Header and lines A to C
Name of employer, social security number and employer identification number, then the three questions that send you to line 1, line 7, line 10 or tell you not to file.
1040
Household Employment Taxes
- Agency
- IRS
- Revision
- 2025
- Fillable fields
- 72
- Pages
- 2
- Official source
- IRS form page
- Checked
- October 21, 2026
Schedule H (Form 1040): Household Employment Taxes
Schedule H (Form 1040) is completed by a household employer to report social security, Medicare, withheld federal income and federal unemployment (FUTA) taxes on wages paid to household employees. The IRS page says to use it if you paid cash wages to a household employee and the wages were subject to social security, Medicare or FUTA taxes, or if you withheld federal income tax. The 2025 form says to attach it to Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-SS, 1040-NR or 1041.
The instructions say you had a household employee if you hired someone to do household work and could control what work they did and how they did it. They list examples such as babysitters, cooks, drivers, nannies, caretakers, health aides, private nurses, housekeepers and yard workers. Workers from an agency that controls the work, and self-employed workers, are not your employees.
Lines A, B and C on page 1 decide which parts apply: cash wages of $2,800 or more to any one household employee in 2025, any federal income tax withheld, and total cash wages of $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter of 2024 or 2025. The form says calendar year taxpayers with no household employees in 2025 don't have to complete it. You can fill it out free in your browser on this page and download it without an account.
What's on Schedule H
Part I, lines 1 to 8
Social security tax at 12.4% of line 1, Medicare tax at 2.9% of line 3, Additional Medicare Tax withholding at 0.9% of line 5, and federal income tax withheld on line 7. Line 8 is the total.
Line 9: the quarterly test
If no quarter of 2024 or 2025 reached $1,000 in total cash wages, the form says to stop and include line 8 on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 9. Otherwise go to Part II.
Part II: FUTA tax
Lines 10 to 12 ask about state unemployment contributions. All Yes answers lead to Section A, where line 16 is 0.6% of line 15. Any No leads to Section B, lines 17 to 24.
Part III: total
Line 26 adds the FUTA tax and line 25. Line 27 asks whether you are required to file Form 1040. If Yes, include line 26 on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 9.
Part IV: address and signature
Completed only if required under the line 27 instructions, for a schedule filed by itself. It has the address, the employer's signature and a Paid Preparer Use Only section.
How to fill out Schedule H
- 1
Get an EIN
The instructions say household employers need an EIN to file Schedule H and should not use an SSN in its place. If you applied but haven't received one, enter Applied For and the date you applied.
- 2
Count cash wages
Cash wages include wages paid by check or money order. The instructions say they don't include food, lodging, clothing, transit passes or other noncash items, but cash given in place of those items counts.
- 3
Fill in Part I
Line 1 takes cash wages of each employee who meets the $2,800 test, up to the first $176,100 per employee. Line 3 has no limit. Line 5 takes wages paid to an employee above $200,000.
- 4
Answer the FUTA questions
Answer lines 10 to 12. The form says that if you paid contributions to a credit reduction state, see the instructions and check No on line 10. Then complete Section A or Section B.
- 5
Carry the total
The line 27 chart sends line 8 or line 26 to Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 9 for Form 1040, 1040-SR and 1040-NR, to Form 1040-SS, Part I, line 4, or to Form 1041, Schedule G, Part I, line 7.
- 6
Forms W-2 and W-3
The instructions say a Form W-2 goes to each household employee paid $2,800 or more in cash wages subject to social security and Medicare taxes, or whose federal income tax you withheld, with Form W-3 to the SSA.
Why fill Form 1040 on indox
You get the real form, filled in a browser tab, with nothing standing between you and the finished PDF.
- Fill the form right in your browser, no software to install
- Free to fill and free to download, with no account
- The official blank straight from the IRS, not a copy someone retyped
- Works on a phone, tablet or computer
Deadlines, where to send it and records
With your return
Attach Schedule H to Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-SS, 1040-NR or 1041. The instructions say a paper return is mailed by April 15, 2026, to the address in the return instructions, or by the extended due date with an extension.
Filed by itself
Without a 2025 return, the instructions say to file it alone by April 15, 2026, with a check or money order payable to United States Treasury, mailed to Austin, TX 73301-0002, Kansas City, MO 64999-0002 or Ogden, UT 84201-0002 by state.
Abroad or in a territory
For a foreign country, a U.S. territory, an APO or FPO address, Form 2555 or 4563 filers, or dual-status aliens, the stand-alone address is Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, TX 73301-0215.
Forms W-2 and W-3
By February 2, 2026, send Copy A of Forms W-2 with Form W-3 to the SSA and give Copies B, C and 2 to each employee. Paper forms go to Social Security Administration, Direct Operations Center, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18769-0001.
Records
The instructions say to keep copies of Schedule H and related Forms W-2, W-3 and W-4 for at least 4 years after the due date of Schedule H or the date the taxes were paid, whichever is later.
Corrections
An error on a Schedule H filed with Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR is fixed with Form 1040-X and a corrected Schedule H. A stand-alone schedule is corrected with another one marked CORRECTED and the date.
Related forms
1040
Additional Taxes
63 fields, 2 pages
W-2
Wage and Tax Statement
568 fields, 11 pages
W-3
Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements
46 fields, 2 pages
940
Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return
97 fields, 3 pages
1040-ES
Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals
118 fields, 16 pages
SS-4
Application for Employer Identification Number
89 fields, 2 pages
Who files Schedule H?
Official sources and the blank
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Questions about Form 1040
Is a nanny or babysitter a household employee?
The instructions list babysitters and nannies as examples of household workers. What matters is whether you had the right to control the details of how the work was done. Agency workers the agency controls and self-employed workers are not your employees.
What is the $2,800 test?
The instructions say that if you pay a household employee $2,800 or more in cash wages during 2025, social security and Medicare taxes apply to all of that employee's wages, including the first $2,800.
Do I have to withhold federal income tax?
No. The instructions say you're not required to withhold it and should withhold only if the employee asks and you agree. The employee gives you a completed Form W-4.
When does the FUTA tax apply?
When total cash wages to all household employees were $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter of 2024 or 2025. Wages paid to a spouse, a child under 21 or a parent are not counted.
What rates does the 2025 schedule use?
Line 2 is 12.4% for social security, line 4 is 2.9% for Medicare, line 6 is 0.9% for Additional Medicare Tax withholding, and Section A line 16 is 0.6% for FUTA tax.
What if I don't file a 2025 tax return?
The instructions say to file Schedule H by itself by April 15, 2026, with payment, complete Part IV, and mail it to the address listed for where you live.
Can I report household workers on Form 941 instead?
The instructions say Schedule H isn't used if you chose to report household employees with your other employees on Form 941, 943 or 944. Their wages are then included on Form 940.