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I’m looking into having someone come to mom's house a few times a week to help with some things that she is not able to currently able to do. She is partially in a wheelchair and using a walker due to breaking a hip and chronic back issues. I will be meeting with a woman that operates her business without other employees. She currently has 1 or 2 other clients. Would I not pay her as I would any other person hired for a particular task? Like house cleaner, dog walker etc? I don’t see how I would be considered her employer tax wise. The help mom would need, maybe some laundry, taking out trash, some meal prep and just basically human contact. This would be just a few hours a few times a week.

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Thanks everyone! Everyone’s input is helpful and appreciated! I’m meeting with her Monday to discuss everything. Mom will be paying for the help, she is very comfortable financially thankfully. I will ask about insurance for sure, she is operating as a helper, not just for seniors. She will run errands, take people to appts etc. This is a non medical helper, no bathing or personal care is required.
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First and foremost YOU don’t pay anyone, make sure your mother or at least her funds are paying for any help in case she needs to use any state assistance for help at some point.

I think Geaton777 is correct that you should check the employment laws in your moms state. But for IRS purposes i think it depends on how much you pay her a year, there is incidental work ( mowing the lawn), work you can 1099 a person for (sub contractor, sounds like she might be this) and employees all depending on how much time you pay them for.
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I still need to sit down and get clarification on if she is actually running a licensed business and not just a “cash” operation.She referred to it as her business and she has one other senior lady she helps. I just dont want to be considered her employer and have to do the payroll and tax stuff.
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ChoppedLiver Oct 2023
According to publication IRS 756, an employer is “Household workers are your employees if you can control not only the work they do, but also how they do it.”

If she has a licensed business, you could look up in the name in either the Secretary of State website for the state she is registered in to see if the business is registered. To see if she has the proper license, you could look up the business name in the city, county or state licensing site.

I suspect she has neither, otherwise she would have made that clear upfront. Those businesses that have a license, will charge a higher rate and are quick to point out that they are licensed. As for taxes, I just asked upfront if they paid employment taxes.

How did you find this person? Does she come with references? I’d be more concerned if she comes with insurance. You might want to check with your Mom’s homeowner insurance to make sure you are covered in case anything happens to her or your Mom, while she is present.

As for your original question, I would interview multiple people for the position and see what the answer is. You could pay like you suggest, different rates for different work, in proportion to the total expected time spent….or you could pay home helper rates and adjust for the other tasks like cooking and dog walking.
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Does she operate this as an actual business or just wants to be paid cash? I've done both for my mom but the paying cash thing can get tricky if you ever have to apply for medicaid.
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You will need to check with the employment laws for her state, as they can differ. At the end of the year you will probably need to send her a 1099 if you paid this aid more than $600 total. But again, check with your state.

Have you considered contacting social services for your Mom's county to get her assessed to see if she qualifies for any in-home help like light housekeeping, meal prep and hygiene?
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