Nanny Tax DeskHousehold employment taxes for 2026
If you pay someone to work in your home and you direct the work, they are usually your household employee. At $3,000 or more in 2026 you owe Social Security and Medicare, and at $1,000 in a quarter, federal unemployment. A housekeeper paid $25,000 costs about $1,955 a year in employer taxes.
General information from IRS Publication 926, not tax advice. Check with a tax professional for your household.
The three taxes on $25,000
- Social Security, 6.2% each$1,550 from you and $1,550 from the worker, on all $25,000.
- Medicare, 1.45% each$363 from you and the same from the worker.
- Federal unemployment0.6% of the first $7,000, $42, all yours.
- State unemploymentYour state's rate times pay up to its wage base. Type both into the calculator from your state's notice.
Who counts: the IRS lists babysitters, caretakers, house cleaners, domestic workers, drivers, health aides, housekeepers, maids, nannies, private nurses and yard workers as possible household employees. What decides it is control: you say what work is done and how.
General information from IRS Publication 926 (2026), not tax advice. Check with a tax professional for your household.
Questions people ask next
Is a house cleaner from a cleaning company my employee?
Usually not. When an agency or company sends the worker, sets the terms and pays them, the worker is the company's. A cleaner you hire directly and direct is usually yours.
Does a yard worker count?
A gardener with their own business, who brings their own tools and serves many clients, is usually self-employed. One who works only for you on your terms may be your employee.
Do I owe for more than one worker?
The $3,000 line is per worker. The $1,000 federal unemployment test adds up all household workers in each quarter.
Is income tax part of it?
You do not have to withhold federal income tax from a household worker. You may if you both agree and they give you a Form W-4.