Domestic Wage Reporting Policy
The Social Security Domestic Employment Reform Act of 1994 increases the reporting threshold for wages paid to domestic employees such as baby-sitters, housekeepers and yard workers from $50 quarterly to $1,000 annually. It also replaces the present quarterly filing system by employers using Form 942 with an annual reporting and payment system using a revised Form 1040 for years 1995 through 1997. Beginning in 1998, employers would either increase their quarterly estimated tax payments or increase the taxes withheld from their own wages to cover their share of domestic employee Social Security tax.
Since governmental employers do not file Form 1040, it will be necessary for these entities to use Form 941 to report wages paid and taxes withheld from domestic workers.