Publication 907
taxmap/pubs/p907-003.htm#en_us_publink10008655If you pay someone to work in your home, such as a babysitter
or housekeeper, you may be a household employer who has to pay employment taxes.
A person you hire through an agency is not your employee if the
agency controls what work is done and how it is done. This control could include
setting the fee, requiring regular reports, and providing rules of conduct and
appearance. In this case you do not have to pay employment taxes on the amount
you pay. But if you control what work is done and how it is done, the worker is
your employee. If you possess the right to discharge a worker, that worker is
generally considered to be your employee. If a worker is your employee, it does
not matter that you hired the worker through an agency or from a list provided
by an agency.
To find out if you have to pay employment taxes, see Publication
926, Household Employer's Tax Guide For Wages Paid in 2010.