Most families who pay a sitter on Friday nights owe nothing. This post shows when that changes: the 2026 threshold, the teenage-sitter exception and the case where a sitter isn't your employee at all. Our post on who counts as a household employee covers the definition in full.
When does a babysitter become a household employee?
When the sitter works in your home and you control what work is done and how. IRS Publication 926 lists babysitters among household workers. Its example is a sitter who cares for your child in your home, follows your instructions and uses equipment you provide: that sitter is your employee.
A sitter who looks after your child in their own home generally isn't your employee, the publication says. Neither is someone who runs their own childcare business, controls how the work is done and offers it to the public.
The 2026 thresholds
| If you pay | You owe |
|---|---|
| $3,000 or more in cash wages to one sitter in 2026 | Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) from you and the sitter, on Schedule H |
| $1,000 or more in total cash wages to household employees in any calendar quarter of 2025 or 2026 | Federal unemployment tax: 6% of the first $7,000 per employee |
| Less than both | No federal employment taxes, though state taxes may still apply |
Federal income tax withholding is never required for a household employee. Publication 926 says you should withhold only if the sitter asks and you agree, with a completed Form W-4.
Do you pay taxes for a teenage babysitter?
Usually not Social Security and Medicare. Publication 926 says wages paid to an employee who is under 18 at any time in 2026 don't count toward the $3,000 unless household work is their principal occupation, and a student's household work isn't treated as their principal occupation. So a high-school sitter is outside these taxes however much you pay them.
The exception doesn't cover federal unemployment tax. Wages to an under-18 sitter still count toward the $1,000-a-quarter FUTA test, so a family paying a teenager heavily over the summer should check it. Wages to your own child under 21, your spouse or, in most cases, your parent don't count for either tax.
Do babysitters get minimum wage?
Not if the babysitting is casual. Federal rules (29 CFR 552.104) exclude babysitting on a casual basis from minimum wage and overtime. Casual means irregular or intermittent work by someone whose vocation isn't babysitting, and it usually applies when the sitter works no more than 20 hours a week in total.
A regular sitter working longer hours, or someone whose job is childcare, is outside that exclusion. State minimum wage laws can also be broader than the federal one.
Once you cross the threshold
- Get an employer identification number (EIN); Publication 926 says you include it on the forms you file for a household employee.
- Withhold the sitter's 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare from each payment, and set aside your matching 7.65%.
- File Schedule H with your 2026 return by April 15, 2027.
- Give the sitter Form W-2 and send Copy A with Form W-3 to the Social Security Administration by February 1, 2027.
Where PayDocs fits
If your sitter is a household employee, PayDocs makes the pay stub for each payment and the W-2 employee copies at year end from your figures. PayDocs works out federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and supported state taxes for 2026 pay dates (see what we calculate). It doesn't file Schedule H. Previewing is free; a PDF is $4.99 per pay stub once checkout opens.
This is general information about US federal rules as of 8 October 2026, not tax or legal advice. State rules add to it; check your state's labor and revenue departments.
Questions
When does a babysitter become a household employee?
When they work in your home and you control what they do and how. IRS Publication 926 lists babysitters as household workers. A sitter who looks after your child in their own home generally isn't your employee.
How much can you pay a babysitter before paying taxes?
Under $3,000 in cash wages to one sitter in 2026, and under $1,000 to all household employees in every quarter, means no federal employment taxes. State rules can differ.
Do you pay taxes for a teenage babysitter?
Usually not Social Security and Medicare: wages to an employee under 18 don't count unless household work is their principal occupation, and a student's isn't. Their wages still count toward the $1,000-a-quarter unemployment tax test.
Do babysitters get minimum wage?
Casual babysitters don't, under federal rules: irregular or intermittent sitting, usually no more than 20 hours a week, is excluded from minimum wage and overtime. Regular sitters and state laws can be different.
Sources
- IRS: Publication 926 (2026), Household Employer's Tax Guide
- eCFR: 29 CFR 552.5, Casual basis (babysitting)
- eCFR: 29 CFR 552.104, Babysitting services performed on a casual basis
Sources checked October 8, 2026. This article explains how pay documents work; it is not tax or legal advice.
