Nanny Tax Desk

Schedule H instructions for 2026, line by line

Schedule H reports both halves of Social Security and Medicare, plus federal unemployment. On $36,000 of nanny pay, line 8 is $5,508 and line 26 is $5,550, which goes on Schedule 2 of your Form 1040. The calculator fills in each line for your pay.

Pay to your worker in 2026
You owe on top of pay $0 employer taxes for 2026

Schedule H, Part I, II and III
See the year-end steps

General information from IRS Publication 926, not tax advice. Check with a tax professional for your household.

The lines on $36,000, worked out

  1. Lines 1 and 2Social Security wages, $36,000 (only the first $184,500 counts). Times 12.4%, both halves: $4,464.
  2. Lines 3 and 4Medicare wages, all $36,000. Times 2.9%: $1,044.
  3. Lines 5 to 8Additional Medicare applies only over $200,000, and line 7 holds federal income tax only if you agreed to withhold it. Line 8 adds 2, 4, 6 and 7: $5,508.
  4. Lines 9 to 16If you paid $1,000 or more in a quarter of 2025 or 2026, answer yes on line 9. Paid your state on time, enter it on line 14; then the first $7,000 per worker times 0.6% on lines 15 and 16: $42.
  5. Lines 25 and 26Line 25 repeats line 8; line 26 adds line 16: $5,550. Of that, $2,754 is the half you held back from pay, so your own cost is $2,796.

Line numbers. These follow the 2025 Schedule H and its instructions, the latest the IRS has posted as of October 2026. Check them against the 2026 form when it posts. Lines 17 to 24 apply only if you did not pay your state on time or paid a state with no unemployment contributions.

General information from IRS Publication 926 (2026) and the Schedule H instructions, not tax advice. Check with a tax professional for your household.

Questions people ask next

Why is Schedule H twice what the calculator says I owe?

Lines 2 and 4 hold both your half and your worker's half. The half you held back from pay was the worker's money; you send it in with yours.

Do I file Schedule H if a payroll service paid?

It depends on how the service paid. If it filed Forms 941 and 940 for these wages, or acted as your agent under Form 2678, those taxes are not reported again on Schedule H. The year-end page has the table.

When is Schedule H due?

With your 2026 Form 1040, by April 15, 2027. If you don't file a 1040, Schedule H can be filed on its own by the same date.

What if I paid less than $3,000?

Lines 1 to 8 stay at zero for that worker. You may still owe federal unemployment if you paid $1,000 or more in household wages in any quarter.

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