Pay Stubs for Household Employers: Nannies, Caregivers and Housekeepers

Most families who hire a nanny or an in-home caregiver do not think of themselves as employers. The IRS does. Once a household worker's cash wages pass the annual threshold, the family has payroll obligations that look a lot like a small business's, just on a smaller scale. A pay stub each payday is the simplest way to keep those obligations straight. This post covers who counts as a household employer, what to withhold and what the stub should show.

Who is a household employer

You are a household employer if you hire someone to work in or around your home and you control what work is done and how. Nannies, babysitters who work regular hours, caregivers for an elderly parent, housekeepers, cooks, private nurses, gardeners and drivers all qualify. The worker is your employee even if they are part-time, even if you found them through an agency that does not handle payroll, and whether you pay hourly or by the week. Workers who run their own business, set their own hours and bring their own equipment (a lawn service, a cleaning company) are contractors instead, and the contractor pay records guide applies to them.

The 2026 thresholds

• Social Security and Medicare: once you pay one household employee $3,000 or more in cash wages in 2026, those wages are subject to FICA. You withhold the employee's 6.2% and 1.45% and pay a matching 7.65% yourself. (If you prefer, you can pay the employee's share out of your own pocket and report it as additional wages.)
• Federal unemployment (FUTA): applies once you pay $1,000 or more in cash wages in any calendar quarter, on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages; the employer pays it, nothing is withheld.
• State unemployment and other programs: most states require household employers to register and pay state unemployment insurance, and some add disability or paid-leave contributions that are withheld from the employee. Check the page for your state.

Wages paid to your spouse, your child under 21, your parent (in most cases) or any employee under 18 whose main occupation is not household work are exempt from FICA. IRS Topic 756 and Publication 926 have the current figures and exceptions.

Federal income tax is optional

Unlike a business, a household employer does not have to withhold federal income tax. You do it only if the employee asks and gives you a Form W-4. Many nannies prefer withholding so they do not face a bill in April; if you agree, use the W-4 and the same IRS tables as any employer (see the W-4 guide). State income tax withholding follows a similar rule in most states.

What the pay stub should show

A household pay stub does not need to look different from any other. For each payday, list:

• Your name and address as the employer, and the employee's name and address.
• The pay period and the pay date.
• Hours worked and the hourly rate, with overtime at 1.5 times the rate for hours over 40 in a week (live-in workers have different federal overtime rules, but some states, including California, still require it).
• Gross pay.
• Social Security and Medicare withheld, federal and state income tax if you withhold them, and any state program contributions.
• Net pay, and the year-to-date column for every line.

Keep a copy of each stub with your records. At year end the YTD column gives you the figures for the employee's Form W-2 (due by January 31) and for Schedule H, the household employment tax form you file with your own Form 1040. If the stubs are right, both forms take minutes.

Paying by check, app or cash

How you pay does not change what you owe. Cash wages are still wages. A stub attached to each payment, whatever its form, is also what many states' pay-statement laws require of any employer, household ones included; see which states require pay stubs.

A simple routine

1. Before the first payday: get a Form I-9 and (if withholding income tax) a W-4 from the employee, apply for an EIN, and register with your state's unemployment agency.
2. Every payday: record hours, generate the pay stub with the current tables, pay the net amount, file the stub.
3. Quarterly: pay state unemployment contributions if your state requires them.
4. January: issue the W-2, file it with the Social Security Administration, and complete Schedule H with your tax return (the federal taxes themselves are paid with your return or through estimated payments).

Producing the stub

You do not need a payroll subscription for one employee. A pay stub generator with current federal and state tables lets you enter the hours and rate, choose whether to withhold income tax, and print a PDF with the YTD totals carried forward from the last check. On PayStubNest the preview is free and each finished stub costs $1, which for a weekly-paid nanny is about $52 a year. For a family with a nanny and a caregiver, an unlimited plan from $9.99 a month covers both. Enter the real hours and the real rate, keep the PDFs, and the year-end forms will match.