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My nanny (housekeeper) is not a legal resident. What should I do about employment taxes?

The Internal Revenue Code maintains that the immigration status of your nanny or other employee has no bearing on your obligation for employment taxes.

The IRS requires that workers ineligible for Social Security Numbers file form W-7 to request an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). This number will be used on all tax reports and returns, including Form W-2. The IRS is currently prohibited from sharing this information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service [INS]) by law - see THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974 5 U.S.C. § 552a).

The valid range of ITIN's is 900-70-0000 through 999-88-9999, all numeric values. These numbers are issued to the taxpayer on a letter from the IRS - there is not an "ITIN card."

Non-payment of taxes is a leading reason for denial of an alien's immigration petition. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can consider the failure to file an income tax return, if a person earned enough to be required to file, as proof that the noncitizen doesn't have the "good moral character" required of applicants for US citizenship. Failure to file income tax returns or an improperly prepared tax return can cause problems when the permanent resident files for US citizenship or when a US citizen or permanent resident tries to help family members immigrate.

Nannies filing and paying their income taxes using an ITIN are ineligible for the 2008 Economic Stimulus checks.

Illegal Immigrant Nannies in the News

The issue of illegal immigration and a citizenship path or amnesty for undocumented foreign workers in the United States is a major political issue at this time. There are proposals before Congress to reform our immigration policy, and perhaps our border security, that will have dramatic consequences to the many employers, including families, who currently employ undocumented workers.

Many households employ illegal immigrants as nannies, housekeepers, groundskeepers, etc. Some of these households already comply with employment tax reporting; the majority do not. All of the various proposals being discussed in Washington include either a Guest Worker program, an amnesty program with a citizenship path for illegal immigrants already working in the U.S., or both.

What does this mean to the household employer?

It is expected that all applications for immigrant legalization will include a detailed examination of the immigrant's background, including their employment history while in the United States. Immigrants applying for a Green Card or other legalized status will be required to document tax compliance. All plans include an examination of tax return records going back a minimum of 3 years. The illegal immigrants will be highly incented by the promise of legal status, and it is expected there will be significant pressures on current employers who have been paying these immigrants 'under the table' to come clean and catch up on tax payments so the immigrant can take advantage of a legalization program.

We prepare back tax returns. Call for fees.

I've given my illegal nanny a W-2 form? What does she do?

The majority of illegal or non-documented workers issued W-2s will file a US Income Tax return as a resident alien. A resident alien is an individual who is not a citizen or national of the U.S. and meets the green-card or substantial-presence test. U.S. citizens and resident aliens are subject to the same taxation. The ITIN of the non-documented resident alien is used to track the tax reporting and payments. Additionally, illegal nannies who meet the substantial-presence test and are citizens of Mexico or Canada may claim dependency exemptions in the same way that U.S. citizens use to determine who is a dependent (See Publication 519, P. 25).

'Green Card' Applications - Foreign Domestic Workers
 Important April 2005 Update.

 ITINS: More Information
 Non-documented Domestics: Tax Compliance Increases

For More Information contact HomeWork Solutions, Inc.
at 1-800-NaniTax or e-mail and submit a question.