Withholding Household Employee Taxes If your household employee will earn $2,800* or more per year, you must withhold Medicare and Social Security taxes, commonly referred to as FICA. If you will pay your household employee $2,800* or more this year in gross wages, you are required by federal law to withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, which are sometimes collectively referred to as FICA taxes. One half of the total FICA tax you owe the government is withheld from your household employee's wages. NannyPay will automatically calculate the correct amount of FICA withholding.  You will pay your [...]

Filing Schedule H and Paying the Federal Government Typically, household employers are required to report to the federal government once a year at tax time (April 15th) by filing a Schedule H (Household Employment Taxes) with their own income tax returns. The Schedule H lists the federal employment taxes you withheld or owe for the relevant tax year. Employment taxes may include FICA, and federal income tax withholding, your employer's share of FICA, and your Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) liability. You add all your employment tax liability reflected on your Schedule H to your Form 1040 or 1040A, and [...]

Paying your Household Employee Although the issue of compensation is generally between you and your household employee, the government sets certain minimum standards. The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping, and child labor standards affecting some full-time and part-time workers in the private sector. Domestic service workers such as full-time nannies, babysitters, housekeepers, chauffeurs, and cooks are covered by the FLSA if (1) their cash wages from one employer are at least $2,800* in a calendar year (or the amount designated pursuant to an adjustment provision in the Internal Revenue Code), or [...]

Paying someone to watch your child may seem like a routine affair, but technically you probably become an employer the moment you hire babysitting services in your home. While there are exceptions for sitters under 18, babysitters can legally be seen as employees. This means you might owe babysitter taxes to the government. Babysitter Tax Threshold for 2025 The babysitter tax threshold for 2025 is $2,800, which represents a $100 increase over the previous year. In simple words, if you pay a babysitter (age 18 or older) at least $2,800 in cash wages in 2025, the family and the [...]