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Nanny payroll calculator 2026: what your nanny takes home and what she costs you, by state

Pay a nanny, caregiver or housekeeper $3,000 or more in 2026 and you are a household employer: you withhold Social Security and Medicare (7.65%), pay the same again yourself, pay federal unemployment tax on the first $7,000, and — if the employee asks — withhold income tax. The table shows a full-time nanny at $20 an hour (40 hours, weekly pay) in every state: take-home, state withholding, and the true annual cost to the family. Pick a state for rates from $15 to $30 an hour and the Schedule H figures.

Single filer, no dependents, W-4 Step 1 only; state unemployment insurance (rates vary by state and employer) not included. Computed by the paysums engine from the 2026 tables.

What the family pays on top of wages

• Social Security and Medicare, employer share: 7.65% of cash wages once the employee reaches $3,000 in the year (then on all of it).
• FUTA: 0.6% of the first $7,000 = $42 a year, once you pay $1,000 in any quarter.
• State unemployment insurance: most states require household employers to register and pay a rate on the first few thousand dollars of wages.
• Reported on Schedule H with your Form 1040; W-2 to the nanny by January 31.

The payroll ledger does each pay period's withholding and stub and carries the year's totals to Schedule H and the W-2 — $12 a month, free for one employee.