Nanny Tax DeskBabysitter tax calculator for 2026
Pay one sitter $3,000 or more in cash in 2026 and you both owe Social Security and Medicare, 7.65% each. A sitter paid $150 a week for 40 weeks ($6,000) costs you about $495 in employer taxes, and $459 comes out of their pay.
General information from IRS Publication 926, not tax advice. Check with a tax professional for your household.
A regular sitter, worked out
- $6,000 for the yearThat is over $3,000, so Social Security (6.2%, $372) and Medicare (1.45%, $87) apply to all of it, for you and for the sitter.
- Federal unemployment$6,000 over four quarters is $1,500 a quarter, past the $1,000 test, so you owe 0.6% of the first $7,000: $36.
- Your total$495 on top of pay, plus your state's unemployment tax if your state counts you. Hold back $459 from the sitter's pay over the year, or pay it yourself.
- Under $3,000A summer sitter paid $2,800 owes no Social Security or Medicare and gets no W-2. If $1,000 or more of that fell in one quarter, you still owe federal unemployment: $17.
General information from IRS Publication 926 (2026), not tax advice. Check with a tax professional for your household.
Questions people ask next
Do I owe taxes for a teenage babysitter?
Pay to a worker who was under 18 at any time in 2026 is not counted for Social Security and Medicare unless household work is their main job, and a student's is not. Federal unemployment can still apply. That is IRS Publication 926's rule.
Does a date-night sitter count?
The $3,000 line is per worker for the year. A sitter who comes now and then rarely reaches it; add up what you paid each sitter for all of 2026 to check.
Is my babysitter self-employed?
A sitter who works in your home, on your schedule, doing what you ask, is usually your household employee in the IRS's view. A sitter who runs their own day care business from their home is usually not.
What about a part-time nanny?
The same rules apply: it is the yearly total that counts, not the hours. At $15,000 a year you owe $1,190 in employer taxes before state tax.