26 CFR § 31.3506-1 - Companion sitting placement services.

(a) Definitions—(1) Companion sitting placement service. For purposes of this section, the term “companion sitting placement service” means a person (whether or not an individual) engaged in the trade or business of placing sitters with individuals who wish to avail themselves of the sitters' services.

(2) Sitters. For purposes of this section, the term “sitters” means individuals who furnish personal attendance, companionship, or household care services to children or to individuals who are elderly or disabled.

(b) General rule. For purposes of subtitle C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (relating to employment taxes), a companion sitting placement service shall not be treated as the employer of its sitters, and the sitters shall not be treated as the employees of the placement service. However, the rule of the preceding sentence shall apply only if the companion sitting placement service neither pays nor receives (directly or through an agent) the salary or wages of the sitters, but is compensated, if at all, on a fee basis by the sitters or the individuals for whom the sitting is performed.

(c) Individuals deemed self-employed. Any individual who, by reason of this section, is deemed not to be the employee of a companion sitting placement service shall be deemed to be self-employed for purposes of the tax on self-employment income (see sections 1401–1403 and the regulations thereunder in Part 1 of this chapter (Income Tax Regulations)).

(d) Scope of rules. The rules of this section operate only to remove sitters and companion sitting placement services from the employee-employer relationship when, under §§ 31.3121(d)–1 and 31.3121(d)–2, that relationship would otherwise exist. Thus, if, under §§ 31.3121(d)–1 and 31.3121(d)–2, a sitter is considered to be the employee of the individual for whom the sitting is performed rather than the employee of the companion sitting placement service, this section has no effect upon that employee-employer relationship.

(e) Examples. The provisions of this section may be illustrated by the following examples:

Example 1.

X is an agency that places babysitters with individuals who desire babysitting services. X furnishes all the sitters with an instruction manual regarding their conduct and appearance, requires them to file semimonthly reports, and determines the total fee to be charged the individual for whom the sitting is performed. Individuals who need a babysitter contact the agency, are informed of the charges, and, if agreement is reached, a sitter is sent to perform the services. The sitter collects the entire amount of the charges and remits a percentage to X as a fee for the placement. X is a companion sitting placement service within the meaning of paragraph (a)(1) of this section. Therefore, since the agency does not actually pay or receive the wages of the sitters, X is not treated as the employer of the sitters for purposes of this subtitle. The sitters are deemed to be self-employed for the purpose of the tax imposed by section 1401.

Example 2.

Assume the same facts as in example 1, except that the individual for whom the sitting is performed pays to X the entire amount of the charges. X retains a percentage and pays the difference to the sitter. Since X actually receives and pays the wages of the sitters, X is the employer of the sitters.

Example 3.

As a service to the community a neighborhood association maintains a list of individuals who are available to babysit. Parents in need of a sitter contact the association and are provided with a list of names and telephone numbers. The association charges no fee for the service and takes no action other than compiling the list of sitters and making it available to members of the community. Issues such as hours of work, amount of payment, and the method by which the services are performed are all resolved between the sitter and parent. A, a parent, used the list to hire B to sit for A's child. B performs the services four days a week in A's home and follows specific instructions given by A. Under § 31.3121(d)–1, B is the employee of A rather than the employee of the neighborhood association. Consequently, this section does not apply and B remains the employee of A.

(f) Effective date. This section shall apply to remuneration received after December 31, 1974.

(Secs. 3506 and 7805 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954; 91 Stat. 1356 (26 U.S.C. 3506); 68A Stat. 917 (26 U.S.C. 7805))

[T.D. 7691, 45 FR 24129, Apr. 9, 1980]