Family Caregiver Taxes and Employment in Virginia

When you employ a family member as your household caregiver in Virginia, your caregiver's age and/or their relationship to you may mean certain federal and Virginia taxes apply a little differently. We've broken down these differences below — along with the state-specific employment requirements you'll want to know — so you always know what's going on with your employee's payroll.

Tax exemptions

Requirements and rates vary by state and are subject to change. The information below is current as of 2026.

Federal taxes

FICA (Social Security and Medicare) and FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax) may apply a little differently based on your caregiver's age and family relationship to you.

Caregiver relationship	FICA (Social Security and Medicare)	FUTA (Federal Unemployment)
A minor under 18 who isn't your child	Exempt (until age 18)	Applies
Your child, currently under 21	Exempt (until age 21)	Exempt (until age 21)
Your spouse	Exempt	Exempt
Your parent	Usually exempt (see parent-childcare exception)	Exempt

When your caregiver passes one of the age thresholds, we'll automatically update how their wages are taxed based on the information in your account, and email you in advance. For the full federal breakdown, see How federal tax exemptions work for family caregivers.

Virginia state taxes

Virginia Unemployment Insurance (UI) mirrors the federal family caregiver exemption. Virginia has no state PFML program and no state SDI program, so UI is the only state-level employer tax affected by the exemption.

Caregiver relationship	Virginia UI
A minor under 18 who isn't your child	Applies
Your child, currently under 21	Exempt (until age 21)
Your spouse	Exempt
Your parent	Exempt

Virginia state income tax withholding generally applies to caregivers regardless of family relationship (current as of 2026; rules subject to change).

Employment requirements

Quick overview

For spouse, parent, and adult child caregivers, Virginia generally applies standard household employment rules with no family-relationship modifications. The main exception is your minor child — Virginia doesn't classify a minor child working for a parent as 'employment,' so most requirements don't apply.

Requirements by relationship

Where you see "Standard rules" in the table below, family caregivers follow the same rules as any other household employee — no family-specific carve-out applies.

Requirement	Spouse	Parent	Your child <18	Your child <21	Non-family minor <18
Minimum wage	Standard rules	Standard rules	Not classified as employment	Standard rules	Standard rules
Overtime	Standard rules	Standard rules	Not classified as employment	Standard rules	Standard rules
Workers' comp	Standard rules	Standard rules	Not classified as employment	Standard rules	Standard rules
Paid sick time (home healthcare workers)	New 2026 law — effective 2028	Effective 2028	Not classified as employment	Effective 2028	Effective 2028
PTO	Standard rules	Standard rules	Not classified as employment	Standard rules	Standard rules
Termination wages, posting, recordkeeping	Standard rules	Standard rules	Not classified as employment	Standard rules	Standard rules

Disclaimer: This information is provided for general educational purposes and should not be considered tax, legal, financial, or human resources advice.