If I hire a high school student to tutor my kid, do I need to withhold taxes on the cash payment to the student, and does this student need to report the income?

[Bsch4477]

The answer to your question is more complicated than you might think.  Whether the tutor is your employee, a household employee or an independent contractor can be debated.  The easiest path (for you) is to consider the tutor an independent contractor. You would have no tax obligation but if he was paid more than $400 he would have to file a return and pay self employment tax. 

[Hal_Al]

Simple answer: no, you do not withhold taxes.   The IRS Household Employer’s Tax Guide does not treat a tutor as a household employee, even when the tutoring is done in the home.

But, as others have said, it's not clear cut. The most important thing is to discuss taxes with the tutor, so that there is an understanding of who is responsible for taxes.  One theory says you should offer to pay him 7% more if he files as an independent contractor to cover the "employer share of FICA (social security & Medicare tax)

[xmasbaby0]

And....you did not ask....but in case you are about to...there is not a federal tax deduction for you for paying for tutoring for your child.

Education expenses for grades K-12 are not deductible on your Federal return, whether for private, public, or home schooling, nor are the expenses for tutoring, after school lessons or after school activities, such as dance lessons, sports, etc.  Some states allow deductions/credits for K-12 education and/or home schooling expenses; if your state has these deductions available, you will be prompted to enter them when you prepare your state return.  (As far as I know, the states that offer any sort of K-12 deductions/credits are Arizona,  Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,Louisiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin)

[Opus 17]

You do not withhold taxes or make any reports.

The tutor is expected to file and report all their income, even if it is not reported to the IRS.  Whether they do that is up to them and their parents, and is really none of your business.

The tutor should know that he or she will be paying taxes, and should set their rate of pay high enough to account for this.