What would the IRS flag about how you've been paying your nanny?

Iowa SUTA runs 0% - 7% by claims history, with a separate rate for new employers.

• You owe it once you pay $1,000 in any calendar quarter (the federal household-employer threshold)
• Filings are usually quarterly, with an annual reconciliation
• Your assigned rate moves over time, depending on whether former employees file unemployment claims

Usually not. Iowa has a state income tax, but withholding it from a household employee is optional unless your nanny asks for it.

• It is usually optional, and your nanny elects it on Iowa's W-4 equivalent
• If they do elect it, you owe quarterly remittance to the state and an annual reconciliation return that includes the W-2 you issued

At least $7.25 an hour for a nanny in Iowa.

• Iowa sets no rate above the federal floor, so the federal minimum is what binds
• Overtime is 1.5x pay for hours over 40 in a week, under the FLSA
• Live-in nannies are exempt from FLSA overtime, but not from minimum wage

US DOL, State Minimum Wage Laws

No. Iowa does not require state disability insurance or paid family leave for household employees.

• Your obligations are the federal baseline: FICA, FUTA and Schedule H
• Iowa state unemployment insurance still applies on the employer side

These are the findings that come up most often for Iowa household employers.

• Treating a household worker as a 1099 contractor when their schedule and duties make them a W-2 employee under IRS Publication 926
• Missing Iowa unemployment insurance registration after crossing $1,000 in any calendar quarter (the federal household-employer trigger)
• Under-withholding Iowa state income tax when the employee has elected withholding on the state W-4 equivalent
• Paying below $7.25/hour (federal) or skipping FLSA overtime, which is a Department of Labor (not IRS) finding

Federal exposure layers on top of all of these: no Schedule H filed, no W-2 issued, no EIN, and any FICA underpayment.