Guide · Booking terms
Babysitter cancellation fees, minimum hours and gas money
The three terms that cause the most awkward conversations, with sample wording and the math.
Short answer
Agree on all three before the first booking: a cancellation window (for example, half the booked hours if cancelled within 24 hours), a minimum for short jobs, and mileage for driving, often at the IRS rate of 76¢ a mile (from July 1, 2026).
Cancellation fees
There’s no published norm, so the policy is whatever you and your sitter agree. A clear one names a notice window, what is owed inside it, and what happens if the sitter cancels.
Sample wording: “If you cancel less than 24 hours before a booking, I charge half of the booked hours at my usual rate. Less than 2 hours’ notice, or no notice: the full booking. If I have to cancel, I’ll give as much notice as I can and help find a replacement.”
- Booked4h × $22/hr
- $88.00
- PolicyHalf the booked hours
- 2h
- Cancellation fee
- $44.00
Minimum hours
A minimum protects a sitter on short jobs, where getting there and back takes as long as the work. It applies to billable time after any rounding: a 1-hour-20-minute pickup with a 3-hour minimum is paid as 3 hours.
The babysitter pay calculator lets you set a minimum from 30 minutes to 12 hours, and always shows when it changed the total.
- Time worked
- 1h 20m
- Billable3-hour minimum applied
- 3h
- Total
- $66.00
Gas money and mileage
If your sitter drives your kids in their own car, reimburse the driving separately from their pay. Care.com notes that a sitter picking children up in a personal vehicle needs to be reimbursed for fuel.
The IRS standard mileage rate for business use is a widely used yardstick: 72.5 cents a mile (January 1 to June 30, 2026), raised mid-year to 76 cents a mile (from July 1, 2026) because of fuel prices. It covers gas and wear on the car. It’s a reference, not a rate families are required to pay.
Some states have their own reimbursement rules for employees; check if your sitter is a regular employee.
- Base pay3h 30m × $22/hr
- $77.00
- Mileage15 × $0.76, not tipped on
- $11.40
- Tip10% of base pay
- $7.70
- Total
- $96.10
SitterRate for iPhone
Your terms, saved with each sitter
SitterRate remembers each sitter's rate, rounding and minimum, and keeps reimbursements separate from the tip on every receipt.
- Minimum hours and billable rounding per sitter
- Reimbursed expenses on their own line
- Itemized summary to share after the job
- Paid/unpaid history, so nothing is forgotten
Get SitterRateFree on the App Store · iPhoneFree download. Pro is a one-time in-app purchase, with no subscription. What’s in the app
Questions people ask
Should you pay a babysitter if you cancel?
If you cancel at short notice, many families pay something, because the sitter kept the evening free and may have turned down other work. The fairest approach is to agree on a cancellation policy when you book, such as half the booked hours within 24 hours.
What is a typical babysitter minimum?
There's no standard. Minimums exist because travel time is the same however short the job, so they matter most for one- or two-hour bookings. Whatever you agree, apply it after any rounding, the way the SitterRate calculator does.
How much should I pay a babysitter for gas?
A common reference is the IRS standard mileage rate for business use: 72.5 cents a mile (January 1 to June 30, 2026), and 76 cents a mile (from July 1, 2026). Multiply it by the miles driven for your family. It's a reference point, not a legal requirement for families.
Is gas money part of the tip?
No. Reimbursed expenses are paid back in full and kept separate; a tip percentage is figured on base pay only.