Assisting and caring for a dependent person

The simplified administrative procedures set out below are used to declare to the social security system a person who assists and cares for a dependent person.

Persons concerned

Private individuals who require significant regular assistance to carry out basic day-to-day tasks and who wish to hire a person in their home as:

• a paid assistant, hired on an employment contract for the care and assistance they provide;
• an informal assistant, not paid for the care and assistance they provide.

How to proceed

Whether they are a paid or informal assistant, care insurance covers this person's contributions for pension insurance up to the amount of the minimum wage, provided that:

• the National Health Fund (Caisse nationale de santé - CNS) has given notification of its decision to cover the contributions, which must be attached to the declaration form for the paid or informal assistant;
• the assistant does not have a personal pension.

To ensure that the request is processed correctly by the Social Security Centre (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale - CCSS), it is essential that the dependent person is given as the employer on all forms, even if they are still a minor.

Paid assistants

Declaration form for a paid assistant

The dependent person may:

• carry out an authenticated procedure online "MyGuichet.lu : Employee declaration for a private household/ host family"

or

• fill in the 'Employee declaration form for a private household (Pdf, 126 Kb)' and submits it to the CCSS

no later than 8 days after hiring the person in their household.

They must tick the 'Assistance and care for dependent persons' box and enter the net hourly wage, in the form of:

• monthly salary (if fixed)  

or

• hourly wage (if the monthly salary is not fixed).

The CCSS will determine the gross monthly salary, total social security contributions and the amount of payroll tax at 10%.

If the paid assistant does not yet have a 13-digit social security number when the declaration of entry is submitted, the employer must:

• provide the paid assistant's date of birth (year, month, day);
• attach a colour copy of the paid assistant's identity document (identity card or passport).

Confirmation is sent automatically to the assistant and the employer once their affiliation has been registered.

Declaration of exit for a paid assistant

The dependent person must declare the end of the working relationship no later than 8 days after the end of the contract:

• by completing an authenticated procedure online "MyGuichet.lu : Declaration of exit in a private household"

or

• by using the form 'Declaration of exit (Pdf, 133 Kb)'.

The exit date corresponds to the last day of the working relationship or, where applicable, the last day of the legal notice period (ITM).

Confirmation is sent automatically to the assistant and the employer once their affiliation has been registered.

Remuneration, contributions, invoicing

The CCSS calculates the social security contributions and taxes (payable by the employer) and invoices the employer for them monthly; the calculation of contributions and the invoice are issued after 2 months.

These documents enable the dependent employer and the paid assistant to check the data recorded and notify the CCSS of any changes to be made to the number of hours or net wage:

• by completing the authenticated online procedure "MyGuichet.lu : Modification of semi-annual declarations of hours and wages in a private household"

or

• by returning, by post or via our contact page, the document giving the average number of hours worked per week and the net hourly wage.

The CCSS may also be notified of these changes upon their occurrence, using the contact page or by sending a letter.

Wage statement

In March each year, a wage statement is issued by the CCSS to the paid assistant and employer:

• by depositing the certificate in the eDelivery inbox of the MyGuichet.lu private space (it is essential to subscribe to the eDelivery function specifically for the CCSS beforehand)
  

or, otherwise,

• by post

to serve as a supporting document to be provided to the Luxembourg Inland Revenue (Administration des contributions directes - ACD). 

This statement entitles the employer to tax benefits in the form of a maximum fixed tax-exempt amount of EUR 5.400 per year when completing their tax return. You can find more details on the fixed tax-exempt amount and amendments during the 2020 fiscal year on the ACD website.

Declaring a paid assistant's illness

In the event of incapacity for work, the paid assistant must first inform their employer.  

The paid assistant must also inform the CNS, either by telephone, if the duration of the illness is less than or equal to 2 consecutive days, or by submitting their medical certificate.

The employer continues to make wage payments as if the paid assistant had been working.

The CNS sends a special form to the employer who must indicate the hours of sick leave. The CNS will reimburse the employer based on the completed form. You can find more information here.

In the event of the paid assistant having maternity or adoption leave, or exemption from work, the employer does not need to advance the wage.

A declaration of exit form is not required for a paid assistant on sick leave or maternity leave while the period of absence is covered by the CNS.

Annual leave and statutory public holidays

For any information relating to employment law (employment contracts, annual leave, public holidays, etc.) please contact the ITM.

Informal assistants

Declaration form for an informal assistant

A family member or any other relative providing a dependent person with care and assistance under a care plan outside an employment contract can be considered an informal assistant. Care insurance covers the contributions for this person's pension insurance up to the amount of the minimum wage.

To declare their informal assistant, the dependent person may:

• carry out an authenticated procedure online "MyGuichet.lu : Employee declaration for a private household/ host family"

or

• fill in the 'Employee declaration form for a private household (Pdf, 126 Kb)' and submits it to the CCSS.

They must tick the 'Assistance and care for dependent persons' box. The 'Start of activity' box is the actual date on which the provision of care begins. Payment of contributions for pension insurance may only begin from the start date of the care plan approved by the CNS, taking into account the 5-year limitation period.

The sections 'hours of work', 'net hourly wage' and 'net monthly salary' need not be completed, as an informal assistant does not receive a salary for the care they provide.

If the informal assistant does not yet have a Luxembourg identification number when the declaration form is submitted, the dependent person must:

• provide the informal assistant's date of birth (year, month, day);
• attach a copy of the informal assistant's identity document (identity card or passport).

Confirmation is sent automatically to the assistant and the dependent person once the affiliation has been registered.

Declaration of exit for an informal assistant

When the informal assistant no longer provides care and assistance, the dependent person must declare their exit:

• by completing an authenticated procedure online "MyGuichet.lu : Declaration of exit in a private household"

or

• by using the form 'Declaration of exit (Pdf, 133 Kb)'.

Confirmation is sent automatically to the assistant and the dependent person once the disaffiliation has been registered. 

Online services MyGuichet.lu

Forms