Monthly Archives: February 2016

Au Pair Tax Info

At our last Cluster Meeting we discussed taxes. Here are some reminders:

Who is supposed to file taxes? – All au pairs who made $4000 or more in the calendar year (Jan 1 – Dec 31.) Au pairs who made less than $4000, are not required to file a tax return for 2015.

Will all au pairs have to pay something? – No, it depends on when you arrived and how much money you earned last year.

When are 2015 taxes due? – April 15, 2016

Where can I get the tax form? –  1040NR-EZ Form

Where can I get the instruction booklet? – 1040NR-EZ Booklet

Where can I get detailed information on filing my taxes? – APIA Tax Info for Au Pairs

Where can I see a sample au pair tax form? – Sample Completed Tax Form

Where should I mail my tax return form?
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 1303
Charlotte, NC 28201-1303

How do I write a check or money order? – Check here

How do I address an envelope? – Check here

Hints for Success – Homesickness/Culture Shock

heart hand byAlmost everyone experiences culture shock when they come to a completely new environment. Everything is different: the language, the food, and the people.

Here are my Top 5 Tips for
Dealing with Homesickness

1. Make Friends – Don’t wait for other au pairs to reach out to you, reach out to them. There are other lots of new au pairs who are feeling the same way you are right now. Set a goal to reach out to a few of them each day. Some will respond and some will not. Don’t let that discourage you. No one will ever be mad at you for sending them a message to say hello or ask if they want to do something together. Make friends from various countries and you will also get a chance to practice your English skills together.

2. Stay in touch with your home country, but not too much. Skyping or talking on the phone every day with your family and/or friends back home normally makes homesickness worse. Try emailing instead and reduce the Skype and phone calls to once a week, until you feel stronger. It’s much harder seeing the faces and hearing the voices of those you miss.

3. Get out of the house (or your room specifically) – Go to cluster meetings, have coffee or movies with other au pairs, join a gym, go to the library, go for a walk, visit the mall, get a manicure, visit a museum. If someone invites you out, say “yes.” Also, don’t be afraid to do the inviting. If your host family invites you to do things with them, say “yes.” This will help you get to know each other and contribute to your overall happiness.

4. Realize that it definitely gets better – All au pairs experience homesickness and nearly all of them stay and have a successful year (some stay for two years.) So, it must get better, right? Once you get past the initial homesickness, most au pairs report how quickly the year goes by.

5. Make Plans – Create your own Au Pair Bucket List (places you want to go, new foods to try, new things to experience during your year in the U.S.) and start doing them now. Post on our cluster Facebook group to find others who may want to join you on your adventures.

Photo by:  Shimelle Laine (Flickr)

Mardi Gras

3875559477_5590836137Mardi Gras, French for “Fat Tuesday” marks the end of Carnival and the beginning of the Christian fasting of Lent. The biggest Mardi Gras celebration in the US is in New Orleans, Louisiana. Rio de Janeiro in Brazil also has a huge celebration. Find a Brazilian au pair in your cluster and ask her to tell you all about it.

 

Photo: David (Flickr)