Most families who employ a nanny meet the W-2 rule without noticing. At $60 a week, a nanny passes $3,000 before the year is out. This post walks through the 2026 Form W-2 for one household employee: whether you need one, what you need before you start, what goes in each box, and where each copy goes. It follows IRS Publication 926 (2026) and the IRS General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026).
Do I have to give my nanny a W-2?
Yes, if either test below is met for 2026. Publication 926 says to file a separate 2026 Form W-2 for each household employee to whom you paid Social Security and Medicare wages of $3,000 or more, or wages from which you withheld federal income tax. So even a nanny paid less than $3,000 gets a W-2 if you agreed to withhold income tax for them.
| Rule | 2026 figure | What it triggers |
|---|---|---|
| Cash wages to one household employee | $3,000 or more in the year | Social Security and Medicare, Form W-2, Schedule H |
| Federal income tax withheld | Any amount, by agreement | Form W-2, even under $3,000 |
| Total cash wages to household employees | $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter | Federal unemployment tax (FUTA) on Schedule H |
| Social Security wage base | $184,500 | No Social Security tax on wages above it |
Some people don't count. Publication 926 says not to count wages you pay to your spouse, your child under 21 or, in most cases, your parent. Wages to a household employee who is under 18 at any time in the year don't count either, unless household work is their principal occupation. A student babysitter usually falls under that exception.
This assumes the nanny is your employee, which is the usual case when you set the hours and say how the children are cared for. If an agency employs the nanny and directs the work, the agency issues the W-2. See our post on paying a nanny as a 1099 contractor for how the IRS draws that line.
What you need before you start
- An employer identification number (EIN). The W-2 instructions say not to use your Social Security number in box b. If you have applied for an EIN and it hasn't arrived, enter "Applied For". You can apply on Form SS-4.
- The nanny's legal name and Social Security number, as on their Social Security card.
- Your payroll totals for the calendar year: cash wages paid, Social Security and Medicare withheld, and any federal or state income tax withheld. The year-to-date column on the last pay stub of 2026 should hold all of these.
- Your state's rules. Copy 1 of the W-2 goes to your state, city or local tax department if it asks for one; the deadline and filing method are the state's own.
What goes in each box
A nanny's W-2 uses the same form as any other employee's. Most families fill only a handful of boxes. The example uses a nanny paid $700 a week for all 52 weeks of 2026, with no income tax withheld and the nanny's share of Social Security and Medicare withheld from pay.
| Box | What it shows | Example |
|---|---|---|
| b | Your EIN | Your nine-digit EIN |
| 1 | Wages, tips, other compensation | $36,400.00 |
| 2 | Federal income tax withheld | $0.00 (only if you agreed to withhold) |
| 3 | Social Security wages | $36,400.00 |
| 4 | Social Security tax withheld (6.2%) | $2,256.80 |
| 5 | Medicare wages and tips | $36,400.00 |
| 6 | Medicare tax withheld (1.45%) | $527.80 |
| 15–17 | State, state ID, state wages and income tax | If your state taxes wages |
Two cases change the numbers. If you pay the nanny's share of Social Security and Medicare yourself instead of withholding it, the W-2 instructions say that amount is added to the wages in box 1 for income tax purposes, though not to boxes 3 and 5. And if a live-out nanny worked over 40 hours in some weeks, the 2026 instructions add box 12 code TT for qualified overtime compensation: the extra half of time-and-a-half that the federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires.
How to give your nanny a W-2, step by step
- Check the tests above. If you paid $3,000 or more in 2026 cash wages, or withheld income tax, you need a W-2.
- Get an EIN if you don't have one. It also goes on Schedule H.
- Add up the year from your pay records and check the totals against the last pay stub of 2026.
- Fill in the W-2. Copies B, C and 2 go to the nanny; Copy A goes to the Social Security Administration (SSA); Copy D is yours; Copy 1 goes to your state if it asks for one.
- Give the nanny Copies B, C and 2 by February 1, 2027. Mailing them, properly addressed, on or before that date counts.
- File Copy A with Form W-3 at the SSA by February 1, 2027. On the W-3, check the "Hshld. emp." box in box b. The SSA's Business Services Online lets you key the W-2 in and builds the W-3 for you.
- File Schedule H with your 2026 Form 1040 by April 15, 2027 to pay the Social Security, Medicare and any FUTA tax for the year.
If the nanny leaves during the year, you can give them the W-2 any time after the job ends and no later than February 1, 2027. If they ask for it, the instructions give you 30 days from the request or from the last wage payment, whichever is later.
What happens if the W-2 is late
Penalties apply per form, both for filing late with the SSA and for giving the employee their copy late. For returns due in 2026, the IRS lists $60 per form up to 30 days late, $130 up to August 1, and $340 after August 1 or never filed. The amounts rise with inflation, so check the IRS penalty page for forms due in 2027.
Extensions are narrow. The IRS grants one 30-day extension to file Copy A, on Form 8809, only in extraordinary circumstances. An extension to give employees their copies is requested on Form 15397, isn't automatic, and is generally no more than 15 days. For a family with one nanny, the practical answer is to do it in January.
Where PayDocs fits
The PayDocs W-2 generator makes the employee copies of the 2026 Form W-2 (Copies B, C and 2) from your totals, and you can preview them free before you pay. The employee copies show only the last four digits of the nanny's Social Security number, which the IRS allows on employee copies. During the year, the pay stub generator gives your nanny a stub each payday with year-to-date totals, so January is a matter of copying numbers across.
PayDocs doesn't make Copy A or Form W-3 and doesn't file anything with the SSA or IRS. File those through SSA Business Services Online or a payroll service. This is general information, not tax advice.
Questions
Do I have to give my nanny a W-2?
Yes, if you paid them $3,000 or more in cash wages in 2026 or withheld federal income tax from their pay. Wages to your spouse, your child under 21, most parents, and household employees under 18 whose main job isn't household work don't count.
When is my nanny's 2026 W-2 due?
February 1, 2027, both for giving the nanny Copies B, C and 2 and for filing Copy A with Form W-3 at the Social Security Administration. The usual January 31 date falls on a Sunday in 2027.
Can I use my Social Security number instead of an EIN?
No. The W-2 instructions say not to use your SSN as the employer number. Apply for an EIN on Form SS-4; if it hasn't arrived when you file, enter "Applied For" in box b.
Do I need Form W-3 for just one nanny?
Yes. The IRS says even employers with only one household employee must file Form W-3 to send Copy A of the W-2 to the SSA, with the "Hshld. emp." box checked. SSA Business Services Online builds the W-3 for you.
What if my nanny quits during the year?
You can give them the W-2 any time after the job ends, up to February 1, 2027. If they ask for it, give it within 30 days of the request or of the last wage payment, whichever is later.
Sources
- IRS: Publication 926 (2026), Household Employer's Tax Guide
- IRS: General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026)
- IRS: Topic no. 756, Employment taxes for household employees
- IRS: About Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements
- IRS: Information return penalties (page updated 11 May 2026)
- IRS: Publication 15 (2026), Employer's Tax Guide
Sources checked October 7, 2026. This article explains how pay documents work; it is not tax or legal advice.
