The first 100 days of household payroll: a filing calendar for a new hire

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 registration started, if you expect to pass the state threshold.
• Workers' compensation and any state disability or paid family leave coverage in place.
• Payroll service engaged, or a written process for doing payroll yourself.
• Signed offer letter with gross pay, schedule, overtime terms, and benefits in the payroll file.

Day one to day three

• Form I-9. The employee completes Section 1 by the first day of work. The employer completes Section 2, reviewing original documents, by the end of the third business day. Keep I-9s apart from tax records.
• Form W-4, if the employee wants federal income tax withheld and you agree. Household employers are not required to withhold income tax, but most senior employees ask for it.
• State withholding certificate, if your state uses one.
• Direct deposit and pay statement setup. Confirm the payroll provider has the gross rate, pay frequency, and overtime rules.

By day 20

• State new hire report. Federal law requires employers to report new hires to the state within 20 days of the start date, and some states require it sooner. The payroll provider usually files it. Ask for the confirmation.

First payday

• Review the first pay statement line by line: gross pay, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), any income tax withheld, state deductions, and net pay.
• Check that the household's share of Social Security and Medicare is being tracked, even though for household employers it is paid with Schedule H rather than deposited each payday (unless the employee is paid through a business payroll).
• If the household chose to pay the employee's share of Social Security and Medicare, confirm the payroll shows it as additional wages for income tax.

By day 30

• Adjust your own estimated payments or withholding. Household employment taxes are paid with your Form 1040. Add the expected 2026 Schedule H amount to your next estimated payment, or raise withholding at your own job. For 2026, the safe harbor is generally the smaller of 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's (110% if last year's AGI was over $150,000), and Schedule H counts toward this year's tax.
• Benefits. Confirm health premiums are paid directly to the insurer or reimbursed against proof of coverage, and that any transit benefit stays within $340 a month for 2026.

By day 60

• First state quarterly return. Most states require household employers to file unemployment returns quarterly, and some require quarterly withholding returns. If the employee started in the fourth quarter of 2026, the first quarterly state return is generally due by January 31, 2027 (some states allow until the next business day, February 1). Confirm the date.
• Overtime tracking. If the employee works overtime, confirm the payroll records separate the federally required overtime premium, because 2026 Forms W-2 report qualified overtime separately for the employee's deduction.

By day 100

• Review. Compare the payroll register to the offer letter. Check hours, overtime, and any benefit changes.
• Account access. Confirm the household can see its own IRS records, such as estimated payments, through an IRS online account, and that state account notices go to the right address.
• Records. Pay statements, state notices, and the payroll service's filings are saved in one place with a named owner.

The first-year deadlines that follow

For a household employee paid in 2026:

• January 15, 2027: fourth quarter 2026 federal estimated payment, which should include the household's Schedule H amount.
• February 1, 2027: Form W-2 to the employee, and Forms W-2 and W-3 to the Social Security Administration. January 31 falls on a Sunday.
• Late January to early February 2027: state quarterly and annual reconciliation returns, depending on the state.
• April 15, 2027: Form 1040 with Schedule H for 2026, and the state unemployment payment deadline for full FUTA credit.

If you file an extension for your Form 1040, it extends the Schedule H filing too, but not the payment. Pay the expected household employment tax by April 15, 2027.

If the first paycheck was late or wrong

Fix it in the next pay period, not at year end. An underwithheld amount can be collected from later wages in the same calendar year. Overwithheld Social Security and Medicare should be refunded to the employee and corrected in the payroll records before the W-2 is prepared. If the error crosses into 2027, the W-2 will need a correction (Form W-2c) and possibly an amended Schedule H, which takes longer and costs more preparer time. Keep a note in the payroll file of what was fixed and when.

If the employee is paid through a business

When a business employs the worker, the calendar changes. The business deposits federal payroll taxes on a monthly or semiweekly schedule, files Form 941 each quarter (for the fourth quarter of 2026, by February 1, 2027), and files Form 940 annually. The household's personal estimated payments do not change. The business payroll records must match the work the employee actually does for the business.

Errors that show up in the first quarter

• The W-2 will be issued under a family member's Social Security number because no household EIN was obtained.
• The state unemployment account was opened in the wrong state, or for a business instead of the household.
• The employee's name on payroll does not match the Social Security card, so the W-2 will not match Social Security records.
• Overtime was paid as a flat "extra" amount with no hours recorded.
• A signing bonus or relocation payment was paid by personal check outside payroll.
• Nobody raised the household's own estimated payments, so the Schedule H amount will surface as an underpayment in April.

Each of these is easy to fix in the first quarter and harder after W-2s are filed.

The scored diagnostic

Score each item 0, 1, or 2. Zero means missed. One means done late. Two means done on time and documented.

Item	0, 1, or 2
Accounts and coverage in place before day one
I-9 completed within three business days
W-4 and state certificate on file
New hire report filed within 20 days
First pay statement reviewed against the offer
Household estimated payments adjusted by day 30
First state quarterly return filed on time
Overtime premium tracked separately
100-day review completed with records in one place

A total of 15 to 18 means the payroll is on track. A total of 9 to 14 means a filing may be late. Below 9, call your payroll provider and preparer this week.

Illustrative: a caregiver starting in October

Illustrative: A household hires a caregiver who starts Monday, October 5, 2026 at $1,400 gross a week. The I-9 is completed by Wednesday, October 7. The payroll provider files the new hire report on October 12. The household adds an estimated Schedule H amount of about $1,400 for the quarter (13 weeks of wages at 7.65% employer share) to its January 15, 2027 estimated payment. The first state unemployment return for the fourth quarter is filed in late January. The W-2 goes to the caregiver by February 1, 2027, and Schedule H is filed with the 2026 Form 1040.

Who owns what

• The household: naming one person to keep the calendar and approve payroll.
• The payroll provider: new hire reports, state filings, and W-2s.
• Your preparer: estimated payment changes and Schedule H.
• An employment attorney: pay statement requirements and state wage law.

Next step: put the dates above on the calendar of the person who approves your household payroll, with the payroll provider's contact next to each.

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Educational only. This is not tax or legal advice for your situation. Consult your own CPA, EA, or attorney before acting.