How much can you pay a babysitter before you owe taxes?

Short answer

In 2026 you can pay one babysitter less than $3,000 in cash wages without owing Social Security and Medicare taxes. Once you pay that sitter $3,000 or more in the year, those taxes apply to everything you paid them in 2026, not just the amount over. Federal unemployment tax has its own test: it applies for 2026 if you paid $1,000 or more to all your household workers in any calendar quarter of 2025 or 2026.

Sources checked October 25, 2026·Answered by the NannyKeeper team

The numbers

Social Security and Medicare start at

$3,000 to one sitter in 2026

IRS Publication 926 (2026), Household Employer's Tax Guide

Sitters under 18

Left out of Social Security and Medicare, unless babysitting is their main job

IRS Publication 926 (2026), Household Employer's Tax Guide

Federal unemployment starts at

$1,000 in a quarter, all workers together

IRS Publication 926 (2026), Household Employer's Tax Guide

What this means for you

• The $3,000 is per sitter. Two sitters at $2,000 each keeps you under it for both, but the $1,000 quarterly test for unemployment tax adds them together.
• A sitter under 18 at any point in the year doesn't count toward Social Security and Medicare unless babysitting is their main job, and for a student it never is.
• Cash wages means money in any form, including checks and money orders. Meals or a room you provide don't count.
• Your state can start sooner. New York and DC charge unemployment tax from $500 in a quarter.