The W-9 and an independent home care professional: what families should know
Families hiring a professional directly are often told to get a W-9. What the form is for, why it may or may not be the right form, and how to keep a Social Security number safe once you have one.
The ExpressAgain Team5 min read
Somewhere in the first weeks of hiring a home care professional directly, someone usually says: make sure you get a W-9. It is good advice in some situations and the wrong form in others. This guide explains what the W-9 is and which other forms come up, in general terms. It cannot tell you which apply to your family; that depends on the working relationship, and it is a question for a tax professional.
What a W-9 is
The IRS describes Form W-9 as the form a person uses to provide their correct Taxpayer Identification Number to someone who is required to file an information return with the IRS about payments to them. In plain words: it gives the payer the name, address and Social Security number or EIN they need to report what they paid. The professional fills it out and signs it; the family keeps it. It does not go to the IRS itself.
Why the relationship matters
Which forms apply depends on whether the professional is working for you as a household employee or as an independent contractor in business for themselves. The IRS explains in Publication 926 that a household employee is someone hired to do work in your home where you control what work is done and how it is done, and it lists health aides and private nurses among its examples. It also notes that a worker is not your employee when an agency controls both the work and how it is done, and that a worker who controls how the work is done is self-employed.
The IRS's page on independent contractors and employees groups the evidence into behavioral control, financial control and the type of relationship, and says either side can ask the IRS for a determination with Form SS-8. We can't apply those factors for you. Talk with a tax professional, ideally before the first payment.
The forms you may hear about
- W-9: the payee's taxpayer identification number, for the payer's records.
- 1099-NEC: the IRS says Form 1099-NEC is used to report nonemployee compensation. Whether a family needs to file one depends on the situation.
- W-4: an employee's withholding form, used when someone is an employee.
- I-9: employment eligibility verification, from USCIS, used for employees.
- Schedule H and W-2: forms Publication 926 describes for household employers who meet its thresholds.
None of this is a checklist to follow. It is the vocabulary, so that the conversation with a tax professional goes faster.
Protect the number
A completed W-9 carries a Social Security number or EIN. Treat it like one: don't photograph it on a shared phone, don't leave it in a kitchen drawer, and don't send it by ordinary text. Limit who in the family can see it, and know where it is when you need it.
When an agency is involved
If the professional comes through a home care agency, the paperwork usually sits with the agency: it bills you, and the relationship with the worker is its own. Ask the agency how it handles taxes and what, if anything, it needs from you, and keep its invoices. Publication 926 speaks to this case too, and your tax professional can confirm what it means for you.
The W-9 in ExpressAgain
In ExpressAgain the professional fills out and signs the W-9 in the app, from the tax documents step of their Getting started checklist. The family sees W-9 on file, the last four digits and the signed date, with View W-9 for the generated PDF. The full number never comes down with the professional's record. The account owner can reveal it for sixty seconds, for example to file a form, and every reveal is recorded with who and when. The owner can also type a number in by hand when the person has not filled a W-9 in the app.
W-4 and I-9 link to the official IRS and USCIS blank forms to fill and upload, if your tax professional says you need them. The professional's Documents tab shows the paid-to-you line for the year, and a professional paid more than the IRS reporting threshold in a year is flagged, as a prompt to check with your tax professional whether a 1099-NEC applies. An agency-billed invoice counts for the agency, not the person whose hours it lists.
The W-9 sits with the rest of the paperwork on each person's profile. Documents, credentials and the W-9 covers requesting documents, accepting them and watching expiry dates, and Social Security numbers, bank details and door codes explains how sensitive values are sealed.
A quick note
This article is general information, not tax or legal advice, and it does not say how any worker should be classified. Talk with a tax professional about your situation, and see the IRS pages linked above.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a W-9 from a private home care professional?
It depends on the working relationship. A W-9 gives a payer the information needed to report payments. Whether you need one, or employee forms instead, is a question for a tax professional.
Is a home health aide I hire directly my employee?
The IRS lists health aides and private nurses among household workers and explains the factors in Publication 926. Whether yours is an employee depends on the facts; talk with a tax professional.
Where does the W-9 go once it is filled out?
The payer keeps it. It is not sent to the IRS. In ExpressAgain it is stored with the professional's documents, with only the last four digits shown.
Who can see the full Social Security number in ExpressAgain?
Only the account owner, with a deliberate reveal that lasts sixty seconds and is recorded with who and when.
Try ExpressAgain
Help someone you love be heard again.
Communicating is never behind a paywall: tap to speak, the phrase library, the sentence builder, Letters and the emergency screen are on the Free plan.