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

Rhode Island SUTA runs 0.9% - 9.4% 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

Only if you withhold federal income tax for your nanny. Once you do, Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island income tax

Rhode Island Division of Taxation, 2026 Employer's Income Tax Withholding Tables

At least $16.00 an hour for a nanny in Rhode Island.

• That is Rhode Island's own minimum wage, above the federal $7.25 floor
• Rhode Island raises it to $17.00/hour from January 1, 2027
• 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

Yes, both. Rhode Island Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) cover household employees.

• Both are usually funded by employee-side withholding, and some states add an employer contribution
• You register and remit for it separately from unemployment insurance, on the state's schedule, usually quarterly

Missing this registration is one of the most common household-employer audit findings.

These are the findings that come up most often for Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island unemployment insurance registration after crossing $1,000 in any calendar quarter (the federal household-employer trigger)
• Under-withholding Rhode Island state income tax on pay you withheld federal income tax from
• Missing registration or under-withholding for Rhode Island Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI)
• Paying below $16.00/hour 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.