Do I owe nanny taxes for someone who watches my kids at home?
Short answer
Usually yes, once you pay them enough. If you decide what the work is and how it's done, the IRS treats the person as your household employee, whether they come full time or a few afternoons a week. You then owe Social Security and Medicare taxes once you pay them $3,000 or more in 2026, and federal unemployment tax if your household workers' pay reached $1,000 in any calendar quarter of 2025 or 2026.
Answered by the NannyKeeper team
The numbers
“The worker is your employee if you can control not only what work is done, but how it is done.”
- Your employee when
- You control what they do and how
- Social Security and Medicare start at
- $3,000 to one worker in 2026
- Federal unemployment starts at
- $1,000 in a quarter
Sources
- IRS Publication 926 (2026), Household Employer's Tax Guide · Read October 25, 2026
What this means for you
- Part time doesn't change it, and neither does paying by the hour, the day or the job.
- Care in the sitter's own home is different: someone who watches your kids at their place generally isn't your employee.
- If an agency sends the caregiver and controls the work, they aren't your employee. Finding them through an agency or its list doesn't change that on its own: if you control the work, they're your employee.
- Wages you pay your spouse, your child under 21 and, in most cases, your parent are left out of the Social Security and Medicare count.
Read the full guide: Household employee: who counts and what you owe