Soc. Security Notes

Soc. Security Notes

Many area residents do not seem to understand provisions of the social security law as it pertains to reporting wages for domestic help, according to Mrs. Hazel F. Daly, District Manager, Social Security Office located at 20 S. Cameron St., Winchester. *We repeatedly hear such comments as: ‘I thought the law didn’t apply to part-time help.’ ‘She didn’t want me to deduct the social security tax from her earnings.’ 'He wouldn’t give his social security number.'* The rule regarding social security coverage of domestic workers is explicit and quite simple: An employer of domestic help is required to report wages for social security purposes if the worker is paid $50 or more in cash wages during a calendar quarter. There are 13 weeks in each quarter, so a worker who works only part-time in a private home and is paid as little as $4 per week would be paid $52 in a quarter and the employer is legally required to report these wages. The responsibility is placed on the employer to secure the necessary reporting formsfromInternal Revenue Service, to deduct the tax from the employee’s wages, to match the tax deducted, and to send the report and tax payments each quarter to Internal Revenue Service. The tax report must contain the employee's name, his social security number, the total wages paid in the quarter and the amount of the tax payment. This report and a check for the total amount of the tax due is to be sent to Internal Revenue Service. At the present time, the tax is 8.8% - 4.4% paid by the employer and 4.4%deductedfrom the employee’s salary. “Reoorting forms are issued by Internal Revenue Service,” Mrs. Daly said.