serpentinehill
New Member
Given the facts below is it my mom or the home health care agency that has the burdon of dealing with the employee vs contractor issue with the IRS:
My mom uses an agency for private duty aides. She has two aides--a daytime aide and nighttime aide. The agency choses the aides. We do not pre-interview any of the aides--the agency tells us the name of the aide and the person shows up. When an aide takes a vacation day, we get a call informing us that the aide will be on vacation and telling us who the agency will send as a substitute. If we have a problem with the aide, we call the agency and if desired, the agency can replace the aide. The aides bill my mom using a form provided by the agency and we write a check directly to the aide. The aide apparently has to pay the agency some percentage (unknown to us) and is forbidden from contracting directly with my mom without paying the agency's fee.
I asked the agency if we could get hit with any tax issues. The person at the agency told me that their aides sign an agreement with them that they are responsible for all taxes and are contractors. I am a bit uneasy on whether the IRS would agree; but given that the agency decides who to send to us and plays such an active role in this--I believe the IRS issue would be with the agency, not with my mom. Am I correct in this? Or is there a risk the IRS would maintain the aides are my mom's employees.
My mom uses an agency for private duty aides. She has two aides--a daytime aide and nighttime aide. The agency choses the aides. We do not pre-interview any of the aides--the agency tells us the name of the aide and the person shows up. When an aide takes a vacation day, we get a call informing us that the aide will be on vacation and telling us who the agency will send as a substitute. If we have a problem with the aide, we call the agency and if desired, the agency can replace the aide. The aides bill my mom using a form provided by the agency and we write a check directly to the aide. The aide apparently has to pay the agency some percentage (unknown to us) and is forbidden from contracting directly with my mom without paying the agency's fee.
I asked the agency if we could get hit with any tax issues. The person at the agency told me that their aides sign an agreement with them that they are responsible for all taxes and are contractors. I am a bit uneasy on whether the IRS would agree; but given that the agency decides who to send to us and plays such an active role in this--I believe the IRS issue would be with the agency, not with my mom. Am I correct in this? Or is there a risk the IRS would maintain the aides are my mom's employees.
