Taxes · 2026
Do I need to pay taxes for my babysitter?
The IRS household-employer rules for 2026, in the order you need them. For parents first, with a section for sitters.
Short answer
Only if your sitter is your household employee and you pay them $3,000 or more in cash wages in 2026. Then Social Security and Medicare tax applies. Most occasional sitters never get there, and wages paid to a sitter under 18 who is a student don’t count.
Four questions, in order
Is the sitter your employee?
Under IRS rules, a worker is your employee if you control not only what work is done but how it is done. A sitter who comes to your home and follows your instructions is a household employee; the IRS’s own example is a babysitter. A sitter who looks after your children in their home, or one provided and directed by an agency, generally isn’t.
Will you pay them $3,000 or more in cash wages in 2026?
The threshold is per employee, for the calendar year ($2,800 in 2025). Cash wages include checks and payment apps, but not the value of food or lodging. Below the threshold, neither of you owes Social Security or Medicare tax on those wages.
Does an exception apply?
Wages paid to these people don’t count toward Social Security and Medicare, even above the threshold:
- an employee under 18 at any time in the year, unless household work is their principal occupation (it never is for a student);
- your child under 21;
- your spouse;
- your parent, with exceptions when they care for your young child and you are divorced, widowed, or your spouse can’t care for the child.
If it applies, what do you do?
Withhold the employee’s share (7.65%) and pay the same amount yourself, give the employee a Form W-2 by February 1, 2027, and file Schedule H with your 2026 tax return by April 15, 2027. You need an employer identification number. Many families use a household payroll service.
Federal unemployment tax (FUTA)
A separate test: if you pay household employees a total of $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter, you owe FUTA on the first $7,000 of each employee’s cash wages for the year. The under-18 exception does not apply here, though wages to your spouse, your child under 21 and your parent are still excluded. Your state may have its own unemployment tax.
Income tax withholding
You don’t have to withhold federal income tax from a household employee’s pay. Do it only if the employee asks and you agree; they give you a Form W-4.
Paying family
Paying a grandparent or another relative has its own rules for both these taxes and the child care credit. See paying family for childcare.
For sitters: is babysitting income taxable?
Yes. If you are self-employed (you set your own terms, work for many families, perhaps in your own home), you owe self-employment tax once your net earnings reach $400 for the year, and income tax depending on your total income.
If you are a family’s household employee, they handle Social Security and Medicare once your wages from them reach $3,000 in 2026, unless you are under 18 and a student. Tips are income too; nannies and babysitters are on the IRS list of occupations whose qualified tips may be deductible from 2025 through 2028 (see tipping).
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Questions people ask
What is the nanny tax threshold for 2026?
$3,000 in cash wages paid to one household employee during 2026, up from $2,800 in 2025. Below that, neither you nor the employee owes Social Security or Medicare tax on those wages.
Do I have to pay taxes for a teenage babysitter?
Usually not Social Security and Medicare. Wages paid to an employee who is under 18 at any time during the year don't count, unless household work is their principal occupation, and it never is for a student. Federal unemployment tax rules are different and don't have this exception.
Do I need to give my babysitter a 1099?
Generally no. Form 1099-NEC is for payments made in the course of a trade or business, not for personal childcare. If the sitter is your household employee and you pay $3,000 or more in cash wages in 2026, the form is a W-2, filed with Schedule H.
Is babysitting income taxable?
Yes. A sitter who is self-employed owes self-employment tax if net earnings reach $400 or more. A sitter who is a household employee reports wages like any other job, and may owe income tax depending on total income.
Do I have to withhold income tax from my nanny's pay?
No. You withhold federal income tax only if your household employee asks you to and you agree; they give you a Form W-4.