The U.S. Administration on Aging provides an Eldercare Locator (visit www.eldercare.gov or call 1-800-677-1116) that can help find your local office of Agency on Aging. This office can provide information on the costs of care in your area to determine what you should pay. You can go through an agency that will do an assessment and come up with a plan of care. If you want to hire a caregiver on your own, you can hire people directly to provide care. You may want to consult with a tax expert to determine if you would need to pay Social Security, Medicare, and/or other taxes. There are companies that will do your payroll for you and complete all the necessary forms. You may want to have an attorney help you with an employment agreement.
Some caregivers are independent contractors, and the caregiver pays all the taxes. You will want a contract stating the caregiver is an independent contractor and with provisions about duties, time off, etc. It would probably be best to have an attorney draw up a personal services contract since a contract is a legal document. The IRS has a publication, available at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss8.pdf, to help you decide if a person is an employee or an independent contractor.
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