Looking for Information on Nanny Pricing

Updated on July 21, 2007
P. asks from Huntley, IL
6 answers

Hi, I will be looking to possibly change my childcare situation in December or January at the end of my maternity leave. At that time I will have three boys, one 8, one 27 months, and one 12 weeks.

Going on the internet to search for nannies, it asks you to review resumes, etc. I feel like it is too early at this time to start looking at individuals. I am interested right now primarily in finding out the financial aspects of a nanny. I need to compare it to my daycare pricing and determine what will be the best fit. As a Mom that works, and feels strongly about continuing to work, I am finding that most of my income goes to childcare. My job has been very accomodating in letting me work part time, but it tends to get very stressful when I have to miss work for minor illnesses. Especially when one child gets it right after the other. I can only imagine how it will be with three children. I want to find the best fit for my family, and my husband is not comfortable with the idea of a live in au pair.

Furthermore, I have real questions about the taxes. Is this on top of the base salary? I would be interested in finding out where to look for that information as well.

Thanks for any input you can give me.

2 moms found this helpful

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T.S.

answers from Chicago on

http://www.ides.state.il.us/household/employer.asp

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babychildcare/5946....

P.,

I breifly looked into the option of a nanny when I got pregnant with our second child (due in August). Our child care costs in 2008 will be about $25,000 to have both boys in a local center.

Based on what I looked into, we would have to pay a nanny as an employee. Which means that we would have to be an "employer" and pay employer taxes on her salary. With that being the case, and we offered a salary of $25,000, our employer responsibilies would add on another 7.65% ($1912.50). That's not that bad and probably worth it. But, in our situation, the girl (whom we loved) that we were considering was going to quit her current job that provided health insurance for her. The cost for health insurance (about $250/month = $3000) in addition to employer taxes meant that either we paid about $5000 a year more out of pocket OR we had to offer her only $20,000 a year. I wasn't comfortable with either option.

Luckily, we are very happy with our center and although the idea of having the young woman at our house constantly pops up in my mind as temptation. For now, we are content.

Good luck, and I'm anxious to read other responses on this.

T.

1 mom found this helpful
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H.M.

answers from Chicago on

I have always gone with a babysitter. I have 3 boys and they have had 2 different babysitters (only due to a move) But I find it is a lot more reasonable in price. Nannies want more money, travel to your house etc. My babysitter takes them swimming, for walks, to the park, plays with them has learning time and adores my kids. Plus if you get a babysitter most of them have a limit on the kids they can watch. Call around your neighborhood, you'll be surprised. In just my sub-division alone there are 3 different babysitters (that I know of). Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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T.B.

answers from Chicago on

We have had 3 successful nannies that we found through internet databases like enannysource.com and greataupair.com

My sister has found 2 on craigslist.org.

The nannies on these sites are all willing to accept different rates of pay, depending on their needs and their experience.

I believe that www.nanny.com has a lot of info on taxes and has sample contracts etc.

Some nannies are willing to work under the table without taxes, some aren't. If your work offers you a flex-spend dependent care account you will need to declare taxes.

We've had only live in nannies, but my sister (who lives in an apartment upstairs) has had live out ones, so I have lots of experience. If you have other questions, let me know!

Good luck!
T.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.S.

answers from Chicago on

We are new to using nanny services, but in my recent research...
Nannies get about $12-13/hr, regardless of the number of kids (usually 1-4 kids) or for full time $500-700/week ($700 would be for more than 40 hrs/week.
Also, look into setting money aside with your or your husbands job for flexible spending (money that gets taken from paycheck that is not taxed). Many employers offer it and it is the same as medical flexible spending, just used for child care.

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J.S.

answers from Chicago on

Hi P.,
I'm not exactly sure where you are living, but wanted to respond anyways. I have recently decided to start up an in home childcare. I pretty much called around to various daycare centers around my area to find out their rates. I have made absolutely certain that my rates are much lower than those of daycares. I live in Dekalb, near NIU, and if this is an area that works for you, I would love to speak to you more about your situation. As far as the tax situation, in my experience in watching children, it kind of depends on the family and provider, and what they agree upon.
Good luck!!
J.

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B.A.

answers from Chicago on

I am a live-out nanny and my daughter is also been a live-out nanny. My daughter has been a nanny now for several years and both she and I have learned a lot about the IRS and their rules for what they classify as "Home Help" and how taxes are required to be handled by the person who does the hiring. My understanding is that there is no such thing under IRS guidelines as having a nanny who is self-employed. If the parents set their payment plan up with a nanny in a cash or self-employment situation, this can be a situation that can haunt the parents down the road, especially in the event that a nanny ever is hurt on the job as there would be no workman's compensation established and this type of situation is very risky.

Here's several links that included nanny taxes and many other pieces of information that will help you look more closely into the world of nannies and I hope you find these to be helpful for you, P.:

http://www.4nannytaxes.com/

http://www.breedlove-online.com/

http://www.nanny.org/families.htm

http://www.nannynetwork.com/

http://www.geocities.com/thenannyfamilyconnection/

http://www.pronanny.net/10.html (lots of links about nanny info here)

Additionally, any time over 40 hours must be paid at time and one-half.

I had a nanny for my children and the benefits to my family were immeasureable even though the costs were much more than a day care center or an at home child care center. I saw minimized time off of work in the event one of my three children were sick, my children were way less sick than when they were in a day care center, my home was picked up - neat and tidy, children's laundry was done, dinner was started before I walked in the door, and most importantly, my children were the happiest with a person who was devoted to caring for them and only them and my children were in their own home playing with their own toys and their friends. Having a nanny was priceless and well worth the money spent for having a quality person care for my children.

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