IHSS Provider Resources
Once you have become an IHSS provider, the following are resources intended to help you as you provide services to your IHSS recipient:
IHSS Timesheet Information
Live-In IHSS/WPCS Providers
Beginning January 2017, providers now have the option to self-certify living arrangements to exclude IHSS/WPCS wages from federal income tax and state tax by completing and submitting appropriate forms. For more information and forms, go to the Live-In Provider Self-Certification Information webpage.
Payroll Tax Withholding Update
On August 8, 2020, President Trump issued a Presidential Memo directing the IRS to allow the optional deferral of withholding from employee’s 2020 taxes between September 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. After evaluation and consideration of the IRS guidance, the Department of Social Services (CDSS) is concerned that while the regular taxes would not be taken from 2020 payroll, the providers would experience a double withholding from their payroll taxes in 2021. Therefore, the CDSS has decided the IHSS/WPCS program will not be participating in the deferral of withholding of 2020 payroll taxes.
Direct Deposit
With Direct Deposit, your IHSS/WPCS paycheck is deposited directly into your checking or savings account, or onto a pay card of your choice, instead of being mailed to you through the U.S. Post Office. A pay card is a reloadable card you can use for direct deposit and to make purchases and withdrawals. Learn more about pay cards and online direct deposit service.
Direct Deposit eliminates the possibility of a provider’s paper paycheck being lost in the mail or stolen from their mailbox. Additionally, providers may have access to their money sooner because they don’t have to wait for the paper warrant to be delivered through the post office.
The Online Direct Deposit Enrollment Service allows current, active IHSS/WPCS providers in all California counties the ability to electronically enroll, change or dis-enroll via the CDSS IHSS ESP website, instead of using a paper form. The paper enrollment form is available on the CDSS website for those who want to use it.
CalSavers: Helping Providers Prepare for their Future
California workers, whose employers do not offer a retirement plan or are self-employed, now have an opportunity to contribute to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) they control. CalSavers is a new retirement program designed for all California individuals like IHSS providers who don’t have automatic employment retirement contribution options. The CalSavers Retirement Program offers IHSS providers:
- Ability to contribute to a Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) that belongs to the IHSS provider
- A completely voluntary participation: The IHSS provider can opt out or back in at any time
- Ability to stick with the standard options for savings rates and investments or choose their own
- Flexibility to keep their account even if they change recipients or jobs
You can learn more about CalSavers at
www.calsavers.com