The $100,000 Cash Trap: Why 'Under-the-Table' Home Help Is a Legal Nightmare

Paying a neighborhood caregiver in cash feels like a win-win. Until the IRS, a slip-and-fall, or an unemployment claim lands on your doorstep.

It starts innocently enough when your 81-year-old mother needs help with groceries, meal prep, and staying safe in her hallway. A neighbor recommends a local caregiver who agrees to help out for twenty dollars an hour, cash. It feels like a rare victory in a landscape of dizzying expenses, until she slips on a patch of black ice on your driveway.

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