no one wants a legal nanny share?

[Anonymous]

We have been looking to start a nanny share and have met with three sets of parents. All of them want to pay cash and not withhold taxes for our Nanny.

I thought the DMV was a place where people were super sensitive to paying on the books -- Am I wrong?

Any advice on where to look/post an ad (this site has not attracted any good prospects to date) for families looking for shares in MD?

[Anonymous]

When looking to organize a share, you're looking at families who otherwise would be sending their kid to daycare, so they likely aren't in the mindset of being an employer. I would say to focus on finding a match in a family, having some paperwork on hand to show them about taxes, and discussing it as a given rather than an option. You could say something like " Are you planning on using a payroll service or handling taxes yourself?"

[Anonymous]

Lots of people don't want the added expense, and it does take time to find the right fit. I don't know that MOST people looking into a share would otherwise send their child to daycare, but that is certainly the case for a fair number. Generally you are just dealing with people who want individualized care but have no frame of reference for, or ability to pay, the true cost (and before I get quoted as the MB who validated all the outrageous nanny salary claims, by true cost, I mean the full cost of a nanny beyond hourly rate, i.e. employer taxes, vacation and sick leave backup care, gas reimbursement, workers' comp, insurance if offered, and a withholding and payroll service).

I am a MB, and while I don't get into the nanny/MB wars here, my personal observations have shown that lots of families in this area think they should have a nanny, but a somewhat smaller number can afford to become true private employers. Not true universally, but true in my experience. There are plenty who can, it just takes work to weed through.

You will likely have the best luck with neighborhood list serves. Or connections you have from work or friend groups. When you advertise for a share family, say you plan to pay on the books. It takes work to find a family that fits with your family on all the levels needed for a share to work but they are out there, so try not to be discouraged.

[Anonymous]

You may have better luck joining an established share where payroll and taxes are already rolling like a well oiled machine.

[Anonymous]

We do a nanny share and we treat it like this...we do what is right for the nanny on our end...we pay payroll taxes, unemployement, etc. We actually pay it on top of her salary, so she gets what we negotiated in hand.

We don't worry what the other family is doing...because if SHIT hit the fan, we can stand up honestly and say that we did right by the Nanny.

[Anonymous]

You might consider setting the share up -- you employ the nanny and other people join your share. Then you can say, it is going to cost "X" per hour, and figure the payroll tax into it. They're either OK with the rate, or they aren't.

Then they can pay you cash and you can run payroll and keep everything legal.

I suspect a lot of people pay under the table in this region. I am strictly on-the-table, and am surprised more people aren't given that many us carry security clearances. I keep EVERYTHING legal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do a nanny share and we treat it like this...we do what is right for the nanny on our end...we pay payroll taxes, unemployement, etc. We actually pay it on top of her salary, so she gets what we negotiated in hand.

We don't worry what the other family is doing...because if SHIT hit the fan, we can stand up honestly and say that we did right by the Nanny.

You're right, that covers your end legally. But I'm always baffled by share families with this attitude. It really does matter what the other family is doing. Speaking from experience, if I'm in a share where one family treats me like crap or skirts the laws/contract and the other family, while covering everything on their end, doesn't have my back when dealing with these issues, I'm going to look for a new share. I'm not going to try to split up the share and go with the family that didn't have my back. You will be left without the nanny you hired even though you did everything right. I would suggest that OP completely ignore this advice. You need a share family that is on the same page as you, parent style-wise, expectation-wise, and how you will treat the nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You might consider setting the share up -- you employ the nanny and other people join your share. Then you can say, it is going to cost "X" per hour, and figure the payroll tax into it. They're either OK with the rate, or they aren't.

Then they can pay you cash and you can run payroll and keep everything legal.

I suspect a lot of people pay under the table in this region. I am strictly on-the-table, and am surprised more people aren't given that many us carry security clearances. I keep EVERYTHING legal.

This isn't legal. Both sets of families are employers, separately. You're supposed to file the taxes separately. OP shouldn't be on the hook for the other family's taxes, running the payroll, workers comp policy, etc. What if the other family fails to pay? If they are not technically an employer, OP would be on the hook for that too.

[Anonymous]

Can you give me examples of neighborhood list serves for Rockville? We just moved here so I'm not sure where to start looking for shares other than this site.

[Anonymous]

Bump. I am still striking out. I actually just had someone say they would pay $1400 for their 1 and 3 year old.

Seriously?!? We pay our nanny way more than that for ONE baby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bump. I am still striking out. I actually just had someone say they would pay $1400 for their 1 and 3 year old.

Seriously?!? We pay our nanny way more than that for ONE baby.

if each family is paying that +/- it's not a bad monthly income for a nanny. Depending on the number of hours and other factors like commute, of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bump. I am still striking out. I actually just had someone say they would pay $1400 for their 1 and 3 year old.

Seriously?!? We pay our nanny way more than that for ONE baby.

What would that be per hour?

[Anonymous]

OP here -- It was for 50 hours a week.

[Anonymous]

So $1400 for how many hours?.

[Anonymous]

$7. per hour for two children? That IS ridiculous. You're absolutely right.