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

Louisiana SUTA rates run 0.09% - 6.2% for household employers. Louisiana assigns a new employer the average rate for their industry, recalculated every year, so your rate comes from the Workforce Commission rather than from a published table.

• 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

Only if you withhold federal income tax for your nanny. Once you do, Louisiana requires its income tax to be withheld from the same pay.

• Federal income tax withholding is optional for a household employee. It starts when your nanny asks and you agree
• With no federal withholding, you are not required to withhold Louisiana income tax

Louisiana Department of Revenue, Withholding Tax FAQ

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

• Louisiana 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. Louisiana does not require state disability insurance or paid family leave for household employees.

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

These are the findings that come up most often for Louisiana 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 Louisiana unemployment insurance registration after crossing $1,000 in any calendar quarter (the federal household-employer trigger)
• Under-withholding Louisiana state income tax on pay you withheld federal income tax from
• 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.