Cleaning Tips/Blog

Dirtytruth

Who Is In Your House?

Isn’t the difference between cleaning services just about the price?

Be careful who you are hiring to come into your home. First and foremost, do your research and ensure you contract with a bona-fide, licensed and insured cleaning company to protect yourself and your family.

There are many people out there who, for some reason, seem to be able to charge significantly lower rates than you may have been quoted by a residential cleaning company. It’s very tempting to choose this least expensive service – after all, who wouldn’t choose the option of the same service for about half the cost?? This is where you need to think carefully. Often those offering these significantly lower rates are most likely not licensed or insured and therefore may not be claiming their income or be paying federal and state taxes.

Think about this – if an independent cleaner gets hurt in your home and is not insured, the homeowner assumes responsibility and the cleaner is liable (and within their rights) to sue! Homeowners also have no protection if something is damaged, broken or stolen as there is no liability insurance in place. There are some horror stories out there – take a look at this article to see the implications.

The other issue that arises from hiring an independent cleaner is the independent contractor vs employee scenario. For example, if you hire a licensed electrician to fix something in your home, how it will be fixed is left to the electrician and not the homeowner. This worker is classed as an independent contractor. If, however, you hire an independent cleaner or housekeeper, you control the hours, what is done and how it is done, such as requiring them to clean the bathroom with your cleaning supplies and to polish your table according to your methods, that housekeeper works for you – YOU’VE HIRED AN EMPLOYEE. Once you have technically hired this “employee” you are responsible for withholding payroll taxes from the employee’s wages and paying Social Security, Medicare, and relevant federal income taxes. Penalties are severe where federal income tax withholding and Social Security taxes are not paid to the IRS. The penalty of up to 100% of the amount not paid can be assessed against the employer entity as well as any person (such as a corporate officer) having control or custody of the funds from which payment should have been made – that’s YOU – the homeowner.

For just a few dollars more, ensure you protect your home, family and finances by contracting with a legitimate cleaning company who will take care of their own employees schedules and all insurance and tax responsibilities – and you can get on with enjoying your life.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.