Tuesday Tips: The Best Dr. Suess Books

Today would have been the 106th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel. We knew and loved him simply as Dr. Suess and his books have been a standard in any childs library since they hit the market.

We decided that today instead of giving you a list of our favorite Dr. Suess books, we would ask a random sampling of parents, nannies, agency owners, business owners and kids who had nannies what their favorite Dr. Suess books are.

Sue Downey from the National Association of Nanny Care said:
""It is almost like choosing which of your kids is your favorite... they are all my favorites on different days and in different ways. But I think I love Oh the Places You'll Go the best."

Lara from GTM Associates took our Dr Seuss question to her management team, and they picked, The Lorax. Lara said "Just like GTM with our paperless payroll and online employee self-service... The Lorax was ahead of it's time with the green-movement; long before saving the earth became a global concern!"

Molly (my first charge that I started caring for 25 years ago today) said "There are so many good ones. I'd have to say The Lorax because of the message, and also the Butter Battle Book and her brother Casey (born 2 1/2 years later) says"Its probably a close tie between The Lorax and The Butter Battle Book, but if i had to choose one of those it would be The Lorax.

I asked my current charges who are now 16 and 11.
FSB said that his favorite was Green Eggs & Ham.

and ERB said that her favorite was The Lorax

The office staff at Morningside Nannies chose the following as their favorites:

Pat Cascio: One Fish Two Fish
Holly - There's a Wocket in my Pocket
Missi - Fox in Socks
Lindsey - Horton Hears a Who

Kathy Webb from Homework Solutions said " "Hop on Pop - 1st book I could read for myself and my dad let me "hop on pop" after I went through the whole book!"

Jennifer Goin , Professional Nanny says:
The Lorax is my personal favorite Dr Seuss because of the valuable lessons of preservation strewn throughout are all wrapped up in a fun rhyme that's easy for a child to young children to relate with.Lily my 19month old charge prefers Hop on Pop, because she loooves to hop.

Michelle LaRowe, Author of Mom's Ultimate Book of Lists and 4 other parenting books says that she and her daughter love One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Patti Mueller owner of Nanny Mall says that her favorite is Bartholomew and the Oobleck.

My mom always read to us, (she's an English major/retired teacher) and that particular book was my favorite because it was a challenge for the characters, but in the end all the king had to do was apologize and all was well.
Even as a child I understood that things can get out of whack but a simple "sorry" heals, as does repentance.

Nettie Weber of Perfect Match Nannies says: "Oh The Places You'll Go. It gets pulled out almost every time I have a really, really bad day to remind me that this too shall pass. I've given this book to numerous people as a gift for all kinds of life achievements as well as hardships, when they are feeling down. I am a giant fan of the literature he wrote on two levels, for both children and adults."

Penny Percey, Mom and Professional nanny says:
Green Eggs & Ham and The Cat in the Hat were faves of the Grummer boys and I.

We would read them anytime of day but especially at bedtime. Every time I was putting them to bed they would choose one or the other or both. I knew the stories so well, I barely had to look at the words. And I would give characters different accents, like the fish. I gave him a New York mobster accent. Instead of saying, "That cat should not be about. Put him out! Put him out!" He would say, " That cat should....git outta heeeeaaah!" The boys loved it! We read those stories up until they were almost into double digit ages. Good times.

Dionne Holt Welsh(former nanny, now wife and mom) chose her favorite as

To Think that I saw it on Mulberry Street
When I was in college I had to do a theme unit on this book for an education class and I fell in love with it. And the book encourages daydreaming which i love to do!

Stephen Dionne's husband chose
Cat in the Hat.....Because I can totaly relate to Thing 1 and Thing 2 :)

Kim Tate Skaggs
Just one? Hard to choose. I'd say my 5 yr old daughter, Jaylin and my most recent favorite is The Ear Book. Not the usual conventional Dr. Seuss ones as we do read those often and love them as well. The reason The Ear Book has been a NEW favorite is because she likes to change it up and we go through it as The Eye book, changing Ear to Eye and See to Hear. It's quite the challenge and when I/ we mess up we end up in a giggling fit.

What could happen if I don't pay the nanny taxes? Are there any good reasons to pay?

compliments of 4NannyTaxes

In home care is expensive. After the family's mortgage payment, the nanny or home health aide salary is often the biggest expense in the household. Add the cost of taxes on top of this and many families wonder "Why?" If I don't pay the taxes the nanny keeps more money and it costs me less. The nanny makes little enough anyway - why should she have to pay tax?
Reporting nanny wages and paying Social Security taxes is the law. It is also the right thing to do for your nanny. Think about it. When you and your nanny agree to pay 'off the books' you are mutually agreeing to break the law. Is that the way you want your employment relationship with your nanny to start out? What message does that send her?

The Risks...

Both the nanny and the family face penalties if caught not paying the nanny taxes.
The family has both civil and possible criminal penalties. Once the family has filed an income tax return that failed to report nanny wages they run the criminal risk of tax fraud charges. It is rare that the IRS pursues the criminal case; they generally stop once the nanny taxes have been paid. The penalties and interest can easily double the tax due in just 4 - 5 years! If criminal penalties are pursued and the family is convicted, this is a felony offense. It will follow the parents for the rest of their lives. Sadly, in the case of domestics (housekeepers, companions, home health aides) engaged to provide assistance to an elderly person to help them stay in their home, there have been numerous cases of claims filed against the estate of the elder.
The nanny or domestic worker faces similar criminal and civil penalties. Failure to report your income to the IRS annually is a felony offense also. The family often 'gets honest' at some point, and the nanny finds a very unexpected W-2 form in the mail. She then must file or amend a previously filed tax return and pay the associated back income tax, penalties and interest.

More Information on Penalties and Interest

The Rewards...

The benefits to the nanny and the nanny's employer in paying the 'nanny taxes' generally fall into two categories.
Tangible Benefits:
• The nanny accrues credits for future Social Security and Medicare benefits.
• The nanny's income is verifiable, needed for loan and mortgage applications, utility applications, etc. Try establishing a cell phone account without verifiable income!
• The nanny can document residence and qualify for in-state college tuition rates. Many nannies relocate to a particular area because their long term goals involve attending a particular college. Obtaining resident status with verifiable income allows her substantial tuition cost breaks as well as qualification for financial assistance.
• The nanny qualifies for future unemployment benefits. Nannies often find they need these benefits to tide them over between jobs. A nanny's job will end - the children grow up and family needs change.
• Many nannies qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable tax credit available to certain low-income wage earners. This can be several hundred to several thousand extra dollars in the nanny's pocket every year.
• The family can qualify for child care tax breaks. These tax breaks can offset some or all of the additional employment taxes.

Risks Avoided:

• Household employment taxes are part of the family's personal Federal Income Tax return. Reporting the wages and paying the tax avoids the risk of failing an audit and the associated financial costs. Did you know that an attorney who is charged with failure to pay the nanny taxes (tax fraud) can be disbarred? A medical doctor can loose their license to practice?
• Compliant families will not be caught when the nanny files for unemployment benefits when the job ends. The is by far the most common way a family is caught - the unemployed nanny who needs to pay her rent or buy groceries is suddenly far less concerned about the possible future tax problems.
• Protection from Worker's Compensation claims. The family cannot obtain Worker's Compensation Insurance unless they have registered and obtained a Federal Employer Identification Number. The liability here to the family in the event of a work related injury is HUGE! A nanny who throws out her back handling your toddler can easily accumulate thousands of dollars in medical bills and lost wages. We don't think of the home as a dangerous workplace, yet we have encountered dozens of these situations over the years.
• There is no statue of limitations for employment taxes. A nanny may file for Social Security or Social Security Disability benefits many years later. When the employment history is not found, it is in the nanny's best interest at that time to report the families she worked for and qualify for benefits. The families will then have to reconstruct the employment history and pay BOTH the employer and employee portions of the non-paid Social Security and Medicare taxes, with substantial penalties and interest and fees to an accountant to figure the whole mess out. There is no statue of limitations for failure to pay the nanny (employment) taxes.

Weekend Round Up

We hope that you enjoy the week end round up on Regarding Nannies. It's an easy way to catch on all the weeks features if you don't have time to do it everyday. The holidays are over, the holiday decor has been put away and this weeks set of articles on Regarding Nannies offered some great information on lots of topics.

Monday was Martin Luther King Day

We started off with a great Monday Moxie about Employment taxes and what you need to know.

On Tuesday Tips, Kellie featured a great article from www.nannynetwork.com on being prepared in an emergency.

On Wednesdays' Creative Nanny, Glenda shared ideas for what to do with old CDs.

Thursday Table Talk featured a fabulous article written by Kellie that every nanny and divorced family should print out and save.

On Friday's Financial Nanny Alice featured a helpful article from Jennifer Goin about CraigsList and how to use it wisely.

Next week we will feature another great article from our colleague Greta Schraers' Cincy Nanny blog. We will also have a great Valentine Craft from Kellie and start doing articles from the featured speakers at the 2010 INA Conference.

US Employment Tax Information for Nannies - The Nanny Taxes

Courtesy of Home/Work Solutions, Inc. The "Nanny Tax Experts"

Introduction …
US Nannies should try to be more aware of their legal rights and tax obligations than the average new employee of a business. Why? Because compared to the business employer, their family-employers will usually know far less about employer and employee obligations under the US Tax Code. And if your employers are foreign, perhaps working for an international company, then they will be even less familiar with how employment works in the US.

When you accept a job as a nanny, whether you found the job though a placement agency, an internet nanny service, or on your own, you are entitled to:
• A contract from your employer spelling out the terms and conditions of your employment
• An annual Wage and Tax statement, Form W-2.

You should remember, however, that being an employer might well be a new experience for the family you are working for. If you are well informed, you could even help your employers to understand and fulfill their legal obligations to both you and the Internal Revenue Service.

Employee or Independent Contractor?
With few exceptions (these being some doulas and some nannies in continuous temporary employment), if you work as a nanny you are an employee. It is your employer's [the family] responsibility to register with the Internal Revenue Service as an employer. They are responsible to deduct Social Security and Medicare tax contributions, on your behalf, from your gross wage, and pay these to the Internal Revenue Service, along with an additional employer's Social Security/Medicare contribution (which is part of their total cost but not part of your gross wage). Your employer is also required by law to provide you with an annual Wage and Tax Statement (Form W-2) by January 31 following the close of the year. The Form W-2 is a summary of your annual income and total tax deductions made by that employer. (Note: if you had multiple employers, you should receive a Form W-2 from each of them.)

If your employers tell you to take care of your own tax or ask you to be self-employed, you should refuse and insist that it is their responsibility. You can refer them to IRS Publication 926 for details. Nannies simply do not meet the Internal Revenue Service's criteria for self-employment. Having two or even three part-time jobs does not make any difference in this respect. Failure to insist on the employee-employer relationship will jeopardize your coverage under Worker's Compensation, Disability Insurance, and Unemployment Insurance programs. Nannies are in great demand - you should insist on a legal tax relationship or find another family that will meet their obligations!

Get It In Writing
Once your wages and conditions of work have been established and agreed to, make sure you receive a contract, or at the very least a letter of agreement, before you start work. This should clearly spell out (among other things) your agreed salary (specifying whether net or gross) and your employers' acceptance of their responsibility to withhold and remit Social Security and Medicare tax to the Internal Revenue Service on your behalf. It should also specify whether the family will be deducting your income taxes (Federal and State) or whether you will be responsible to pay these amounts directly to the appropriate taxing authority. Your employer, with few exceptions, is not liable for any of your personal income taxes. If an employer fails to meet their responsibilities, having your own copy of their agreement to do so, in writing, is your greatest protection. Most nanny agencies have a standard family/nanny work agreement that deals with hours, salary, and duties. There are also many variations available on the Internet.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE EMPLOYMENT FORMS

Net Pay or Gross?
You may have been quoted a net wage (i.e. the amount you will actually receive in your hand at the end of the pay period) by your nanny agency or employer. However, whether you have been quoted net or gross, it is important to understand that in reality you are always being paid a gross wage. It is advantageous to both you and your employer to agree to a gross wage (or at least to establish in your contract that your salary consists of a net wage plus employee Social Security and Medicare tax contributions and possibly income tax contributions). MANY MANY times you, the nanny, think the net payment you receive every week is after all of your tax obligations, including income taxes, while the family believes, rightly so, that they are only legally responsible for the Social Security/Medicare taxes. It is an unpleasant experience when you receive your W-2 in January to find that no income taxes have been paid in. A single nanny being paid net $400 per week would owe, at the end of the year, $1500 - $2500 in income taxes! Another important advantage of agreeing to a gross wage is that if tax rates are cut, as they have been several times in recent years, you automatically get the benefit, rather than getting the benefit (or not) at your employer's discretion.

What Happens if Your Employer Doesn't Pay the Taxes?
If you are not sure whether your employer is paying your Social Security and Medicare taxes, make some inquiries. Ask your employer for their Federal Employer Identification Number [FEIN] and a written statement of your quarterly earnings. The employer needs to report quarterly earnings to taxing authorities anyway, so this information should be readily available. Employers using a nanny tax service, HomeWork Solutions for example, can obtain quarterly earnings reports from the nanny tax service. If they don't have an FEIN they can't be paying your tax!

If you've just recently started working for them and they haven't employed before they may be in the process of setting up employer accounts. This will take 2-4 weeks, a little longer if the employers are not US citizens. Meanwhile, they will remain responsible for reporting all wages, even those paid before accounts were established, and remitting all taxes.

If you leave a job during the year, particularly if it was not on good terms, you should request, in writing, a wage and tax statement from the family. The family is legally obligated to provide separated employees with W-2 summary information, including the family's FEIN, within 30 days of a request. Bear in mind that the official form W-2 is often not available until late fall, so a written statement with all of the appropriate information will suffice. Make sure the family has your forwarding address so they can deliver the official W-2 statement in January.

Where to go for help?
There are many resources available to help the nanny understand her tax obligations. A good place to start is by calling the IRS forms office at 1-800-TAX FORM or visiting irs.gov and request a copy of Publication 926. On the web, information can be found at http://www.4nannytaxes.com/. If you worked with an agency, ask your agency representative for assistance, particularly if it involves the work agreement. Most importantly, communicate your concerns and questions with your employer. If you like your job and your employer is happy with your performance, open communication about pay matters can prevent a misunderstanding from turning into a major issue.

Information provided as a courtesy by Home/Work Solutions, Inc., The "Nanny Tax Experts." To request a free information about the "Nanny Taxes", call 1-800-NANITAX.

Weekend Roundup

Regarding Nannies Weekend Round Up
This last week on Regarding Nannies we had
Monday Moxie :
Demystifying Taxes: What every employer needs to know!

Tuesday Tips:
Organizing from the Inside Out: Kristen Kanoski reviewed 3 different books for organizing your life.

Wednesday's Creative Nanny :
A Year in the Life:
Alice shared a great idea for keeping track of a child's growth over the course of a year.

Thursday Table Talk: Catching Up with Christy
Kellie caught up with Christy Ochs, INA NOTY 2007


Friday Finanical Nanny: Coupon your way to Disney
Alice shared a blog with us where the woman gave you tips on how to save money couponing

Next week on Regarding Nannies:
Glenda is going to share her interview with a group of nannies who went through formal nanny training programs and Alice is going to share some more great ideas about organizing your life in 2010.