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

West Virginia SUTA runs 1.5% - 8.5% 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, West Virginia 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 West Virginia income tax

West Virginia Tax Division, TSD-381 (Rev. September 2025)

At least $7.25 an hour for a nanny in West Virginia.

• West Virginia's own minimum wage of $8.75/hour only covers households with 6 or more employees, so the federal floor governs for a smaller household
• 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

W. Va. Code § 21-5C-1

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

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

These are the findings that come up most often for West Virginia 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 West Virginia unemployment insurance registration after crossing $1,000 in any calendar quarter (the federal household-employer trigger)
• Under-withholding West Virginia state income tax on pay you withheld federal income tax from
• Paying below $7.25/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.