How much are nanny taxes?
Short answer
As the employer you pay 7.65% of your nanny's cash wages for Social Security and Medicare, plus federal unemployment tax of 0.6% on the first $7,000 you pay them, which is $42 a year when you get the full state credit. Your nanny owes another 7.65%, which you withhold from their pay or choose to cover yourself. State unemployment tax comes on top, at a rate your state sets.
Answered by the NannyKeeper team
The numbers
“Your share is 7.65% (6.2% for social security tax and 1.45% for Medicare tax) of the employee's social security and Medicare wages.”
- Your Social Security and Medicare
- 7.65% of cash wages (6.2% + 1.45%)
- Your nanny's share
- 7.65%, withheld or paid by you
- Federal unemployment
- 0.6% of the first $7,000, with the full state credit
- Federal income tax
- Withheld only if your nanny asks and you agree
Sources
- IRS Publication 926 (2026), Household Employer's Tax Guide · Read October 25, 2026
- IRS Instructions for Schedule H (2025) · Read October 25, 2026
- California EDD, DE 8829 Household Employer's Guide (Rev. 46, 1-26) · Read October 25, 2026
What this means for you
- On $30,000 a year, your share comes to $2,295 for Social Security and Medicare and $42 for federal unemployment with the full state credit, before state tax.
- The federal unemployment rate is 6% before a credit for paying your state's unemployment tax in full and on time. If your state owes the federal fund money, the credit is smaller and you pay more: for 2025, California families paid 1.8% instead of 0.6%.
- If you cover your nanny's 7.65% yourself instead of withholding it, the IRS treats that money as extra wages for their income tax.
- Your state adds its own unemployment tax, and a few states add more, like California's disability insurance.