NANNY TAX CALCULATOR · RUNS IN YOUR BROWSER · NOTHING UPLOADED

What does a nanny really cost once the payroll taxes are in?

Type the hourly rate, hours and your state's unemployment figures. The tool adds Social Security and Medicare on both sides, federal and state unemployment and workers' compensation, shows what the nanny takes home, and can turn a take-home number into the gross rate that produces it.

Arithmetic on assumptions you type. Not tax, legal or financial advice. The example figures are placeholders, not a quote for any state or year; check the tax-year figures against IRS Publication 926.

1. The pay

2. Federal tax choices

3. State costs and tax-year figures

Questions people ask

Do I have to pay nanny taxes?

If you pay a household employee (nanny, housekeeper, home health aide) cash wages at or above the yearly IRS threshold, you owe Social Security and Medicare tax on those wages, and you may owe federal unemployment (FUTA) tax once wages reach $1,000 in a calendar quarter. A nanny you hire directly is usually your employee, not an independent contractor, even if you pay them in cash or they ask for it.

How much does it really cost to employ a nanny?

Wages plus the employer half of Social Security and Medicare (7.65%), FUTA (as little as $42 a year with the state credit), state unemployment tax and workers' compensation where required. This tool adds them up for your hours and shows the true cost per hour. If you also pay the nanny's half of FICA the cost rises by another 7.65%.

What is a nanny's take-home pay if I agree to a net hourly rate?

Families often agree to a take-home number. Switch the rate to 'take-home' and the tool grosses it up: at $25 an hour net with only FICA withheld the gross is about $27.07, and the extra 7.65% employer share and other taxes sit on top of that.

How do I file household employment taxes?

Report them on Schedule H with your Form 1040, withhold the employee's share from pay, and give the nanny a Form W-2 by January 31. You can avoid a separate quarterly deposit by raising your own W-4 withholding or estimated tax payments. Payroll services do the same work for a fee; this tool only does the arithmetic.

Does the nanny tax apply if I pay under the threshold?

Below the yearly household-employee threshold no Social Security or Medicare tax is due, but FUTA can still apply if you pay $1,000 or more in any quarter. Check the current-year thresholds in IRS Publication 926 and type them in; they change every year.

Is this tax advice?

No. It is arithmetic on figures you type, and state rules (unemployment tax, paid leave, disability, minimum wage, overtime) vary. Confirm the figures with the IRS and your state, or a qualified professional.

Not decided

Whether your nanny is an employee (usually yes), your state's paid-leave, disability, minimum-wage and overtime rules, local payroll taxes, the child and dependent care credit or dependent care FSA you may claim for these wages, Medicare surtax on high earners, and whether a payroll service is worth its fee. Rates and thresholds change every year.

Related tools: the dependent care FSA vs credit calculator and the estimated tax penalty calculator.