Au Pair’s tax return

Dear Au Pairs, if you haven’t done your tax return already, it’s about time to complete it! You have to file your tax return until April 17, 2012.

All Au Pairs are required to file U.S. individual income tax returns.

It is the law to file a tax return and report earnings made during a calendar year. The U.S. Department of Labor has determined that the au pair stipend constitutes “wages” because an employer-employee relationship exists between the Au Pair and his/her Host Family. These wages are therefore subject to federal taxation.

Most Au Pairs who have been in the US for at least 18 weeks in a calendar year will meet the minimum requirement to pay taxes The Exemption Deduction is $3700 for 2011.

Please notice that Go Au Pair agency and Local Area Representatives are not licensed tax advisers and cannot provide official tax advice. For the most recent and only official information about Au Pair’s  taxes,  please see the IRS website and consult your tax adviser.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the government agency that collects federal income taxes. Read more about  Au Pair’s Taxes here. Please  stop at any tax service professional for more information. There are plenty of them, you can find one near you easily using H&R Block website.

Free help in preparing a return is also available nationwide from IRS-sponsored volunteers.  The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is designed to help low-income taxpayers. For more information, go to IRS.gov and enter keyword “VITA” in the upper right corner.

If an Au Pair chooses not to file taxes it could prevent her from obtaining a visa in the future.