Hiring Family Members
Paying family members for real work at reasonable wages can shift income and open retirement-saving options — when the work is genuine and documented.
At a glance
- Category
- Business Owner
- May be relevant for
- Owners with school-age children or a spouse who helps
- Our approach
- Document review → proposal → implementation
- Service area
- Nationwide (office in Westlake Village, CA)
Whether this applies to you depends on your specific facts and circumstances.
Ask a CPA about your situationImportant: This page is for educational purposes only. It describes how this strategy may work under current law. Whether it is appropriate for you, and how to implement it correctly, depends entirely on your specific facts, timing, and documentation. This is not individualized tax advice. Speak with a licensed CPA before acting.
How it may work
Hiring Family Members — a plain-English overview
The sections below describe how this strategy works under current tax law, what conditions may make it applicable, and what factors affect the outcome.
The income-shifting mechanism
Income earned by a child or lower-income spouse is taxed at their marginal rate, which is typically lower than the business owner's rate. When a business pays a family member for legitimate services, the business deducts the wages, and the family member reports the income on their own return. The net effect may be a lower combined tax bill across the family unit — but only if the work is real, the wage is reasonable, and the documentation is in place.
Special treatment for children under 18 in sole proprietorships
A sole proprietor (or a single-member LLC taxed as a Schedule C) who employs their own child under age 18 is not required to withhold FICA (Social Security and Medicare taxes) on those wages. This exemption does not apply if the business is incorporated or structured as a partnership where a corporation is a partner. It also does not apply once the child reaches 18. The child's wages are still deductible by the parent and still taxable income to the child — at the child's rate.
Opening retirement accounts for working children
A child who has earned income — including wages from a parent's business — may fund a Roth IRA up to the lesser of the earned income or the annual contribution limit. Given decades of potential compounding, a Roth IRA opened for a working teenager may accumulate significant value over a lifetime. Whether this makes sense depends on the child's actual earnings and the ability to fund the contribution.
What keeps this defensible
The work must be real and the wage must be reasonable. The IRS will disallow wages for non-existent or non-documented work. The tasks must be age-appropriate and within the child's capability. Time records, descriptions of duties, and payment documentation are required. A wage that equals what you would pay an unrelated employee for the same work is the standard. Paying a 10-year-old a wage that an adult professional would earn for comparable work does not survive scrutiny.
Document-first
What we'd review before recommending this strategy
We do not guess. We review the documents, propose, and implement. Here is what we'd want to see to evaluate whether this strategy may apply to you.
- Ages and capabilities of family members to be employed
- Type of business — entity structure affects the FICA exemption
- Descriptions of services to be performed — must be legitimate and documentable
- Reasonable wage benchmarks for the tasks and hours involved
- Payroll setup requirements — withholding, state unemployment, W-2s
- Roth IRA eligibility based on earned income
Who this may fit
Profiles where this strategy comes up most
These are the client situations where we most commonly evaluate this strategy. Whether it applies to you depends on your specific facts.
Common Questions
Questions about Hiring Family Members
Educational answers to questions we often hear when discussing this strategy with clients.
Does this work for hiring a spouse?
Yes, a business may pay a spouse for legitimate services. Spousal wages are subject to normal FICA and income tax withholding — the FICA exemption that applies to minor children does not extend to a spouse. The key is that the work must be genuine, the compensation reasonable, and the employment properly documented.
What's the minimum age for a child to be employed?
Federal and state labor laws govern minimum working ages and the types of work permitted for minors. Generally, children as young as 7 or 8 may perform age-appropriate tasks such as filing, stuffing envelopes, or social media photography — as long as federal and state child labor laws are respected. Always confirm the applicable state rules.
Educational content only
This page describes Hiring Family Members for general educational purposes under current tax law. It is not individualized tax, legal, or investment advice. Whether this strategy is appropriate for you — and how it should be structured, documented, and reported — depends entirely on your specific facts, timing, and circumstances. Tax law changes frequently. Always consult a licensed CPA before acting on any information here.
We do not guess. We review the documents, propose, and implement.
Ask a CPA
Wondering if Hiring Family Members applies to you?
Tell us about your situation and we'll follow up within one business day. We review the actual documents and give you a direct answer — no obligation.
- Document-first review — we start with your actual returns and records
- Clear explanation of what may apply and why
- No obligation — honest if there isn't enough value to act on
Explore more
Other Business Owner strategies
S-Corp Election
Profitable business owners
Electing S-corporation status may reduce self-employment tax for owners with consistent profit, when paired with a reasonable salary. Whether it helps depends on profit level, payroll cost, and state treatment.
Reasonable Compensation
S-corp owners
S-corp owners must pay themselves reasonable wages. Setting compensation defensibly is where S-corp planning is won or lost — too low invites scrutiny, too high gives back the benefit.
Accountable Plan
Owners with home-office and mixed-use expenses
An accountable plan can let a business reimburse owners and employees for legitimate business expenses — home office, mileage, and more — in a documented, compliant way.
Ready to find out what applies to your situation?
A discovery call is how we start. We review the documents and tell you honestly what may be worth pursuing.