks any other employer's filings 1. This is a short, free application, and it's worth completing well before tax season rather than scrambling for it when the return is due.

An EIN is also what a family needs on hand for issuing the caregiver's annual wage statement, which is a separate document from Schedule H itself but draws on the same wage records kept throughout the year. Households that later stop employing a caregiver keep the same EIN for any future household employee rather than applying for a new one each time.

What Information Goes Into the Form

Schedule H asks for the total cash wages paid to each household employee during the year, the Social Security and Medicare tax calculated on those wages, any federal unemployment tax owed, and any federal income tax that was withheld and remitted on the employee's behalf 12. Each employee's Social Security number is required as well, which is one more reason the wage-reporting relationship described by the Social Security Administration matters from the very first paycheck, not just at filing time 3.

Keeping a simple running log throughout the year — pay date, gross wages, any tax withheld — turns this into a straightforward transcription exercise in the spring instead of a reconstruction project done from memory.

When and How It's Filed

Schedule H is typically filed attached to the family's own Form 1040, due on the same date as the rest of that personal tax return. A family that isn't otherwise required to file a Form 1040 can still file Schedule H on its own, on the same annual deadline, rather than being exempted from the requirement entirely 1.

This is a meaningfully different rhythm from a business's payroll taxes, which are typically due quarterly throughout the year — a household employer generally settles the whole year's employment tax obligation once, at tax time, rather than in smaller installments as the year goes.

Avoiding a Surprise Bill at Tax Time

Because Schedule H settles a full year's household employment tax in one filing rather than spreading it across quarterly payroll deposits, the total can arrive as an unwelcome surprise if a family hasn't planned for it. Publication 926 addresses this directly: a household employer can avoid an underpayment penalty by increasing the federal income tax withheld from their own job, or by making estimated tax payments during the year, so the Schedule H total isn't the first time the money has been set aside 1.

This is worth deciding early in the year rather than at filing time. Either adjusting a personal paycheck's withholding or setting aside a portion of the caregiver's wages each pay period toward the eventual Schedule H total accomplishes the same goal, just through different mechanics.

What Happens If You Skip It

Failing to file Schedule H when it's required doesn't make the underlying tax obligation disappear — the IRS can assess the back taxes owed along with penalties and interest once the gap is discovered, sometimes years after the fact. It also has a quieter cost: if a caregiver's wages were never reported, their own Social Security earnings record for those years is incomplete, which can affect the benefits they're eligible for later 3.

A family paying a caregiver legally from the start avoids both problems at once — no surprise tax bill years later, and a caregiver whose own earnings record reflects the work they actually did. Whether that's handled through a caregiver payroll service or filed directly by the family is mostly a question of how much of the paperwork a household wants to manage itself; the underlying filing obligation is the same either way. That said, whether a worker is even a w-2 vs 1099 caregiver in the first place is its own separate question, and getting it wrong is what leads some families to skip Schedule H when it actually applied.

Common questions

Only if cash wages crossed the annual reporting threshold for Social Security and Medicare, or a separate quarterly threshold for federal unemployment tax, or you withheld federal income tax at the caregiver's request. Below those thresholds, Schedule H generally isn't required for that year, but it's worth confirming the current-year dollar figures directly.

Yes — a household employer who isn't otherwise required to file a personal income tax return can still file Schedule H on its own, by the same annual deadline that would apply to a regular return. The obligation to report and pay household employment tax exists independently of whether the family has any other reason to file.

The tax obligation doesn't go away simply because the deadline passed; back taxes, penalties, and interest can be assessed once the gap is identified. It's generally better to address a missed filing directly, whether by amending a past return or consulting a tax professional, than to leave it unresolved.

Yes — an employer identification number is separate from a personal Social Security number and is specifically how the IRS tracks a household's employer-side filings, including Schedule H and the caregiver's annual wage statement. Applying for one is a short, free process worth completing before the first paycheck rather than at tax time.

No, Schedule H only covers federal employment taxes — Social Security, Medicare, federal unemployment tax, and any federal income tax withheld. State income tax, state unemployment insurance, and any state-specific household employer requirements are filed separately with that state's tax agency.

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Before Tax Season Arrives

  • —No running record of wages paid to a caregiver throughout the year, discovered only when the tax return is due
  • —Filing a personal Form 1040 without Schedule H despite paying a caregiver above the reporting threshold
  • —Assuming a missed Schedule H filing from a prior year has no consequence once time has passed
  • —No employer identification number obtained before wages are paid, delaying the ability to file correctly

This article explains general Schedule H filing categories and is not tax advice. Dollar thresholds, deadlines, and requirements change and should be confirmed against the current-year IRS Publication 926 or with a tax professional before filing.

References

  1. 1.Internal Revenue Service (2026). Publication 926, Household Employer's Tax Guide (for use in 2026). IRS.gov. link ✓Who must file Schedule H, the EIN requirement, what information the form requires, when it's due, and that current-year dollar thresholds should be confirmed against the live page.
  2. 2.Internal Revenue Service (2025). Topic no. 756, Employment taxes for household employees. IRS.gov. link ✓The concise summary of household employee tax obligations and Schedule H reporting that this article's overview is built on.
  3. 3.Social Security Administration (2026). Household Workers (SSA Publication No. 05-10021). Social Security Administration. link ✓Why reporting a household worker's wages protects their own Social Security earnings record, and the consequence of leaving that reporting undone.

3 sources, numbered by first appearance. General health information, not medical advice. AI-assisted editorial content — every citation independently verified. Editorial policy

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