Taxes and Withholdings for Nanny

7 parent questions ▼
Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Parent Q&A

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  • W2 or 1099 for Babysitters

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    Dec 28, 2021

    I am trying to make a decision around hiring my babysitter under W2 or 1099. Anyone have advice on how to make this decision?  I'm learning that by law if you pay a caregiver $2400+ per year, you need to hire them as an employee. I paid via venmo this year under that amount, but next year I may be paying over $2400 to the same babysitter.  If I want to start as an employee 2022, do I keep the same pay rate per hour even though more taxes get taken out so the net pay is less? Or switch to salary? The job is 25hrs/week, not full time.  I am mostly single parent income, so I don't have a lot of wiggle room in my funds.  What have others done? What is negotiable? What is ethical? Thanks!

    Dec 28, 2021

    I think you'll find that most nannies/babysitters are paid cash.  I think a big reason for it is the taxes.  I've yet to hear of a situation where the IRS has come after anyone for it.

    Dec 29, 2021

    We have had two nannies and paid both above the table, taking out taxes and paying into SDI, etc. For me the ethical questions are around protecting your nanny/sitter if something happens and they can't work. Our first nanny had to be out for a surgery and collected disability for nearly two months, and our second nanny stopped working for us at the start of the pandemic and collected unemployment (which because of the pandemic supplement made up for her entire lost wages! she was also part-time) for a few months until she felt ready to work again. In both cases we could not have afforded to pay their salaries while they were out - in the first case we had to hire a replacement, in the second case we also lost income due to COVID - so I am very glad our nannies had coverage from the state. If you are on a budget, you can decrease the cost a lot by setting up a share with another family, we did this both times and it was great for our babies to have friends and obviously it made it affordable for us.

    Jan 5, 2022

  • Paying Nanny Over the Table

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    Jun 12, 2020

    We are planning to hire a nanny, and it’s important to us to pay the appropriate taxes. However, I’m running into a lot of challenges in finding a nanny who is willing to be paid over the table. I understand for some the issue is about immigration status issues but it seems like for others it’s primarily an issue about take home pay, and the rest is just confusion on what it means for them because they have only ever been paid under the table. We’re willing to pay both the employee and employer portions of the tax (which I understand to be ~approx 15%).

    I was trying to find a good resource online targeted at nannies about the nanny tax and being paid over the table (including the benefits to them in terms of access to social security, paid leave, unemployment and disability benefits but I’m only finding articles aimed at employers) - does anyone have a suggestion for where I might find a good explanation that I can share with potential nannies?

    Jun 12, 2020

    Rather than try to convince prospective employees of the merits of being a legal employee (which protects both of you), I would make sure your advertisement/job posting clearly states that it is legal employment, and that way you screen out people who don't want to do that (for whatever reason). We had a household employee for childcare who we paid legally, so it is certainly possible to find someone. We also paid both shares of the tax; I think that is common. I would encourage you to stay the course because it provides so much more coverage in case they are hurt or injured in your employment, as well as the financial benefits you mention.

    Jun 15, 2020

    This is a great resource: https://domesticemployers.org/. Their mission is to improve wages and working conditions for domestic employees and I’ve found their info very helpful. Best wishes! 

    Jun 17, 2020

    I do agree it can be hard, I think at times it is also an issue of health insurance (or that has been shared with me, being paid under table allows one to still potentially qualify for Medicaid programs for themselves and family while making $) so I’m wondering about possibly looking into healthcare programs as well and offering to offset that expense? 

    It’s a lot, a complicated issue for sure. 
     

    Jun 17, 2020

    I can't help on finding the explanation to share, but our nanny (who we pay over the table) is looking for more work, as both of our kids will be in school this fall. She's fluent in Spanish but has limited English (her daughter or husband can help translate, if necessary). I speak limited Spanish and we've been doing well for over 5 years now. We love her to pieces but can't give her the hours she needs. If you'd like her info, please contact me via BPN.

    Jun 17, 2020

    You should contact Bananas www.bananasbunch.org. They might be able to help.

    Jun 17, 2020

  • Paid maternity leave for nanny?

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    Apr 8, 2020

    Hello!

    I am hoping to tap into the collective wisdom of BPN. My son's nanny is pregnant (due in June) and will take about 3 months off for maternity leave.  How have others navigated payment and maternity leave? I give her sick and vacation time, which would cover 3-4 weeks of her leave at full pay.  Have others paid their nannies additional maternity leave if their nanny is returning to work for them after their leave? And if so, how much & for how long have you paid (i.e. a percentage of salary a la state programs)?  I want to be a fair/good employer, but I will have to pay a temporary nanny to cover our nanny's leave and won't be able to afford paying both. 

    Additionally, this of course, has all been complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic - I am a healthcare worker and currently deployed as a disaster service worker, so telecommuting isn't an option for me.  Our nanny isn't able to continue work due to her being pregnant and risk of exposure to COVID-19 vis a vis my work.  My intention had been to keep paying her her regular wage during the pandemic, but soon I will need to start paying a substitute childcare provider and won't be able to afford to pay both.

    I'm curious for anyone's thoughts/previous experience with nanny maternity leave, including perspectives in the era of COVID-19- specifically any thoughts on how I can be a fair/decent employer to my nanny, while facing the reality of needing to use a substitute nanny for 5 months.

    Thank you in advance and hope everyone is surviving!

    Apr 8, 2020

    She should qualify for SDI and PFL through the state if you are paying into those systems. They each cover up to 70% of her salary, depending on how much she makes, and she could use her sick and vacation time to top that up to get to full pay if she wants to. My first son's nanny had to take SDI when she was out for about two months for surgery, and my current nanny for my second son filed for unemployment, which should actually pay her as much as she normally makes due to the additional payment from the stimulus package, because we aren't having her come during shelter in place.

    Apr 15, 2020

    Hopefully you have been paying your nanny legally and withholding state disability, unemployment, worker's comp, etc. All she has to do is file with the state and she'll receive payments while she's off. I think it's 2 months before an 4-6 months after but that may have changed since my nanny took maternity leave.  If you have not been doing state withholding for your nanny, perhaps she can still file and you can pay SDI retroactively. Check with the state EDD.  Otherwise I think you owe it to your nanny to make the payments to her that she would have received if you'd paid her legally. 

    Apr 15, 2020

    If you're paying her over the table she's likely eligible for state disability. You can use the paid leave she's accumulated to top that up so that she has her full income. So even with just using the paid leave she has, that could get you to more like 2 months of full pay between you and state SDI. If you're able to continue to pay half salary for one month that could get you through the full three months without either of you having to bear the full financial burden.

    Apr 15, 2020

    If you’ve paid your nanny legally, they should be able to file for disability when the baby is born, plus additional time for bonding under Paid Family Leave. You might continue to pay them during the pregnancy, and then just make up the difference between the PFL payments and their regular wages. 

    Apr 15, 2020

    Only thing I can contribute depends on if you’re also paying into the state UI and SDI as an employer. I’m a father and was working part time before Covid. So I didn’t qualify for their paid leave policy. But the state of California considers bonding as a disability claim. So she could apply for it through there. They base it off your wages so whatever you were paying her, she would get wages (I think six weeks worth) similar to before.

    Also, I just applied for unemployment and the unemployment structure is very generous right now. Since she can’t work due to the virus (exposure and risk) you could lay her off and she could apply. It’s not a simple process and they say it’ll take 3-4 weeks to process. But it might be worth the option to talk to her about.

    I applied cause my employer paid me off/said no more work for me in this covid season but that they want to hire me back when they can bring me back on.

    Apr 15, 2020

    Regarding maternity leave, we paid our nanny a flat 'maternity bonus' that wasn't quite equivalent to full pay given we were paying another care giver during that time, but probably equated to ~60% pay. One idea could be to pay it in waves (so that perhaps it's not as big of a financial hit to you), assuming she can get by if you pay it in waves. 

    On the current situation, we're in a similar boat and paying full pay for our nanny (who is not coming given concerns + her own childcare situation) and my son's preschool. Eventually we may have to pay a temporary childcare provider as our current set up isn't sustainable. I haven't solved what we'll do here, but have been thinking about paying her full time in the short term given her financial needs right now, and then if SIP continues for say another 3 months (And we bring in another care provider), then this fall, for 3 months, we pay her 1/2 time or something. Again, not solved yet, and as we get more information in the coming weeks, the situation may change, but that's my current creative idea to ensure she is financially supported right now, but to also balance our family's longer term cash position. 

    Apr 15, 2020

  • Calculating Withholdings and Payments for Nannyshare

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    Sep 28, 2019

    Hello BPN,

    I'd love to hear from another family participating in a nannyshare how they are navigating calculating withholdings and payments. Both families have EIN (primarly to use pre-tax FSA dependent care funds). We've contemplated alternating weeks, as her last employers did (but how does this look if we were to be audited?) or each paying our part each week (but then it looks like we are paying less than minimum wage).

    I'd love to hear what people have done, however, only suggestions that are from a similar situation (where both families have EIN and want to pay taxes) are actually relevant. 

    Thanks y'all,
    Emily

    Sep 28, 2019

    Hi Emily, We are in a nanny share and use Poppins Payroll (www.poppinspayroll.com) to manage our nanny's payroll and make all the tax calculations.  Each family has an account ($39 a month) and each family enters our nanny's rate and hours through their online Poppins Payroll account.  Poppins makes all the calculations and does the direct deposits from each family into our nanny's account.  They also handle all the tax registrations, payments and filings.  It makes it super simple.

    Oct 2, 2019

    We were in a nanny share where both families reported earnings and withheld taxes and we used Homepay to run payroll and tax reporting. Each family paid half the hourly rate. Each family had their own EIN. There were no issues with minimum wage. Homepay was very helpful in making sure we complied with all applicable laws. 

    Oct 2, 2019

    Hi there. We are actually in a family share and heres how it works for us. Each family does have to pay separately or the family that does not report could get in trouble. The wages that each family pays is reported with the annual 1040 filing via Schedule H.  Regarding the minimum wage issue, as long as the nanny is earning over minimum wage an hour (even if split between two families) that complies with the law. Each family can just document how much she is earning per hour total and how much of that total each family is responsible for in a quick sentence or two document. I found this info helpful when navigating https://www.poppinspayroll.com/nanny-taxes-california

    Oct 2, 2019

  • Finding a nanny who wants above board pay

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    Aug 2, 2019

    We are looking for a nanny who speaks Spanish, but have been having difficulty finding one willing to be paid above board.  We are trying to understand how paying above board will affect the cost for us and pay for the nanny. I'd also be grateful for the opportunity to speak with people offline about this as well as we are finding it difficult to navigate the various systems. Thanks so much! 

    Aug 2, 2019

    We paid above board and our accountant recommended that we use MyHomePay to facilitate everything, http://www.myhomepay.com/. (It was called Breedlove when we used it and has since been acquired by Care.com and rebranded.)

    While it's both the law and the right thing to do, it does add a lot of costs and paperwork for all parties. It was much harder to find a nanny who was willing to get paid above board. Ultimately, we increased our nanny's base rate so that her take-home pay was essentially "market rate." (All of our neighborhood nannies talked very openly with each other about pay and benefits, for better or worse.)

    Aug 7, 2019

    We pay legally, and use Homepay. The service has been good, and makes payment easy.
    The "additional" cost, or amount that is the result of legal requirement to pay taxes and fund social benefits, is actually split between you and the employee. We pay about $35/week for taxes and social benefits, and are in a share where the rate is 12.5 for each family per hour.

    Aug 7, 2019

    Is above board the same as over the table? I have a native Spanish speaking nanny who insisted on being paid over the table and we agreed. I'm happy to talk with you about it.

    Jenn

    Aug 7, 2019

  • Nanny Pay Taxes

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    Jan 23, 2018

    I am starting to do research on hiring a nanny. We want to pay the nanny on the books with all the required taxes , etc. I have two questions: 1) have folks found it more difficult to find a nanny willing to be paid on the books and 2) did you find that the nanny had a higher pay rate and if so, what was the range?

    Jan 23, 2018

    We paid on the books, as it was important to us (and also, you can't claim the child care FSA pre-tax dollars otherwise, and it can complicate workers' comp insurance if you are hosting, too). We had a share with each child, and while both nannies preferred we pay under the table, they agreed to be paid on the books when we said that was a condition of joining the share. With the first nanny, the rate of pay was the same. With the second, we paid slightly more, but that was because it was an unusual situation where the other family continued to pay under the table, so we had to raise our rate of pay to the minimum wage since in the state's eyes we were the only employer. I would not choose that kind of setup again as it was a pain--if it's on the books, everything should be on the books. I would not otherwise have been willing to pay more--you will pay quite a bit in employer taxes so it is already more costly to pay legally, and there are plenty of wonderful nannies willing to work on the books. Notably, the first nanny we worked with took medical leave that was covered by SDI at one point and, after the share ended, received unemployment while she was lining up her next job. She would not have been eligible for either of these had we not paid on the books.

    Jan 24, 2018

    We pay our nanny on the books and this was non-negotiable when we were searching for a nanny. In answer to your first question, yes, it did narrow the pool of nannies. We screened out about half the nannies by phone just by asking them if they were willing to have taxes withheld. We ended up interviewing six nannies. A couple did say they wanted a higher wage if we were going to withhold. One said she was okay being paid on the books for all regular pay, but wanted to be paid overtime in cash. (We were also non-negotiable on following wage and hour law.)

    In the end, we were pleasantly surprised that the nanny we liked the best was willing to be paid on the books and did not require additional wages to do so. We pay $12 per hour per family for a two child nanny share. So the nanny makes $24 per hour for regular pay and $36 per hour for overtime. 

    Jan 24, 2018

  • Guide for calculating nanny taxes?

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    Apr 12, 2017

    looking for a guide to paying a nanny with taxes taken out. If anyone has a self made spreadsheet or state and federal taxes spelled out, that'd be great. I'm finding conflicting information on various sites and I don't really want to pay for a payroll service. 

    Thanks in advance. 

    Apr 12, 2017

    Using payroll service is the easiest way to make sure it is done right, but you can definitely do it yourself.  I would start by reading IRS Publication 926, IRS Publication 15, and California DE 44.  Then you can create a spreadsheet for yourself based on your arrangement and tax situation. Good luck. 

    Apr 26, 2017

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Questions

Paying a nanny legally

April 2012

I am about to start a nanny share with another family and we are not sure how to pay our nanny's salary legally. How is this done? Both families are completely clueless. Thanks for all tips & resources. New momma

The NOLO series ''The Employer's Legal Handbook'' is a good resource for current practices about your responsibilities as an employer who chooses to pay their nanny ''over the table.'' Hope this helps! X

Hi - go to both the IRS and CA EDD sites and get the guides for Household Employers - they have all the info you need there. It took me a bit of time to sort out what I need to do, when, but it's pretty easy after that. That said, there are ''nanny payroll'' services who will do it all for you. Sometimes I think I should have gone that route CA Mom

I recommend using Intuit.com's household employee online service. This service will walk you through everything you need to pay your nanny legally - federal and state taxes, etc. They have excellent support by chat or phone (although wait times on hold can be a bit long). It is $10/mo I think. This service also allows and organizes direct deposit into your nanny's account, which I find incredibly helpful. It is a great place to start. (You have to do a whole lot of other things, like make sure your employee has a valid SSN, register as an employer with the state, pay state and federal taxes, etc. But the web service will help you with that.) I can't imagine figuring out the taxes, etc. on my own without some software or web based system or other professional help. With the web based service, it is easy. And the right thing to do. also paying nanny legally

It is good that you want to go the legal route as you will protect yourself from liability and be able to claim deductions on your annual tax return and use a FSA account in your workplace if it is offered. And your nanny will have contributions paid to Social Security and reportable income if she applies for credit. Now, for your questions. You will need to pay payroll taxes on her earnings and take out her share of Medicare and Social Security. You are also encouraged but not required to take out the employees portion of unemployment, disability, and income taxes. Some people go it alone and manage this themselves but some people find it too cumbersome and hire a service. There are many services out there online. In addition to taxes other important considerations are that your employee must be paid minimum wage and overtime. You should also carry Workers Comp insurance which is a fairly inexpensive add-on to your home owner's or renters insurance.   Linda

There is a lot to know! The BPN nanny survey gives a good clue as to the pay rate. And you should know that in California, you must pay overtime for work over 8 hours a day. As for the taxes, there is a great local service called Savvy Nanny Pay. Their info is at www.savvynannypay.com They are a web-based business where you just tell them how many hours your nanny works and her pay rate and they calculate the taxes. They tell you when taxes are due by email, how much you owe, and then you just click and they send your taxes off to all the different agencies. Each time you pay your nanny you just tell them how many hours your nanny worked and their pay rate and they calculate everything for you, providing a pay stub with all the details. You can also print checks or use direct deposit to pay your nanny if you want. There is a lot of information required during the setup like your Employer Identification Number, bank account information etc. but the system guides you through it. They are really inexpensive compared to other services out there and based in Berkeley. I think they are just wonderful:) Avery

There are services you can use to figure out and pay your nanny taxes (www.mybreedlove.com is one) -- will probably run you around $300 a year. I did it myself and havent found it too complicated, most of the time is im the setup. You have to register with the state and federal government as an employer, and there are a couple forms to fill out. Then you have to calculate and pay the state taxes likely quarterly and the federal taxes with your annual return. I have an instruction sheet and google spreadsheet set up that i dont mind sharing though i cant guarantee its accurate.

A few years ago we used Intuit (formerly Paycycle), which for $20/month gave us all the guidance we needed about how much and when we needed to pay all the various taxes. Each family runs their own payroll and pays their own taxes as if they were the only employer. The only downside of this is that she may not have enough withheld for federal income tax since each family is only paying part of it. You might ask if she wants you to put aside a little extra before you pay her for her for her own personal income taxes. What, me employer?
 

Hiring/Paying nanny taxes

Feb 2011

I'm looking for advice from people who report and pay nanny taxes. Do you find it's best to withhold taxes from your nanny's wages and pay that for her/him along with the employer contribution or is it easier to pay full wages directly to your nanny? If you withhold, when you're hiring how much per hour do you offer a prospective nanny? I see that $15/hr seems to be the going rate for one child for in-home care. Is that gross or net hourly wage? Was it a challenge to find nanny candidates receptive to having income reported? Are there any online resources/tools you would recommend to educate/prepare to calculate and pay fed/state taxes myself? A big thank you to any and all who can offer some guidance to this new mom. Ashley

I pay taxes for our nanny and I do it myself. It's a bit of work to get it set up and maintain the system, but I don't find it a big deal overall. At least not big enough that I'd hand it over to a service that charged a lot for it. It mainly takes being handy with spreadsheets. The instructions can be found in the web (google ''household employer federal'' and ''household employer California''). That said, if you're a new mom and sleep-deprived, it will be more confusing.

To the details: there are things you have to withhold (social security - employee's share, medicare - employee's share, state disability) and things you have to pay as the employer (social security - your share, medicare - your share, federal unemployment, CA unemployment, CA employment training tax). There are things you can choose to withhold if you agree to do so with your nanny: federal and CA personal income tax. I've done it both ways at the request of different nannies. Adding the personal income tax is a little more trouble to look up the amounts, but not a whole lot. It was a challenge to find nannies who wanted their income reported. Good luck. Cathryn

We've used an online service called Breedlove for many years. It withholds the correct amount of taxes from her paycheck. Very happy with the service. love my nanny

I used Paycycle online service for my nanny - I think it's been bought by Intuit now. The nanny I hired assumed she would be paid under the table but I wanted to do it legally, not only for ethical reasons but also because I intended to take the childcare deduction on my income tax. So the nanny and I agreed on a monthly salary, and then I increased the salary to add on the taxes and withholdings that would get deducted from her paycheck. That way she got the amount she wanted. She worked for me for almost five years, and I was glad we did the withholdings because she qualified for state disability payments when she took off for three months after having a baby (her sister pitched in for her while she was on leave.)  She also paid into social security for those years, and after working for me, she only accepted legal nanny jobs because she wanted to plan for her future.

It is not much trouble and not very expensive to use an online payroll service. Your relationship with your nanny is more professional if you treat her as a legal employee and pay her legally, so you are doing the right thing!

Nanny wants me to underreport her salary

May 2005

My nanny wants to be paid partially under the table to retain her medi-cal benefits, I'm concerned about an audit, does anyone else under-report? concerned tax payer


Probably MOST nannies want you to underreport, and who can blame them? They are not exactly living ''high on the hog,'' and families who hire them don't pay their medical expenses, plus they have no safety net to fall back on (Social security, etc.) So, I think it is fine and helpful to underreport. You both need to agree upon what to report (all of the details-- hours reported, cost per hour reported) and stick to it. No one loses out. Doing the same


Many people under-report. Additionally, many people don't report at all. Make sure all non-reported income is paid in cash, never with a check.

The second option is to pay for her health insurance, so that you don't need to worry about audits, and she doesn't need to worry about qualifying for medi-cal.

The third option is to pay her a living wage over-the-table so she can afford regular health insurance. This would likely be a much larger financial responsibility for you.

Weigh your options and see what works best. Good luck.

 

Handling mess with nanny giving false SSN

Mar 2005

I need advice on how to handle an nanny arrangement gone awry. When we hired our nanny last fall, we made it clear that we wanted to do everything aboveboard. Now it turns out she gave us a false Social Security Number. This was the SSN we filed all the paperwork under, did the withholding with, put on her pay sheets, etc.

How this happened: We didn't ask to see her Social Security card. Instead she showed us a valid alien registration receipt card with permission to work. But now she told us that she doesn't have an SSN and doesn't think she can get one because of something she did after she got the work permission. She didn't want to talk about the details, but I'm guessing immigration. I guess she was desperate for a job. (We checked her references, but I'm now assuming she was paid under the table.)

We only just figured this out because the electronic filing deadline is end of March. Now we're in a bind. Does anyone have advice on how to clean up the taxes? I don't think we're legally at fault, but it looks like a big mess. Do we need to see a lawyer? Any recommendations?

Though I'm angry about this (and I fired the nanny -- a whole different source of heartache, since my child loved her, not to mention scrambling for childcare, oh), I want to try to do this in a way that minimizes the trouble she'll get into. If state and federal agencies have her name and address and a false SSN, will that permanently prevent her from getting a real SSN? From fixing whatever immigration problem is behind it? Is there anyone she can turn to for help? Anon


I can't help you much with the legal details regarding your taxes and your nanny's false SSN, but I encourage you to seek a solution that minimizes the nanny's exposure to deportation, especially if she has family here. Looking at this situation from your perspective, I can see how you would be frustrated and angry: you were very clear with the nanny, and she lied to you. However, I know many people who are not legal in the U.S. and who use false social security numbers to work. Believe it or not, this is very common. An entire illegal economy buzzes around us. Not just the people caring for our children, but also mowing our lawns, serving us coffee, cleaning our homes, etc. From the nanny's perspective, she was just doing what most of her friends and family do in order to work in the U.S. Good luck with the tax trouble, and I hope the nanny can stay under the radar. anonymous

 

Paying taxes in advance

April 2003

I just finished our taxes, and I have learned something about ''nanny taxes'' that I hope will help save some of you time and money.

We were very concerned about paying the proper nanny taxes, so we paid Breedlove (an accounting firm specializing in nanny taxes) $375 to calculate what we should pay quarterly. We dutifully sent checks to the federal and state government every quarter.

When I did my taxes with TurboTax, it figured out what we owed in ''household employment taxes''--this turned out to be what we had already paid, over the four quarters, as nanny tax. But it turned out that we didn't really need to pay quarterly; all that is is estimated tax, and if you have enough withheld from your paycheck, you shouldn't have to pay quartly estimated taxes. Because of this misunderstanding, we are getting a huge tax refund this year. Next year, we won't bother paying any nanny taxes in advance; we'll just let TurboTax calculate what we owe at the end of the year, and assume that it will be covered by what we've had withheld. This might not work for you if you have only a minimal amount of taxes withheld from your paycheck, but you can ask to have more withheld and save yourself the hassle of dealing with nanny taxes.

Maybe all of this is obvious (or inapplicable) to most people, but it wasn't to us. And, clearly, companies such as Breedlove would rather that you not figure it out!

Now wiser about Nanny Taxes


I want to post a correction to what appeared under ''Unsolicited Good Advice'' in the last issue of the Advice line.

While it is absolutely correct that you can adjust your federal withholding to include your FEDERAL quarterly payments of nanny taxes, it is IMPOSSIBLE to do so for California purposes. California part of nanny taxes is composed of multiple taxes that are small in amount, but high in underpayment penalties if not paid on time or underpaid in amount. There is no way to take care of California payments through increased payroll withholding, so one does need to either hire a tax service, or buy a tax software or invest personal time and work with spreadsheets and booklets to take care of these timely.

Btw, my advice is un-biased - I specialize in income taxes, NOT payroll taxes.

Maria U. Ku, C.P.A.

 

Figuring out taxes and withholdings

Sept 2002

On the website there is an archived discussion in response to the question of whether there are software packages that assist in calculating/reporting nanny taxes -- but no one actually answered the question! Instead, various third-party services were recommended. For those of us who are planning to do it on our own, ARE there federal and/or California software packages available -- and if so, what are they, and did you find them helpful? Thanks! Gretchen


Gretchen- There is no nanny tax software for state- because you are paying income tax for nanny, plus disability tax, plus something else, all going to 3 different state agencies with different filing dates 4 times per year. The tax calculations are relatively simple, it's all the paperwork that's confusing! If you go online to the CA EDD, I think you can ask them to send you forms. The federal form is probably in regular tax software, Schedule H or something. I assume there's no software because it's not a big market. I know one very organized person that does the state stuff herself, but most dual income families with nannies end up shelling out for help I assume. The services seem vastly overpriced, but my regular tax attorney says it would cost the same for him to do it, becasue of the need for quarterly filing. This is probably why so many people don't file- saving money is one thing (10-12% of nanny salary), the hassle just adds to the insult! Kate


Sept 2001

I use a service to handle all of the taxes, SS, Medicare, etc. and I'm very pleased with them. They do absolutely everything: I give them my nanny's name, social security number, and number of allowances she wants to claim, and in return, I receive a payroll form showing me what to withhold from her check, and the appropriate forms for state and federal everything, completed in full, with a space marked for me to sign and a note about where to send the check(s). I am not required to think at all: it's perfect. The service is called Breedlove & Associates, phone 1-888-BREEDLOVE. They're located in Texas but have clients all over including California. Fran


Bananas in Oakland has a guide to paying Nanny Taxes. It didn't look all that complicated, but it did look expensive! For us, it became more than we could afford very rapidly, even with sharing a nanny. And of course, sharing makes it more complicated!

By the way, if you live in the Oakland/Berkeley area, you can sign up to the Bananas newsletter for free (we live in San Leandro, and would have to pay a small subscription fee). They may be willing to mail you a copy of the appropriate guides, whether or not you are on their mailing list.

Dawn


Bananas has a one-sheet summary of what you need to do, including a little chart that shows how much you'll really pay once you add on the various taxes. Actually paying the taxes is pretty easy, since most can be paid when you file your own taxes, using Schedule H (I think). Of course, you also need to deduct the appropriate amounts from your babysitter's paychecks...

In my view, he cumbersome part is getting all the forms, since they come from several different State and Federal agencies. (If anyone has found a single source packet of all needed materials, I'd sure like to know about it! It may be that if you use an accountant he or she has such a packet; or, maybe by this time Bananas has developed one.) In short, I found that setting up my files was onerous, but once I had everything in place it was really no problem.

Barbara


1998

Someone recently asked for information about the procedures for paying nanny taxes. My husband and I have been through the terribly complex procedures and I am happy to discuss them with you. Send me e-mail at meyersa [at] mail.law.berkeley.edu. If you have not already done this, take a look at the IRS website at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/cover.html . I found the downloadable publications on this issue to be pretty clear. I think California tax dept also has a website you can look at for information but I don't know the address. Alison


My wife and I recently hired a nanny for our 6 month old son. Both being CPA's we thought that we could handle the employer tax issues for household help. We started by downloading Publication 926 from the Internal Revenue Service Internet site. This document provides good advice about the federal taxes. However, we were unable to find any good information about the State of California taxes. Confused by what to do we did some more research on the Internet. By luck we came across a company at http://www.4nannytaxes.com/default.htm that prepares all necessary correspondence with the taxing authorities and will take care of all withholdings including W-2's and Schedule H. Their services are priced individually or as a package. Overall, their rates are very reasonable. Andrew

 

Do-it-yourself vs. payroll service

Feb 2002

Do you pay nanny taxes yourself? I'm looking for some recommendations on what I need to do to start paying taxes, both federal and state, for our nanny starting in Jan. 2002. I'd like to do this myself verses paying a nanny payroll service or accountant, although I'd like to hear pros and cons about using a third party. Who have you used and what is the cost? Is it worth the hassle factor to do it myself? Do you know of any software that I can use for keeping track and paying nanny taxes (Turbo Tax for Nannies???) Thanks! Betsy


I just set up an excel spreadsheet and it worked out pretty well for me. Since I only paid the taxes every quarter, I had to ''relearn'' what I did each time, so take notes! I don't think it's that hard and I hear the cost is kind of steep for someone else to handle it. Lisa


Your nanny needs an SSN, which she/he can get whether a US citizen or not. You need a fed Tax ID no. You can fill out the application, which you can get online and fax it in. Start taking out .076 of her/his paycheck to pay Soc. Sec. tax and you will be matching it All is paid when you send in your taxes. Debe


Is it worth the hassle to prepare your nanny tax materials yourself? I vote absolutely NOT. It is ridiculous how much work is entailed in paying nanny taxes. We use Breedlove & Associates (1-888-BREEDLOVE). The convenience is well worth the cost (about $350). You provide them with the nanny's name, address, social sec. #, salary, and allowances, and they do it ALL. You receive the forms completely filled out with the place to sign and date highlighted at the appropriate times of the year. And believe me, it seems like every time you turn around there is another one due. We changed our nanny's salary several times as her hours changed, she got raises, etc., and they would always tell me immediately what the new withholdings were. I never had to worry whether it was done correctly; whether I had the latest version of the form, whether I'd filled it out correctly, etc. I know there are prepared software packages, but by the time you install the software, read the instructions, etc. not to mention USE IT however many times a year you have to do this....best case scenario I can't imagine it taking less than several hours and worst case it could be many many more. Fran


Breedlove and Associates performs this service for around $350 per year (plus a one-time sign up fee). They are based in Texas but do household taxes (and payroll services) for all states. Their number is 1-888-BREEDLOV. When I researched it, they were far cheaper than any tax professional I could find. lawsonfmly


I just started paying nanny taxes in January. At first I set up an excel spreadsheet and researched on the web all the different taxes. You have to get an employer ID from fed. and state; once you figure out how and where, they are pretty easy - a quick fax for the federal EID and a phone call for the state. The Soc. Sec. and Medicare are pretty straightforward, but state withholdings are amazingly baroque. There are several different components (such as state disability, unemployment ins., etc.). The percentage amt. for one of them depends on when you hire, so basically you have to wait for the state to tell you how much. To make a long story short, I am sharing the nanny with a friend, and she was worried about getting all the tax payments in on time, and the pay check was getting complicated with our schedules that change every week, so she found an online nanny tax system that is GREAT. It's called Pay Cycle and it's https://www.paycycle.com/ Everything is online, though there is also excellent phone support, and it is $20 a month, which is cheaper than other services we researched. It's based in the South Bay. I highly recommend it, if you like to do things online and you don't want to hassle with computing taxes and remembering when to send in your payments. One thing I really like is I can tell them what hourly rate I want to pay my nanny, and they figure out the withholdings so she still gets that rate (because we are paying the taxes.) It turned out that I had computed the state withholdings wrong, plus I had a couple of errors in my spreadsheet so that Medicare was way off. The support person was just great about fixing everything up, and now I just go to the website every two weeks and enter the number of hours. I get a paystub to print out, and a check amt. (you can also set it up for direct deposit but I just write out a check to my nanny.) They track taxes and remind me when it's time to pay them. I highly recommend them. Ginger


I thought I would add a few more pieces of info. I've picked up while paying nanny taxes: 1) Employment Development Dept.(EDD) has an informative booklet on Household Employees. It can tell you at what point($$ per qtr paid) you are responsible for State Disability, Unemployment taxes etc. 2) The IRS publication 926, Household Employer's Tax Guide helps you with the federal aspects of paying a household employee.

My employee wanted me to with hold federal taxes, which are easy to do. I refused to with hold state taxes(you are not required to), b/c it gets too complicated. I've designed a spreadsheet for paying my nanny that computes the Federal, soc, sec., medicare, unemployment and disability taxes. It will also create a W-2 for you at the end of the year(so you can then type the info onto the actual IRS W-2 form). If your interested let me know and I can email it to you.

Once you have a system down for computing payroll, taxes etc. it's really quite easy. Maya