1. Who we are and what these Terms cover
House is a service of Hint Holdings, LLC, doing business as House (“House,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) are a legally binding agreement between you and House and govern your access to and use of the House website, applications, and related services (collectively, the “Service”).
By creating an account, clicking to accept, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
2. What the Service is — and is not
House is bookkeeping and calculation software for household employers (for example, families who employ a nanny, a senior caregiver, or other household workers). The Service helps you calculate gross and net pay, withholding, and employer taxes; generate pay stubs; track hours, paid time off, and expenses; produce year-end wage documents such as Form W-2 data and a Schedule H worksheet; and keep organized payroll records.
To avoid any doubt, House does not do the following:
- We do not move money.We are not a bank, a money transmitter, or a payment processor. House never collects, holds, or disburses your funds or your employee’s pay. You pay your employee directly, by whatever method you choose (for example Zelle, PayPal, Venmo, direct deposit, check, or cash).
- We do not file your tax returns or make deposits for you. House prepares figures and documents for your review. Filing returns, remitting withholding, and paying federal, state, and local taxes are your responsibility.
- We do not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. Using the Service does not create an accountant-client, attorney-client, or other professional relationship between you and House. The Service is not a substitute for advice from a qualified professional.
The Service is intended for personal, household use in the United States. It is not designed or licensed for commercial payroll, for business employees, or for use outside the United States.
3. Eligibility and your account
You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Service. When you create an account, you agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information and to keep it up to date.
You are responsible for safeguarding your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. House accounts are organized into households with roles — for example an account owner and family members who can manage payroll, and a household employee who receives a read-only portal to view their own pay stubs and documents. You are responsible for the people you invite and the access you grant them, and for promptly removing access that should no longer exist. Notify us at support@housepayroll.com if you suspect unauthorized use of your account.
4. Your responsibilities as a household employer
The Service’s output is only as accurate as the information you put in, and the legal obligations of being a household employer remain yours. You are solely responsible for:
- Entering correct information — including names, Social Security numbers, your Employer Identification Number (EIN), wage rates, hours worked, overtime, paid time off, and any deductions.
- Reviewing and verifying every figure, pay stub, and form the Service produces before you rely on it, pay your employee, or file anything. Tax rates, wage bases, and withholding tables change every year and vary by jurisdiction.
- Registering as an employer where required, obtaining an EIN, completing new-hire reporting, meeting Form I-9 and W-4 requirements, carrying any legally required workers’ compensation or disability insurance, and complying with all applicable federal, state, and local employment and tax laws.
- Filing all required returns and timely paying all taxes, withholding, and other amounts due. As the IRS explains, an employer remains responsible for ensuring that tax returns are filed and that deposits and payments are made, even when the employer uses a third party to assist.
- Retaining your own payroll and tax records as required by law.
House assists with calculations and paperwork; it does not assume any of these legal obligations on your behalf.
5. No tax, legal, or accounting advice
The Service, and any figures, templates, guides, articles, calculators, or other content it provides, are for general informational and bookkeeping purposes only. They are not tax, legal, accounting, or financial advice, and they are not a substitute for the judgment of a qualified professional who knows your specific situation. You are responsible for verifying every figure against current IRS, Social Security Administration, and applicable state and local guidance before relying on it. If you need advice, consult a licensed tax, legal, or accounting professional.
6. Plans, fees, and billing
House offers a free plan and one or more paid plans (for example, House Plus). The features included in each plan, and current pricing, are described on our website and may change over time.
- Free plan. Our free plan is offered at no cost to you and is underwritten by a sponsor (see Section 7). We may change, limit, or discontinue the free plan at any time.
- Paid plans. Paid plans are billed in advance on the interval shown at purchase (for example, annually) through a third-party payment processor. Unless otherwise stated, paid plans renew automatically for successive terms at the then-current price until you cancel, and you authorize us and our processor to charge your payment method for each renewal.
- Cancellation.You may cancel a paid plan at any time; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Except where required by law, fees already paid are non-refundable, and canceling does not entitle you to a refund of the current period’s fees.
- Price changes. We may change plan pricing or features with reasonable advance notice, which will apply to your next renewal.
- Taxes. Fees are exclusive of any applicable sales or similar taxes, which you are responsible for.
We do not store your full payment card details; those are handled by our payment processor under its own terms and privacy policy.
7. Sponsorship of the free plan
The cost of operating the Service for free-plan families is covered by a sponsor. Sponsorship keeps the free plan free; it does not change these Terms or our Privacy Policy. Our sponsor does not receive your account credentials, your Social Security numbers or EIN, your employee’s personal information, or your individual payroll records as a result of the sponsorship. We may present sponsor branding or a link within the Service. We do not endorse, and are not responsible for, any sponsor’s separate products or services.
8. Electronic communications and signatures
By using the Service, you consent to receive communications from us electronically — including account, security, transactional, and tax-deadline notices — by email, in-app message, or notification, and you agree that electronic communications and records satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. You also agree that electronic signatures, acceptances, and consents you make within the Service are valid and binding. You may withdraw consent to non-essential marketing messages as described in Section 11 of our Privacy Policy, but essential service and compliance notices may continue as long as you have an account.
9. Third-party services
The Service relies on third-party providers to function — for example, cloud hosting and database services, email delivery, authentication and sign-in providers, and a payment processor for paid plans. Your use of those features may be subject to the third party’s terms, and we are not responsible for third-party services, websites, or content. Any integration or method you use to actually pay your employee (such as a bank, Zelle, PayPal, or Venmo) is a relationship between you and that provider, not with House.
10. Your data
As between you and House, you retain all rights to the information and records you enter into the Service (“Your Data”). You grant us a limited, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, process, transmit, display, and back up Your Data solely to operate, secure, support, and improve the Service and to provide it to you and the users you authorize. We may use de-identified and aggregated information that does not reasonably identify you or any individual to operate and improve the Service. Our handling of personal information is described in our Privacy Policy. You are responsible for the accuracy of Your Data and for having the right to provide any third party’s information (such as your employee’s) to the Service.
11. Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- Use the Service for any unlawful, fraudulent, or unauthorized purpose, or for business or commercial payroll it is not intended for;
- Access or attempt to access another user’s account or data without authorization;
- Interfere with, disrupt, overload, or probe the Service or its security, or circumvent any access or usage limits;
- Reverse engineer, decompile, copy, scrape, or create derivative works from the Service or its software, except to the extent this restriction is prohibited by law;
- Upload malicious code or content, or content that infringes, is defamatory, or violates another person’s rights or privacy;
- Resell, sublicense, or provide the Service to third parties, or build a competing product from it; or
- Misrepresent your identity or your authority to act for a household or its employees.
12. Intellectual property and license
The Service, including its software, design, text, graphics, and the House name and logo, is owned by House and its licensors and is protected by intellectual-property laws. Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to access and use the Service for your own personal, household use. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.
If you send us feedback or suggestions, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use them for any purpose without obligation to you.
13. Disclaimers
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE, OR THAT ANY CALCULATION, FORM, OR FIGURE IT PRODUCES IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE, OR CURRENT FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR VERIFYING ALL FIGURES AND FOR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE TO ACHIEVE YOUR INTENDED RESULTS. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain warranty exclusions, so some of the above may not apply to you.
14. Limitation of liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, HOUSE AND ITS OFFICERS, MEMBERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR — WITHOUT LIMITING the foregoing — ANY TAX, PENALTY, INTEREST, OR ASSESSMENT IMPOSED ON YOU, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US FOR THE SERVICE IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100). THESE LIMITS APPLY EVEN IF A REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
15. Indemnification
You will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless House and its officers, members, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to: your use of the Service; Your Data or information you provide about any third party; your violation of these Terms or of any law; or your obligations as a household employer, including any tax, filing, or payment obligations.
16. Dispute resolution and binding arbitration
Informal resolution first. Before starting an arbitration, you agree to email us at support@housepayroll.com and give us 30 days to resolve the dispute informally.
Binding arbitration. Except for the exceptions below, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, rather than in court. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this section. The arbitration will take place in Tennessee, or by video or telephone, or based on written submissions, at your election for claims seeking less than the amount that AAA rules allow for such elections.
Class-action and jury waiver. All claims must be brought in your individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceeding. You and House each waive any right to a jury trial.
Exceptions. Either party may bring an individual claim in small-claims court, and either party may seek injunctive or equitable relief in court for actual or threatened infringement or misuse of intellectual property or confidential information.
30-day opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing support@housepayroll.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms, stating your name, account email, and a clear statement that you opt out of arbitration. Opting out will not affect any other part of these Terms.
Time limit. Any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service must be filed within one year after the claim arose; otherwise it is permanently barred, to the extent permitted by law.
17. Governing law and venue
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. To the extent a dispute is not subject to arbitration under Section 16, you and House agree to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Tennessee, and waive any objection to that venue.
18. Suspension and termination
You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, in whole or in part, if you violate these Terms, if we reasonably believe it is necessary to protect the Service or others, or if we discontinue the Service. On termination, your license to use the Service ends. We will make your data available for export for a reasonable period where practicable, subject to our Privacy Policy and legal retention requirements. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 4, 5, and 10 through 17) will survive.
19. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide reasonable notice — for example by posting the updated Terms with a new effective date or by notifying you through the Service. Changes take effect when posted unless stated otherwise, and your continued use of the Service after that means you accept the updated Terms. Disputes are governed by the version of the Terms in effect when the dispute arose.
20. General
These Terms and the documents they incorporate are the entire agreement between you and House regarding the Service. If any provision is found unenforceable, it will be limited or severed to the minimum extent necessary, and the rest will remain in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. Section headings are for convenience only, and there are no third-party beneficiaries.
21. Contact us
Questions about these Terms? Contact Hint Holdings, LLC dba House at support@housepayroll.com.