You will enter the W-2s as if you work for a traditional employer. Because you do not live in the home for the person you are providing services for, this Medicaid Waiver payment is still taxable. A blank box 2 only means that Federal taxes were not withheld from your income, but the wage amount reported in box 1 is still taxaable. The following California FTB (Franchise Tax Board) website link describes why: California IHSS Payments
You may see other posts related to these payments about Notice 2014-7. That notice will not apply to you, as described in the link I provided, because the care you provide is outside of your home.
Fortunately, the provider has withheld appropriately the correct taxes (Boxes 7-13 are very often blank on Forms W-2, so what you see is normal)
You probably don't. IHSS payments are nontaxable and nonreportable income if you live with the person who needs the assistance you are providing.
Do you have amounts in box 1 and 16 of your W2? This is CA, correct? I don't want to assume.
It has amounts in all except from 7-13. I also have 2 W2s one of them doesn't have an amount in box 2, and yes it's CA
You will enter the W-2s as if you work for a traditional employer. Because you do not live in the home for the person you are providing services for, this Medicaid Waiver payment is still taxable. A blank box 2 only means that Federal taxes were not withheld from your income, but the wage amount reported in box 1 is still taxaable. The following California FTB (Franchise Tax Board) website link describes why: California IHSS Payments
You may see other posts related to these payments about Notice 2014-7. That notice will not apply to you, as described in the link I provided, because the care you provide is outside of your home.
Fortunately, the provider has withheld appropriately the correct taxes (Boxes 7-13 are very often blank on Forms W-2, so what you see is normal)
I live with my 2 sons who I provide IHSS care for in the state of CA however I see wages on 1 and 16 everything has been life as far as the Tax exemption. I just wanna make sure I do this right and avoid problems with the IRS, thank you for the help!
You have received a W-2 and income is reported in boxes 1 and 16?
This help addresses CA IHSS payments.
Note in this TurboTax Help that you may yet be contacted by the IRS. Their first reflex is to question why you are not reporting income reported on a W-2.
yes the W2 has a amounts on both lines 1 and 16
Were you told that your payments would not be taxable income under IRS Notice 2014-7?
It sounds like you would qualify for the exclusion of the W-2 box 1 amount from your taxable income.
IRS Notice 2014-7 can be found at this link. Click on the hyperlink Notice 2014-7 in the center of the page.
Certain Medicaid Waiver Payments for In-Home support services are excludable from gross income and should not be included in your earned income. This is the case even if you have received a W-2 for performing these services.
If you have received a W-2, this help explains how to enter the income and then remove it from your taxable income.
Be sure to retain all your documentation. The IRS is likely to ask questions about this income at some later time.
Thank you for the input! I have all documentation saved and ready.
If you live with the person that you care for and you "want" to report your wages. Fill out W2 as normal and then in box 14 if you scroll down the list to medicaid waiver or payment and enter the wages again this will make them non taxable. You can also choose not to report this income but you may be contacted about these wages but as long as you have the proof that they lived with you then you should be okay.
I don't see that option on section 14 please help!!
IHSS payments are non-taxable and non-reportable income if you live with the person who needs the assistance you are providing. You do not have to file a tax return when you qualify as an IHSS provider.
It would be great if there would be an interview section within the software/online filing to mention this. As you are aware, in the state of California a W-2 is generated with Line 1 wages as $0, but other required withholdings are included to assume for a non-professional filer, that it needs to be reported on their taxes. In addition, I file as married and my Wife has reportable income. I spend hours completing the online questionnaire, only to be rejected for e-filing. If I knew that I didn't need to include my W-2, It would have saved me a lot of time.
Appreciate the answer from the expert in any case.
My W2 boxes 1 and 16 have wages and I live with the person I care for, which is my son. Can I still file and claim the child dependent credit or not?
I believe you are referring to the child tax credit or the dependent credit. If your child qualifies as your dependent then you may be entitled to the child tax credit or dependent credit. You just need to enter him in TurboTax as your dependent and answer the questions to see if he qualifies.
Is claiming a dependant be your mother? I take care& live with my mother with dementia and had received a w-2 and was wondering if I could still file and claim her as a dependent. I had federal taxes withheld all year even though I was told I was exempt from being taxed because I live with her. If I file will I get anything back? Box 10 for dependant care benefits is 0.00 so does that mean I can't claim her as a dependent? Thanks for your time!
If you meet these requirements you can claim your mother as a dependant.
hi, so if i am a live in IHSS provider and have a different job, i do not have to file for the IHSS income? Just my other job?
I took care of my client for 3 months and the last month I took care of her she lived in my home how would I file and do I qualify for any kind of tax breaks
Hi all, I too am very confused for my IHSS W-2s. I’ve been a provider for about 6 years now and as of 3 years ago I started owing taxes. I asked a tax person and they said the IHSS wasn’t taking enough out causing me to owe so I went to the office to adjust my tax form but I’m scared it’s gonna happen again. I can’t afford another $1200 debt after 3 consecutive years. What am I doing wrong and can I do anything to relieve any portion of it?
I took care of my client for 3 months and the last month I took care of her she lived in my home how would I file and do I qualify for any kind of tax break
Double-check with IHSS as to how your income is classified. Earlier in this thread you will see I have posted a link to CA's website that discusses this further. However, if box 1 on your W2 is blank, you do not need to include the W2 on your tax return if you don't wish.
Hi all, I too am very confused for my IHSS W-2s. I’ve been a provider for about 6 years now and as of 3 years ago I started owing taxes. I asked a tax person and they said the IHSS wasn’t taking enough out causing me to owe so I went to the office to adjust my tax form but I’m scared it’s gonna happen again. I can’t afford another $1200 debt after 3 consecutive years. What am I doing wrong and can I do anything to relieve any portion of it
That depends. As stated above, if box 1 of your W2 reports $0, you probably did not have to include the W2 on your return. Remember, though, that the provision to exclude the Waiver Payments from income is when you live with the taxpayer. If you do not live with the taxpayer, the income is taxable just like any other wages are taxable, and you would need to fill out a revised Form W-4 (and perhaps the California equivalent) to have the correct amount of tax withheld.
However, if the income is excludable from tax, please see the link I post below on how you can remove the IHSS income from your tax return as part of an Amended Tax Return. (You will need to follow instruction in TurboTax to file an amendment for prior years dating back to 2017).
For both @Angelitak and @Nicoletteeee: Follow the instruction in the following link to be able to have the Medicaid Waiver payments subtracted out of earned income if you qualify to do so: Solved: How and where to Post claim "IRS Notice 2014-7 ...
I'm a live-in provider for IHSS and I do not get any W2, so my question under the new law passed by congress, and because your software doesn't seem to be updated yet, how are we filling for 2020-2019-2018 since we can go back 4 years? I've called and spoken to your live agent and he was online with me but no questions were answered by any expert on the matter. No W2 how are we supposed to claim the child credits, the stimulus which I didn't get if we don't have any info to put on your software for W2 or employment info, I'm not self-employed so 1099 does not apply to me. TY for the help.