Why sign in to the Community?

  • Submit a question
  • Check your notifications
Sign in to the Community or Sign in to TurboTax and start working on your taxes
New Member
posted Jan 24, 2025 11:22:54 AM

Do I count all my wages from IHSS as a live in provider? If so, do I manually go through my paystubs and subtract the wages from the time we lived together?

0 1 649
1 Replies
Expert Alumni
Jan 26, 2025 12:04:52 PM

If all of the IHSS payments you received qualified as "difficulty of care" payments as explained in IRS Notice 2014-7, they may be excluded from income. If you didn't receive a Form w-2 or 1099, and you have confirmed the payments meet the criteria for exclusion, then you don't have to enter them on your return.

 

You may choose to include all (or none), but not part, of these payments in earned income for determining the EIC or the ACTC, if these payments are otherwise earned income (wages or income from self-employment).

 

You would only refer to your paystub if you need to report the income for purposes of the Earned Income Credit; you don't enter this in the W-2 section if you didn't receive a W-2. Qualifying Medicaid waiver payments are exempt from Federal and California income. If some of your pay was for working with clients who don't qualify for "difficulty of care", then you should receive a W-2. Contact the payer with any questions.

 

Your In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) income may be exempt for both your California and your Federal returns if you received income from a Medicaid waiver or IHSS program for providing care to an individual you lived with.

 

If your income was exempt, you didn't have any taxes taken out, and didn't receive a Form W-2, you don't have to report the income on your returns.

 

See this TurboTax help article under "I received a 1099 or no form" for more information.

 

See here for questions and answers from the IRS on this topic.