Expert: Mike Wellman - 1/29/2010

Question
My church in Michigan has a 16 year old student who cleans our church on a weekly basis. We pay him $58.00 per week. No federal, state, or social security taxes are withheld. We are going to issue him a 1099 for 2009. He has made $2,668 in 2009. He will not owe any withholding tax because he is under the minimum liability amount. Is the amount paid for these services by a minor subject to social security taxes? Thank you in advance for your assistance. I have researched both the SSA and IRS sites, and cannot find a definitive answer.  

Answer
He will not be liable for any income taxes, assuming this is his only income, however he will need to file a Schedule C (or C-EZ) and Schedule SE to report his self-employment income from the church. He will have to pay both his share and the church's share of FICA/Medicare - otherwise known as self-employment tax. There is an exception for children of a business owner but that does not seem to apply here. His taxes will be about $377.