Nanny Payroll Tax Calculator
Know exactly what you owe — and what your nanny takes home. Instant, accurate, no signup required.
⚙️ Enter Payroll Details
Fill in your nanny’s pay information below
Pay Information
Tax Settings
Optional Withholdings
📊 Payroll Breakdown
Annual & per-paycheck results
Fill in the form and click
“Calculate Payroll Taxes”
to see your full breakdown.
2026 Nanny Tax Rates at a Glance
These are the rates our calculator uses. They’re updated annually when the IRS publishes the new figures.
Social Security (Employee)
Withheld from nanny’s wages. Wage base: $176,100
Social Security (Employer)
Paid by you as the employer. Matches employee portion.
Medicare (Employee)
No wage base limit. Additional 0.9% over $200,000.
Medicare (Employer)
You pay this directly. Not withheld from nanny’s check.
FUTA (Federal Unemployment)
Employer-only. First $7,000 of wages only.
SUTA (State Unemployment)
State-specific. Typically 1–5%. Enter your state rate above.
2026 Threshold Note: You’re only required to pay FICA taxes if you pay your nanny $2,700 or more during the calendar year. FUTA applies if you pay $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter.
What Is the Nanny Tax?
The phrase “nanny tax” is really just a casual name for the payroll tax obligations that kick in when you hire a household employee—a nanny, au pair, housekeeper, or private senior caregiver. Once you pay that person $2,700 or more in 2026, the IRS expects you to act like any other employer.
That means withholding Social Security and Medicare from your nanny’s paycheck, matching those contributions out of your own pocket, paying federal and state unemployment taxes, and filing a Schedule H with your personal tax return each April. It’s not complicated once you know the rules. The nanny payroll tax calculator above handles all the math in seconds.
Employer Taxes vs. Employee Taxes: The Key Difference
This is where most families get confused. There are two sets of taxes in nanny payroll:
- Employee taxes: Withheld from your nanny’s paycheck (their share of FICA, federal income tax, state income tax).
- Employer taxes: Paid by you, out of your own pocket (your share of FICA, FUTA, SUTA).
When you budget for a nanny, you can’t just look at the hourly rate. Your true cost is the gross wage plus roughly 9–12% in employer-side taxes. Our calculator breaks this out clearly so there are no surprises.
Do I Have to Withhold Federal Income Tax?
Unlike FICA, federal income tax withholding is technically optional for household employees. But here’s the thing—if your nanny doesn’t have tax withheld, they’ll owe it all at once when they file in April. Most nannies will ask you to withhold it. They fill out a W-4, you run the numbers, and our calculator does that math for you based on their filing status.
The FUTA and SUTA Rules
FUTA is 6% of the first $7,000 in wages, but you get a credit of up to 5.4% for paying state unemployment taxes on time. That’s how you end up at the effective rate of 0.6%. States calculate SUTA differently—new employers typically get an “experience rate” in the 2–4% range. Enter yours in the calculator to get an accurate picture of your total employer cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
On top of your nanny’s gross wages, you’ll pay roughly 9–12% in employer taxes (Social Security, Medicare, FUTA, and state unemployment). For a nanny earning $50,000 per year, that adds up to about $4,500–$6,000 in additional employer costs. Use the calculator above to get the precise figure for your situation.
Technically, yes — but illegally. Paying “under the table” is tax evasion. The IRS has broad authority to audit household employers. If your nanny files for unemployment or applies for a mortgage and reveals their income, you can face back taxes, penalties up to 25%, and interest. It’s not worth the risk for what is usually a manageable tax bill.
Yes. You need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS even though you’re an individual household employer. You can apply for one free in minutes on the IRS website. You’ll use it on your Schedule H (Form 1040) and on your nanny’s W-2, which you must provide by January 31st each year.
The main ones: Schedule H (filed with your Form 1040 to report FICA and FUTA), Form W-2 (given to your nanny and filed with the SSA by January 31), Form W-3 (transmittal to the SSA), and your state’s equivalent unemployment tax filings. Some states require quarterly returns. Our calculator helps you know exactly what to report.
No. Overtime wages (hours over 40/week at 1.5x) are subject to the same FICA, FUTA, and income tax rules as regular wages. The only difference is the higher dollar amount. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, household employees are entitled to overtime — which means you need to account for it in your payroll calculations.
You can’t deduct nanny wages as a business expense if the care is personal. However, you can claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit (up to $3,000 for one child, $6,000 for two or more) or use a Dependent Care FSA to pay up to $5,000 in nanny wages with pre-tax dollars. That’s a real tax break worth hundreds to thousands per year.
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