Hubby and I muddled through first grade in the spring. And left the preschooler to fend for himself. I pretty much didn’t know where he was for 4 hours a day.

I had flashbacks to my 80s childhood, where my mom sent us out the door at 9am and sent out a search party at 5pm to herd us home for dinner. It’s probably a miracle my child wasn’t abducted during the spring the schools closed. Praise Baby Jesus.

But this fall will be different. He gets to join big brother around the kitchen table for elementary school. And he is super excited about it.

He looked at me yesterday and asked, “When do I learn to read?”

“In kindergarten,” I responded.

He began to wiggle all over: “Kindergarten?! I get to read THIS YEAR?! YASSSS!”

And that’s when I decided to phone a friend. Because I’ve never taught anyone to read.

Schooling at home

How are you handling school this fall? Are you hiring Mary Poppins to teach your kiddos? Doing it all yourself? Hoping Covid suddenly dies and your kids are back in the classroom?

Here’s the “latest plan” for the fall in my world. (Y’all, the school district changes its mind about this every couple hours.)

August through October.

Remote learning. At home.

The rest of the year.

Kids become socially-distanced, mask-wearing fiends. In the classroom.

I’ll believe it when I see it. And by “it,” I mean children inside a classroom.

In the meantime, (read: fall AND spring time), here’s my dream schedule to get this learning shit done.

Monday through Thursday – morning.

Tablet time, aka remote learning. With a focus on math and reading.

Monday through Thursday – afternoon.

Arts and PE. Otherwise known as decorate your bike with small origami birds and then ride around the neighborhood.

Friday Free Day!

With maybe a little science thrown in during the mornings. Because that was a big hit with the boys this past spring.

Hiring the tutor

To really make this school thing legit, here’s the kicker: I’M HIRING A TUTOR. Because I’m not cut out to be a one-room schoolhouse marm. And I don’t know a damn thing about teaching anyone to read.

The tutor will handle kindergarten, I’ll focus on second grade.

What about you? How are you planning to tackle all things learning? Especially if you’ve got a full-time job with a boss who expects you to occasionally do some work.

Paying the tutor

Is a tutor in your future, too? If so, what’s your plan for paying them? Are you swapping babysitting or baked goods with them? Or slipping them some cash under the table every once in a while? Or do you want to run for public office next year and kinda need to follow all the IRS rules?

When my oldest was a baby, I hired a nanny to hang out with him on days when I worked from home. (Remember when working from home was this optional thing you begged HR for?) Luckily, my work schedule dictated that I move him into daycare before we had to worry about the dreaded NANNY TAX kicking in.

“Wait, what’s a nanny tax?,” you ask. And what does this have to do with hiring a tutor?

Considering the tutor tax

For 2020, according to Care.com, “nanny taxes come into play when a family pays any household employee $2,200 or more in a calendar year (or $1,000 or more in a calendar quarter for unemployment insurance taxes).”

They go on to add, “According to the IRS, a household worker is an employee if you control not only what work is done, but also how it is done.”

Does it sound like the tutor you’ve got lined up for the fall might be a household employee and that you might be paying them more than $2,200 annually? Well, I’m not a tax lawyer, IRS auditor, or certified accountant, but this is probably something you should look into.

Asking an expert

Here’s another option to consider: MAYBE THE TUTOR IS A CONTRACTOR.

Because you’re not dictating how the teaching is getting done.

Y’all, I’m specifically hiring a tutor because I don’t know how to teach a kid to read. So me dictating anything is a bit squirrely.

Which is why I talked to our amazing tutor about this. And she talked to an actual tax expert. Who said this:

“They can fill out form 1099-MISC in order to report the costs they are paying you. That will help them claim a deduction on their own return for child and dependent care costs. We can assist in getting that filled out for them, or they can get in contact with a local CPA firm. Whoever helps with the filing, it will be due by January 31, 2021 for the 2020 tax year.”

He went on to advise her: “Please make sure you are tracking any expenses you may incur as a result of the tutoring (mileage traveled, supplies, etc.). We can use those expenses to offset the income you are receiving.”

It’s a win-win. I get a tutor and the tutor knows I’m not going to ask her to do any weird nanny-ish duties, like tidying the house or folding laundry. I’m only going to ask her to do the job only she knows how to perform: be a tutor.

And best of all, my kid gets to embark on the journey of a lifetime: learning to read.

What about you? Have you given any thought to the tutor tax? Comment below or share your thoughts on Facebook at MothersRest.

Photo credit: Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels