employkids is a web-based platform designed to help parents legally hire their children for age-appropriate tasks and use that earned income to fund a Roth IRA. Built by an accountant, the service eliminates the IRS compliance burden by generating all required documentation. Parents can set up their family employment structure in minutes, selecting from over 100 suggested tasks with built-in fair market rate guidance. The core value proposition is simple: enable tax-free retirement growth for children while staying fully compliant with IRS rules regarding earned income and family employment. By automating the paperwork, employkids makes it practical for families to take advantage of the powerful Roth IRA strategy starting at any age, even for toddlers.
The primary pain point employkids solves is the daunting IRS documentation requirement for child earned income. Many parents learn about the strategy of hiring kids for Roth IRA contributions but quickly give up when faced with the paperwork demands. Without proper employment agreements, time logs, and payment records, the IRS can disallow contributions, levy penalties, and charge interest as shown in the CP2000 notice example on the site. The risk of audit and financial consequences keeps families from leveraging this legal wealth-building tool. employkids removes that barrier, making the process straightforward and secure so parents can focus on teaching responsibility and building their children's financial future.
First major feature: Quick hiring with over 100 age-appropriate tasks. Parents pick from activities like modeling, stamping docs, shredding, dusting, filing papers, washing car, data entry, social media, market research, graphic design, web updates, lawn care, bookkeeping, customer support, and copywriting. Built-in rate guidance ensures fair market compensation. The platform generates legally compliant employment agreements with e-signatures, signature certificates, and timestamped records. This creates the foundational documentation needed to prove that the child performed real work at a reasonable wage, satisfying the IRS earned income rule from Publication 590-A.
Second major feature: Work and payment logging with automatic server timestamps and complete activity history. Parents log hours, tasks, and payments using any method (Venmo, Zelle, Chase) and any brokerage (Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard). Optional photo proof adds an extra layer of documentation. Every entry is timestamped and traceable, creating an immutable audit trail. This feature ensures that every contribution to the child's Roth IRA is backed by verifiable earned income records, protecting the family in case of an IRS examination. The system works seamlessly with any payment flow, so parents handle the money while employkids handles the documentation.
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Third major feature: Year-End Tax Packet generated in one click. This comprehensive ZIP file includes a cover summary, signed employment agreements, signature certificates, job descriptions per child, timesheets (PDF and CSV), payment ledger with reconciliation, W-2 worksheets per child, Roth contribution memos, and a full edit history audit log. All documents are timestamped and traceable, ready for CPA review or IRS filing. For business owners, the Pro plan adds the ability to log business work separately, deduct wages as a business expense, and skip payroll taxes, saving up to 15.3% on FICA. This expands the strategy from household tasks to legitimate business roles.
How the product works overall: Setup takes 10 minutes. Parents create an account, add children, and select tasks from the library. The system auto-generates employment contracts for e-signature. Throughout the year, parents log work sessions and payments using the dashboard. Smart to-do reminders help maintain consistent documentation. At year end, one click produces the complete tax packet. The platform's built-in Roth contribution tracking ensures contributions stay within IRS limits ($7,500 per year in 2026). Every document is stored securely and can be regenerated at any time, providing ongoing audit protection.
Concrete use cases: A family hires their 13-year-old for yard work (mowing the lawn) at $8/hour for 2 hours, pays via Venmo, logs the activity, and contributes that $16 to a custodial Roth IRA. Over years, this compounds significantly. A business owner with a child aged 14 hires them for data entry through the Pro plan, deducts $12,000 in wages, saves $5,676 in taxes (income tax plus FICA), and funds a Roth IRA simultaneously. A family with multiple children uses the platform year-round with reminders, then downloads the Year-End Tax Packet at tax time, handing everything to their CPA for seamless filing.
Target users are parents of children aged 4-17 who want to start tax-free retirement savings, and business owners who can log household and business work separately for maximum tax benefits. The platform works on any modern web browser, integrates with all major brokerages and payment apps, and offers two pricing tiers: Home at $299/year for families and Pro at $499/year for business owners, both with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Employkids is built by an accountant and backed by decades of IRS guidance and tax court precedent, turning a complex legal strategy into an accessible, automated system for building generational wealth.
Parents of children aged 4-17 who want to legally fund a Roth IRA for their child using earned income from household tasks. Business owners who can employ their children through a sole proprietorship, partnership, or S-corp and deduct wages as a business expense while skipping payroll taxes. Also targeting self-employed individuals and freelancers with children who can perform age-appropriate tasks. Financial advisors and CPAs may recommend employkids to clients interested in generational wealth strategies. The platform is ideal for families who value IRS compliance, want to teach financial responsibility, and seek a simple automated system for child employment documentation.