I have self-employed income and employ my 15 year old daughter to help with some of the work. I pay her over $3,000 per year which I deduct from my income tax. I want to contribute $3,000 to a Roth ira for her. Do I need to issue her a W-2 in order to do this and if so, how do I go about that (paperwork, etc). Do I need to file an income tax return for her? Thanks for any input on this.
Jay Glass

If you're deducting payments to your minor daughter on your schedule C, you should be preparing Form W-2 for her. There is no social security requirement when a parent hires a minor child so that shouldn't be a deterrant.

The Roth IRA contribution is not reported on Form 1040, but a $3000 salary would be enough so that a return is required. The IRS gets reports from custodians on Roth contributions and may inquire what's up, if no return is filed by your daughter.

Ms. Foss,
Thanks for your help on this matter. I will file a return for her to cover this.
Jay Glass