If you run your business as a sole proprietor, or as a partnership in which every partner is a parent of the child, federal law sets no minimum age for employing your child in your own business, provided the work isn’t in manufacturing, mining, or one of the federally designated hazardous occupations. If your business is structured any other way, or if the work falls outside that exemption, the federal floor is 14 for most non-agricultural jobs, with tighter rules under 16 and additional protections under state law.
The Parent-Owned Business Exemption
Federal child labor regulations carve out a specific exemption for parents who employ their own children. If you are the sole proprietor, or if every partner in your partnership is a parent of the child, your son or daughter can work for the business at any age. The child must be exclusively employed by you. If your child helps you do work for someone else’s company, the exemption doesn’t apply.1eCFR. 29 CFR Part 570 Subpart G – Exemptions
The exemption has limits. Children under 16 cannot work in manufacturing, mining, or any of the 17 federally designated hazardous occupations, even for a parent’s business. Children aged 16 and 17 are barred only from hazardous work. Once your child turns 18, no federal child labor restrictions apply at all.1eCFR. 29 CFR Part 570 Subpart G – Exemptions
In practice, this means a 10-year-old can file paperwork in your office, a 13-year-old can stock shelves in your retail shop, and a 15-year-old can help manage your social media accounts. The work needs to be real, age-appropriate, and outside the restricted categories.
Age and Hour Rules When the Exemption Doesn’t Apply
If your business is a corporation, or if the child will be doing work for a third party, the standard Fair Labor Standards Act rules control. The FLSA divides young workers into three brackets.
- Under 14: cannot be employed in non-agricultural jobs covered by the FLSA.
- 14 and 15: can work outside school hours in non-hazardous, non-manufacturing jobs, with tight limits on when and how long.
- 16 and 17: can work unlimited hours in any job that isn’t classified as hazardous.
For 14- and 15-year-olds, the hour restrictions are specific. During weeks when school is in session, they can work no more than 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours total for the week. During school breaks, the cap rises to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. All work must fall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day, when the evening cutoff extends to 9 p.m.2U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
At 16, the hour and time-of-day restrictions disappear. A 16- or 17-year-old can work evenings, weekends, and as many hours as you need, as long as the job itself isn’t hazardous. At 18, all federal child labor provisions end.2U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
Hazardous Jobs Are Off-Limits Regardless of Who Owns the Business
The Department of Labor has designated 17 categories of hazardous occupations that are completely off-limits to anyone under 18, whether or not a parent owns the business. Some of them show up in small businesses more often than owners expect. Common examples:
- Operating power-driven equipment such as woodworking machines, circular saws, band saws, chain saws, and meat slicers
- Driving forklifts and similar machinery, including front-end loaders, skid-steer loaders, and hoists
- Roofing and demolition work
- Working with explosives
- Mining operations
The full list runs from operating bakery machines to excavation work.3eCFR. 29 CFR Part 570 Subpart E – Occupations Particularly Hazardous for the Employment of Minors Between 16 and 18 Years of Age If your business involves any powered equipment, check the regulations before assigning tasks to a minor. This is the area where violations carry the steepest penalties, and where a well-intentioned family arrangement most often crosses the line.
State Laws Can Set a Higher Bar
Federal law is the floor, not the ceiling. When a state’s child labor rules are more protective than federal rules, the state standard controls. Many states impose tighter hour limits, higher minimum working ages, or additional restrictions on the types of work minors can perform.
A significant number of states also require work permits or employment certificates before a minor can start a job. These are typically issued through the minor’s school district or the state labor department, and they document that the child meets the age and schooling requirements for the position. Requirements and fees vary, so check with your state labor agency before your child’s first day.
If Your Business Is a Farm
Agricultural employment runs on a separate track. Children of any age can work at any time in any job on a farm owned or operated by their parents. For non-family farms, children 12 and 13 can work outside school hours in non-hazardous farm jobs with parental consent or if a parent works on the same farm, and children 14 and older face no age-based restrictions for non-hazardous agricultural work.4U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 40 – Overview of Youth Employment Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Agricultural Occupations
Hazardous farm work, such as operating certain tractors or handling pesticides, remains off-limits to children under 16 on non-family farms. On a parent-owned farm, even that restriction is lifted.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 213 – Exemptions
Why Hiring Your Child Is Worth the Paperwork
The tax advantages are substantial when the business is a sole proprietorship or a partnership in which both partners are parents of the child. Wages paid to a child under 18 are exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes, and wages paid to a child under 21 are exempt from federal unemployment tax.6Internal Revenue Service. Family Employees Counting both the employer and employee shares of FICA, that’s a combined payroll tax savings of more than 15% on every dollar you pay.
The wages are also a deductible business expense, so they directly reduce your taxable income. On the receiving end, your child can earn up to $16,100 in 2026 without owing any federal income tax, because that’s the standard deduction for a single filer.7Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 If your child earns more than that, they’ll file a return and pay tax on the excess, but at their bracket the rate will be far below yours.
Business Structure Matters
These payroll tax exemptions vanish if your business is organized as a corporation. When a C-corp or S-corp employs your child, wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes regardless of the child’s age.6Internal Revenue Service. Family Employees The wages are still deductible to the business, and your child still gets the standard deduction, but the FICA and FUTA savings are gone.
Some owners with LLCs taxed as S-corps have tried to route the child’s wages through a separate sole-proprietorship management company to preserve the exemption. That kind of arrangement invites scrutiny. If you operate through a corporate structure, talk to a tax professional about whether restructuring makes sense.
Reasonable Compensation
The IRS expects wages paid to a child to reflect the fair market value of the work performed. Paying an 8-year-old $50 an hour to sweep the office will raise a red flag. The work itself must be legitimate, age-appropriate, and genuinely useful to your business. A good benchmark is what you’d pay a non-family employee for comparable tasks. Keep written job descriptions, document the hours worked, and pay through payroll the same way you would for any other employee.
Recordkeeping, I-9, and Age Certificates
Employing a minor comes with documentation obligations beyond what you’d keep for an adult worker. Federal regulations require employers to record the date of birth for every employee under 19 and to track daily hours worked and weekly totals.8eCFR. 29 CFR Part 516 – Records to Be Kept by Employers
Consider obtaining a federal age certificate for your child. It isn’t mandatory, but having one on file provides a legal safe harbor against unintentional child labor violations. If an enforcement action ever questions your child’s age, the certificate is your proof that you acted in good faith.9eCFR. 29 CFR 570.121 – Age Certificates
You’ll also need to complete Form I-9 for employment eligibility verification. A minor who lacks a driver’s license or state ID can still satisfy the identity requirement. A parent or legal guardian can complete the form on behalf of a child under 18 by writing “Individual under age 18” in the signature block, though that option isn’t available if your business participates in E-Verify.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 4.2 Minors (Individuals under Age 18)
What Getting It Wrong Costs
Federal enforcement of child labor rules carries real financial consequences. A single violation can result in a civil penalty of up to $16,035 per affected child. When a violation causes serious injury or death to a worker under 18, the penalty jumps to $72,876 per violation, and that amount doubles for repeat or willful offenders.11eCFR. 29 CFR Part 579 – Child Labor Violations – Civil Money Penalties A willful violation can also bring criminal fines of up to $10,000, and a second conviction can add up to six months of imprisonment.12U.S. Department of Labor. Child Labor Rules Advisor – Enforcement
Most parent-employers won’t come near these penalties if they stick to the basic rules. The hazardous occupation list is where accidental violations happen most. Letting a 17-year-old operate a forklift or a commercial meat slicer, even in the family business, crosses the line.