What if I want to provide health benefits for my employee?
You have a number of options for providing untaxed health benefits for your employees. Our partners at Take Command can help you with setting up some of these options.
You can set up an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA). This allows you to reimburse your employee for qualified health expenses and/or their health insurance premiums through an ICHRA without a cap. It also gives you the ability to offer different reimbursement amounts to each employee.
You can also set up a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA), which gives some additional tax benefits to the employer, but also has additional set up and administration expenses an also requires additional reporting on W-2s.
If you are interested in an ICHRA or QSEHRA for your employees, you should chat with our partners at Take Command. Take Command specializes in helping employers like you set up untaxed health benefits for their employees. In fact, they’ve have been helping household employers set up health reimbursement accounts for a decade.
You can also enroll in a health insurance policy through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP). This may enable you to take advantage of the Health Insurance Tax Credit for Small Employers.
Lastly, some accountants believe that if you have a single household employee, you can simply reimburse your employee for their health insurance premiums directly. While you can add reimbursements easily into payroll, Poppins does not take a position as to whether such reimbursements are income subject to payroll taxes. You should discuss this with your accountant before deciding how to proceed.
More FAQs
Got questions? We’ve got answers.
The $49/month subscription fee includes household payroll services for one employee. It covers payroll processing, tax payments, quarterly filings, and year-end tax documents (W-2, W-3, and Schedule H) for active accounts.
Poppins handles federal and state tax account registrations as required, based on applicable employment laws and thresholds. You can manage payroll through your personalized dashboard — choosing weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly pay schedules (unless restricted by state rules).
We can process payments by direct deposit or you can issue checks (or electronic transfers) yourself. At the end of each quarter, we’ll collect the applicable state and federal taxes and submit them along with all required reports.
If your account is closed before the end of a quarter or calendar year, preparation or submission of those filings will be billed separately. Additional fees may apply for state registrations, amended filings, or prior-period payroll adjustments.
Nannies, babysitters, and most in-home childcare providers are household employees because you determine their schedule, workplace, and responsibilities.
If you pay more than $2,800 in a year or $1,000 in a quarter, you must pay Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment taxes, plus any state-specific taxes.
Yes! Poppins is available in every state in the US, with experts who know the ins and outs of every state’s rules.
Legal pay gives your nanny benefits like Social Security and Medicare credits, unemployment insurance, and in some states, disability or paid family leave — while protecting you from fines or legal issues.
We specialize in household payroll only — it’s a different world from business payroll. For small businesses, we recommend our trusted partner, Gusto.
Your nanny must fill out Form I-9 (to verify work eligibility) and Form W-4 (for federal tax elections), plus any state tax forms. Poppins provides and guides you through them.
Some states require one, but even if yours doesn’t, a written agreement is highly recommended. Poppins provides sample contracts you can customize.
You can create your Poppins account any time before your nanny’s first paycheck.
We recommend completing full onboarding about one week before your nanny’s start date. This includes linking a valid U.S. bank account and adding your employee’s information.
Giving yourself that week ensures everything is ready before the first payroll run. Since Poppins processes payroll in arrears, your nanny will be paid one full week after the work week is completed.
Yes. For active customers, we prepare, file, and pay all required federal, state, and local taxes on time, every time, with guaranteed accuracy. Plus, we also handle year-end W-2s and employer forms for active customers.
Yes. Each family is considered a separate household employer. That means each sets up their own Poppins account and issues their own W-2s. We’ll guide you through it step by step.
We’ve got you covered. You can set multiple hourly rates (plus overtime and reimbursements) right in your dashboard.
Because household payroll is trickier than business payroll. We focus only on families like yours, so we know the rules inside out — from overtime laws to PTO accruals.