Can my kid legally get paid for work?
By Terry Rice · Published September 8, 2026 · Last reviewed September 8, 2026
We are a family that did this, not accountants or lawyers. Rules vary by state and change. Every claim here links to the source so you can check it yourself.
Usually yes, but the payment almost never lands in your child's name. Nearly every payment processor requires an account holder to be 18. Stripe is the main exception and allows 13 to 17 with a parent formally attached. So in practice the parent holds the account and receives the money, and the child is paid from it.
The account is the constraint, not the work
Most people assume the barrier is child labor law. The first wall is much more boring than that: you cannot open a payment account. PayPal, Square, Shopify, Gumroad and Ko-fi all require an account holder to be 18. Stripe permits a 13 to 17 year old account holder with an adult attached to the account as representative. Under 13 there is no version where the child is the account holder.
Venmo will not work, and this catches people
Venmo teen accounts explicitly prohibit receiving payment for goods and services, and teens cannot hold a business profile. Using one that way risks a frozen account, which usually happens right after the first real customer pays.
Then there is your state
Federal rules under 29 CFR 570.126 let a child of any age work in a business wholly owned by their parents, excluding mining, manufacturing and jobs declared hazardous. Some states are stricter. New York Labor Law section 130 restricts minors under fourteen in connection with any trade or business, with agricultural exceptions.
We live in New York, all of our kids are under fourteen, and that is exactly why we structured things the way we did. Read your own state labor department page before your child does paid work. It takes five minutes, and the federal YouthRules page is a reasonable starting point.
What we do
The parent runs the business and holds the account. The child does real work and is paid for it. The mechanics of that payment, including how the IRS treats it, are in how to pay your own child from your business.