Raymond Hall, EA

The election is over, but the current Congress is not. Members who lost on November 3, 2026, and members who are retiring, still vote until the new Congress is seated on January 3, 2027. That stretch is called the lame-duck session, and it often produces year-end deals, including tax provisions. With Democrats projected to take control of both chambers in January, the current Republican majorities have a short window to finish work on their own terms. Democrats, knowing they gain power in a few weeks, may prefer to wait. That tension shapes what can pass. Here is what is on the table and what it could mean for you. Deadline one: government funding on December 11 Congress passed a continuing resolution in September that funds the federal government through December 11, 2026. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the House has passed 3 of the 12 regular spending bills for fiscal year 2027, and the Senate has passed none. Something has to happen by December 11. ...

Some families with a boat have staff who move between the house and the vessel: a household manager who comes aboard for the summer, a chef who cooks at home and at sea, or crew who help at the house in the off season. The work is continuous for the employee. For tax purposes it can involve two employers, two sets of rules, and a boat whose own records depend on how its use is split between the family and any charter guests. This post covers the tax and payroll questions when staff work both on a family's boat and at its homes: who the employer is, how crew wages are treated, how personal and charter use affect the boat's records, and when a boat counts as a residence for mortgage interest. It does not cover buying, crewing, or running a boat, it does not evaluate any vessel or management company, and it is not maritime or employment law advice. Those questions belong to maritime counsel and the boat's management company. Who employs the crew? Boats are often owned by a...

A household with more than one home tends to run its costs as one pool. Staff move between properties, one card pays every vendor, and the property manager sends a single monthly invoice. That works for the family's budget. It does not work for the tax return when one of the homes is rented part of the year, is owned by an LLC or trust, or is in a different state. Then the costs have to be separated, home by home, and the records have to show how. This post covers how property and staff costs are allocated across several homes for tax purposes: personal residences, homes rented part time, and homes held in entities. It covers the 2026 rules on mortgage interest and state and local taxes, and the records each home needs. It does not advise on whether to rent a property, how to staff it, or how to title it. Titling and entity choices belong to counsel. Start with what each home is, for tax purposes Each property falls into one of a few categories, and the category decides what is...

When a household employee travels with the family (to a second home, on a long trip, or for a season somewhere else), the work moves with them. Payroll often does not. The employee stays on the home state's payroll, travel costs get paid from whatever card is handy, and nobody asks whether the other state expected withholding. For short trips that is usually fine. For seasons and long stays, it may not be. This post covers the payroll and tax questions that arise when household staff work in more than one state or abroad: which state's unemployment system covers them, which states expect income tax withholding, and how to reimburse travel costs without creating taxable wages. It does not cover travel planning or how to manage staff on the road, and it is not employment law advice. State rules vary, and your payroll provider and preparer should confirm each state involved. Two separate state questions A traveling employee raises two questions that are answered under differen...

Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate on November 3, 2026, according to projections from NBC News, CBS News, and an NPR tally of Associated Press race calls. As of early Thursday morning, November 5, Democrats held at least 54 Senate seats. The Associated Press had not called the Senate races in Alaska or Mississippi. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by 1,138 votes with about 96% of the vote counted. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola led Sen. Dan Sullivan by 637 votes with about 75% counted, and the race may go to ranked choice tabulation. In the House, NBC News showed 42 races still uncalled and estimated Democrats would finish with roughly 259 seats. North Carolina was part of the story: former Governor Roy Cooper won the open Senate seat, one of seven Senate seats that flipped. If you are wondering what this does to your taxes, here is the short answer first, then the details. The short answer: nothing changes for your 2026 return The...

In many households the senior employee runs more than the staff. The household manager pays vendors, approves invoices, runs payroll through a service, and sometimes pays the family's estimated taxes. That authority is useful. It also means one person handles money, tax records, and access to accounts, and the tax rules have specific things to say about who is responsible when something goes wrong. This post covers the tax side of giving a household employee authority over payments and records: who stays liable for household taxes, what access to the IRS and states the employee should and should not have, and how losses from employee theft are treated for 2026. It is not advice on management structure or internal controls design, and it is not legal advice. Fraud investigations and recovery belong to counsel and, where appropriate, law enforcement. The household stays responsible When a household employee or a payroll service handles payroll, the household is still the employer...

The first three months after a household employee starts are when most payroll mistakes are made, and when they are cheapest to fix. Forms get collected late, a state account is opened after the first quarterly return was due, or nobody notices that the household's own estimated payments never changed. A simple calendar, kept by one named person, prevents most of it. This post is a calendar of payroll and tax steps for the first 100 days after a household employee starts, followed by the deadlines that follow in the first year. It assumes the hiring decision is made and the offer is signed. It is not onboarding advice about training or household routines, and it is not employment law advice. Dates below use 2026 and 2027 deadlines; confirm your state's dates with your payroll provider. Before day one Household employer identification number (EIN) obtained. State withholding account opened, if your state has an income tax. State unemployment account opened, or the registr...

The offer letter for a household employee is usually written quickly and read closely. It sets the pay, the hours, and the benefits, and it becomes the document everyone refers to when there is a question. It also decides most of the tax treatment. A promise of "$1,500 a week, take-home" or a bonus "at the holidays" has payroll consequences that are easier to plan before the letter is signed than to unwind after. This post covers the tax and payroll terms in an offer to a household employee: how pay is stated, overtime, bonuses, benefits, and what happens when the job ends. It does not advise on how much to pay or how to negotiate, and it is not a contract template. Employment contracts and state wage law belong to an employment attorney. This is what your preparer and payroll provider need the offer to say clearly. State pay in gross terms The single most useful sentence in a household offer letter states pay as a gross amount: "Gross wages of $X per hour ...

Senior household staff often come from careers that crossed borders: hotel and estate work overseas, years on private yachts in foreign waters, or service with families based in other countries. Those backgrounds raise tax and payroll questions that a domestic hire does not. The worker's immigration status, tax residency, and identification number all affect what goes on the payroll and the W-2. This post covers the payroll and tax questions that come up when a household hires someone whose recent work was outside the United States or at sea. It does not cover how to recruit or evaluate staff, and it does not address immigration law. Whether a person is authorized to work in the United States, and under what visa, is a question for an immigration attorney. This post starts after that question is answered. Work authorization comes first, and it is not a tax question A household employer must complete Form I-9 for each household employee who is not a sporadic worker, by the end o...