How to Declare Babysitting Wages
Whether babysitting gains you extra pocket money or it is your sole source of income, you must file taxes for your babysitting wages if you make enough to breach the IRS threshold for reporting income. If you provide in-house babysitting for a home or company on a regular basis, such as steady part-time or full-time work, the resident or company should provide you with a W-2 form to fill out -- and the employer should have withheld taxes. This means you'll use the W-2 form to fill out your taxes. If you do not have a W-2 from a babysitting job, which is usually the case if you work only when clients make appointments, you will likely be paid in cash at the end of each babysitting session and you will have to file taxes without the aid of a W-2 form. As of 2011, if you make more than $412 a year from babysitting, you must pay self-employment, Social Security and Medicare taxes.
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Instructions
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Determine the amount of money you have made babysitting. If is it over a certain amount, you must pay taxes. For example, in 2011, if your total earnings for providing babysitting services for the year were more than $412, you are required to pay taxes. If you are hired as an employee, you should receive a W-2.
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Create a list of all expenses that you incurred while providing babysitting services. Expenses include items purchased to aid the babysitting jobs, and gas to and from the job. As a self-employed individual, your commute expenses are tax deductible.
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Download Tax Form 1040 Schedule C, 1040-Schedule SE and the regular 1040 from the IRS website.
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Fill out the form 1040 Schedule C following the directions that are included in the download. On line 1, you will write the total amount of money you received from babysitting. On line 2, write the total amount of expenses you accrued from babysitting. Subtract line 2 from line 1 to determine your net profit. This number goes on line 3.
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Fill out form 1040-Schedule SE. On line 2 write your net profits. Write any deductions that were taken from your wages in the appropriate boxes if applicable. If no deductions were made, place a 0 in the appropriate boxes.
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Fill out tax form 1040 to determine whether you owe any taxes. As a babysitter, the government considers you self-employed. You may have to pay self-employment taxes, social security and medicare. Chances are you'll owe nothing unless your annual babysitting receipts are in the thousands of dollars.
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Sign the forms and mail to the IRS.
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