Employer setup
You become the employer. We do the paperwork.
In CDS, your caregiver legally works for you, not for us and not for the state. That is what gives you the control, and on paper it takes two government tax numbers. Here is the part families are relieved to hear: we do these enrollments for you. This page is just so you know what is happening and why.
What we set up for you
Two numbers, handled as part of your enrollment
- 1
Your federal EIN
An Employer Identification Number from the IRS, issued in your name because you are the employer. We prepare and submit the application for you and keep the IRS confirmation letter, called a CP 575, in your file. It is free, and it is yours for life.
- 2
Your Missouri tax ID
Your employer registration with the Missouri Department of Revenue, so your caregiver's state withholding is filed properly. We handle this registration too, and we keep the Department of Revenue confirmation notice with your records.
- 3
The proof the state audits
Missouri requires proof of both numbers in your case file within 90 days of your CDS start date, and state auditors check. Not just any paper counts: it must be a document the IRS or the Department of Revenue produced with your name and number printed on it. That is why we keep the official letters, and it is why we will never ask you to just fill in a W-9 and call it done. We track the deadline so you never have to think about it.
Your part
What we need from you
A few signatures
The enrollment packet includes the authorization forms that let us act for you, and a couple of them need real ink signatures rather than a screen. We point at every line that needs your name, and it takes minutes.
Your basic information
The applications are in your name, so we will confirm your details with you when we prepare them, on the phone or at your kitchen table, whichever you prefer.
Nothing ahead of time
Do not apply for anything yourself before enrolling. If a number already exists in your name from an earlier CDS provider, tell us, it is yours and it moves with you, and we will use it rather than create a duplicate.
The numbers are yours, forever
Your EIN and Missouri tax ID belong to you, not to us. If you ever change CDS providers, they transfer with you, so this setup happens once in your life, not once per agency.
Every filing after is ours too
Once you appoint us as your agent (IRS Form 2678, part of the packet), we file the federal and Missouri employer returns and your caregiver's W-2, every quarter, every year. You will never file employer taxes yourself.
One thing that comes later
Once your caregiver has earned $1,000 in a calendar quarter, Missouri requires an unemployment insurance registration with the Division of Employment Security. It cannot be done early, the state refuses it before the threshold. We watch every consumer’s wages and handle that registration the moment it is due.
The short version
You sign. We enroll, file and track.
Being the employer is what makes the care yours to direct. The tax side of it is our job, start to finish.