Hiring household help is not just for the wealthiest among us. Instead, it’s a fact of life for millions who are forced to hire nannies to watch their children, caregivers to look after elderly parents or even housekeepers to keep a house in order during a family’s busy life. But paying the household employees and keeping track of payroll receipts, tax forms, insurance coverage and more can be a cumbersome and confusing process. That’s where GTM Payroll Services steps in to help.
Guy Maddalone, founder and CEO of GTM Payroll Services and the author of How to Hire a Nanny: Your Complete Guide to Finding, Hiring, and Retaining Household Help and How to Hire a Caregiver for Your Senior: Your Complete Guide to Finding, Employing, and Retaining In-Home Help, spoke to RewardExpert about the benefits of using his company, which was founded in 1991 and processes more than $1 billion in payrolls each year.
Automate In-Home Payrolls
Most of GTM’s clients are families who employ nannies, although in-home elderly care givers are becoming more popular, as well. No matter who is hired, GTM’s secure online portal helps families streamline their payroll systems, saving them valuable time and giving them peace of mind that they are following all applicable payroll and tax laws.
“With GTM, a family can set their nanny’s standard hours once and then forget it. We’ll automatically process payroll, withhold taxes, calculate overtime if required and provide the employee with a direct deposit,” said Maddalone.
In addition, the secure online portal allows an employer to make changes and upload documents anytime. Employees can also log-in to view pay stubs, tax forms and other documents.
Insurance Benefit
Besides payroll and tax services, GTM offers workers compensation insurance, which is required by law in certain states. “GTM is the only household payroll service that offers workers’ compensation in-house. That way families have one call for all their payroll, tax and insurance needs,” said Maddalone.
That one stop shopping offers convenience and cuts down on the legal paperwork and the potential for fines, which can add up to thousands of dollars in states like New York that fines up to $2,000 per every 10-day period of non-compliance with workers’ comp laws. In addition, GTM offers health, dental, vision and other insurance packages to provide an extra recruiting tool for families looking to hire the best help in the business.
Tax Time
When it’s tax time, GTM makes certain that household employers stay on top of their tax forms, once again avoiding costly fines.
“There are many nuances to household payroll and ‘nanny taxes’ that many business payroll providers and even CPAs can miss,” said Maddalone. “Not doing it right or paying ‘under the table,’ and being out of compliance with tax, wage and labor laws can lead to substantial fines and penalties from the IRS and state tax agencies. It can also mean IRS audits and even employee lawsuits.”
Tax Help
Here’s how GTM helps with taxes. Since a nanny is nearly always classified as a household employee, taxes are owed. That includes contributions to Medicare and Social Security (FICA), unemployment taxes, wage withholdings and more. There are also numerous forms required and the IRS estimates that it takes 60 hours a year to properly manage and ensure household tax compliance.
“Leaving all this to the last minute results in families scrambling to figure out an employee’s hours worked during the year and could leave both family and employee with a big tax bill at tax time,” said Maddalone. “GTM manages this whole process, saving families countless hours. Our services automatically withhold and remit employee and employer taxes on time, every time.” GTM also provides W2s in the new calendar year.
Adopting Technology
As technology changes, GTM is constantly updating its services, including making its payroll platform available on mobile. For more information on the benefits of using GTM Payroll Services to ensure a positive payroll experience with your employee, check out GTM.com.