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NANNY & HOUSEHOLD FACTS
There has been a tremendous amount of publicity in the last few years regarding Nannies and how a family should be paying. We have designed this section of our site to answer some common questions about payroll and nanny taxes!
Is a nanny an employee?
YES! ABSOLUTELY! You are considered to be an employee when you work on a regular basis for a family, at their home and expect to earn more than $1,700* per year. The IRS and the state you work in consider you a household employee. There are only slight differences between being a household employee and an employee working in an office, retail store or a restaurant, but basically both types of employees are treated the same way tax wise.
So what does being an employee actually mean?
Being an employee is good in many ways. The first and foremost is that you are protected under a number of laws in case you are ever unemployed, hurt or when you are ready to retire. In the event you become involuntarily unemployed you may be able to collect what is known as unemployment insurance until you find your next nanny job. The unemployment insurance will allow you to get by while you are looking for your new job. If you get hurt on the job, your medical bills and lost wages may be reimbursed by workers' compensation, and if you are hurt off the job, then you may be protected by disability insurance. Under the present day laws, when you retire at the age of 67, you will collect Social Security benefits and be covered by Medicare medical insurance. Thus providing you with some income when you retire.
Will
I bring home
less money
each week
because I
will be
paying
taxes?
Yes, that's right. You will receive less money in your paycheck to cover Social Security, Medicare taxes, federal and state withholding taxes and possibly a small amount for unemployment and / or disability insurance. BUT, your employer also pays nanny taxes for your benefit and some of those taxes contribute to your Social Security fund increasing the amount presently in your fund.
How much would I lose to taxes each week?
It's hard to say. The Social Security and Medicare taxes are based on a percentage of your gross pay. The amount of Federal and State taxes depends on whether you are single or married and how many allowances you choose to claim. You may have 7.65% of your gross pay withheld for Social Security and Medicare taxes and 5% to 25% of your gross pay for Federal and State income taxes if your state has an income tax.
Do I have to have income taxes withheld?
No, you are not required to have them withheld but don't confuse this with not having to owe any Federal and State income taxes. If you are a good budgeter or if you do not think you will owe a lot of income taxes at the end of the year, you may pay your own income taxes either at the end of the year or as an estimated payment to the IRS and / or your State. But remember your household employer will give you a W2 form and a copy to the IRS indicating how much they have paid you and you must file that form with your personal tax return. More times than none, it's a good idea to ask your employer to withhold the income taxes from your pay, so come April 15th you are not short a thousand dollars or so in income taxes. By doing this you will then get a chance to get a refund when you file your own tax return.
Are there any benefits of being paid professionally, legally, "on the books"?
Yes, there are actually. If you have ever applied for a credit card or tried to buy a new car or are planning to buy a house, proving you are working and paying taxes is very important. If you can not prove you are legally earning income the lender will not give you credit because you cannot prove how you will be able to pay them back.
What if the family I work for doesn't want to pay nanny taxes?
We understand you may encounter this and so does the agency you are working with. Ask the agency or GTM for help in explaining to the family that it's truly in their best interest to pay you properly (legally). Some of the following reasons may also help.
- It protects them in case you ever get hurt on the job
- They will be able to take advantage of their flexible-spending plan and deduct your salary as a qualifying expense
- Your employer has to report your wages and the taxes they withheld for you on their personal income tax return. The IRS figures to catch a lot of people who forget to tell them about their Nannies
- Not paying you properly cheats you out of any credits to your social security account, impedes your ability to obtain credit and will not protect you if you become unemployed
- Because it's the law!
How does GTM help me and the family I work for?
GTM works with hundreds of families, nannies and agencies around the country in helping sort out the taxes and assist them in complying with the nanny tax laws of the IRS and their state. GTM's three basic programs that do just this are listed in the services section.
* (As of Jan. 1, 2009) The information contained within is designed to give the user general guidelines on the subject of household employment taxes. Tax Laws can vary considerably from different taxpayers based on the circumstances and the state of residency. This information is not designed to serve as legal, accounting or tax advice. GTM encourages you to consult with a competent tax advisor concerning specific matters before making any decisions. GTM does not accept any responsibility for positions taken by taxpayers for any interpretations on the information found within.
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