employkids

What is employkids?

employkids helps families pay their kids for real, age-appropriate work while generating the paperwork needed to document Roth IRA contributions. The product is built around the rule that Roth IRA contributions require the child to have taxable earned income, and it focuses on capturing evidence in case of an IRS audit.

The core purpose is to make the “hire your kids + Roth IRA” workflow easier: you pick tasks, employ your child, and the system produces timestamped employment agreements, work and payment logs, and year-end tax packet documents so contributions can be supported with traceable records.

Key Features

• Task library (100+ tasks) with built-in rate guidance so you can pick work that maps to a fair market pay approach.
• Generated employment agreements created through the platform, rather than handwritten or improvised contracts.
• Timestamped work and payment logging (including time logs and a payment ledger) to document hours worked and what was paid.
• Automated year-end tax packet outputs packaged into downloadable documents, including an organized cover summary and a set of supporting forms.
• Brokerage-agnostic support and payment flexibility (any payment method, any brokerage) per the site description.
• Audit-trace documentation workflow designed to address common documentation gaps (employment agreement, timesheets/work logs, and payment documentation).
• Optional photo proof as additional supporting material for activities.

How to Use employkids

1. Get started in minutes by initiating setup and creating a custodial workflow to fund the child’s Roth IRA (as described on the page).
2. Pick tasks for your child from the available task list; the platform provides rate guidance intended to reflect fair pay for the work.
3. Sign the employment agreement within the platform workflow, then log work sessions and payments; the system records activity timestamps and generates documentation.
4. Download the year-end tax packet in one click so you can keep a traceable record set (cover summary, signed agreements, job descriptions, timesheets/work logs, payment ledger/reconciliation, and Roth contribution memos as listed).

Use Cases

• Parents paying kids for household work (with documentation): e.g., cleaning, yard work, organizing, and errands—converted into tasks with an employment agreement plus timestamped work and payment records.
• Families contributing to a minor child’s Roth IRA early: the site emphasizes there’s no age limit for Roth IRA contributions when the child has taxable compensation, and employkids supports the “open a custodial account and contribute on their behalf” approach.
• Year-end recordkeeping after multiple child jobs: if you have more than one child doing different tasks across the year, the platform creates documentation organized per child (job descriptions per child, timesheets/work logs per child, and W-2 worksheets per child).
• Reconstructing documents later: the platform description notes that downloaded documents can be regenerated when needed, and that the edit history/audit log is maintained.
• Handling audit risk proactively: when documentation is incomplete, the page describes IRS disallowance/penalties as a risk; employkids is positioned to produce the specific artifacts (signed agreements, work logs, and payment documentation) that audits may look for.

FAQ

• Do my child’s contributions need to be based on earned income? Yes. The page states the Roth IRA contribution rule that the money must be earned, and it specifies eligibility requires taxable compensation.

• At what age can a child start a Roth IRA with this approach? The page says there’s no age limit for Roth IRA contributions when using the custodial approach, and it gives an example of starting at 7.

• What happens if we can’t produce documentation? The page explains that without documentation (e.g., employment agreement, time logs, and properly documented payments), contributions can be disallowed and penalties may apply.

• What documents does employkids produce? Based on the listed items, the year-end tax packet includes a cover summary and support documents such as signed employment agreements, signature certificates, job descriptions per child, timesheets/work logs (PDF + CSV), payment ledger/reconciliation, W-2 worksheet per child, and Roth contribution memos.

• Can we use any brokerage or payment method? The site states the workflow works with any payment method and any brokerage.

Alternatives

• Roth IRA custodial account + manual employment paperwork: families can use IRS publications and set up custodial contributions while creating their own employment agreements and timesheets (typically spreadsheets or document templates).
• General bookkeeping/accounting software with tax document exports: some families may track hours, payments, and generate their own tax packet using accounting tools, but they would not have the same task library and Roth IRA-oriented contract/log workflow.
• Tax-prep document organizers for audit support: document management tools can help store agreements, logs, and year-end summaries, but they may not generate the specific employment agreement, timesheets/work logs, and Roth contribution memos described for employkids.
• Payroll platforms for family employment documentation: if the use case shifts toward a more traditional payroll workflow, payroll software can track wages and reports, though it may not be tailored to the “hire your kids for Roth IRA” documentation set shown on this page.