what's the going rate for a live-in nanny?

[Anonymous]

We had a great nanny share nanny and were paying $20/hr with some overtime.
Now we moved away and added a kid so I want to hire her myself and offer her a live-in position. Does it work the same in terms of paying by the hour? What's the adjustment for room and board?

[Anonymous]

Is she even interested in a live-in position?
How many hours?
DC area? Burbs?
Are you trying to poach her from another family?
Benefits/perks?

[Anonymous]

So there are basically two tiers of live-in nannies.

Tier 1 is nannies who need help with housing (single, usually pretty young or pretty old, almost always in an expensive metropolitan area or near a college). For these nannies, you can offer a reduced rate plus a place to live. Legally the hourly rate cannot drop below minimum wage.

So for example:
If the going hourly rate* for your position is $20 an hour and you are guaranteeing 40 hours per week, then the baseline wage would be $800 per week or $3200 per month before taxes. If a reasonable rental price for the space would be $800 per month, you would provide nanny with free housing and pay around $2400 (or $600 per week) which is about $15 per hour.

Tier 2 is experienced nannies who have options about where to live. Those nannies know that living with a family is a unique and often challenging dynamic and they won’t do it without either: A) A full apartment setup—meaning at minimum a private entrance, private bath and kitchenette or B) additional compensation.

For these nannies, your $20 position would cost $22 or even $25 per hour with the added flexibility and dedication implied by a live-in nanny.

The only way to figure out which category your nanny falls into is to talk to her.

[Anonymous]

*I am not commenting on rates just drawing a mathematically simple example.

[Anonymous]

You need to ask her. Some nannies will not be willing to accept a lower rate, even for a live-in position. They could have housing covered with a BF, family member, or friend. Or have signed a lease they can't break. So that set up is less appealing to nannies who really need money and who are comfortable with their current housing situation. I wouldn't do live-in for anything less than my current rate.

[Anonymous]

You cannot deduct rent if the job requires that you live in. Stop cheating.

[Anonymous]

So many cons to living in - I charge the same hourly rate.

[Anonymous]

There’s is no going rate. Families advertise anything from $15-150k, depending on all many factors that go into making the position unique.

[Anonymous]

What about in situations where living in would be a perk for the nanny? For example, we have an apartment in our house, and we are considering asking a couple we know if they would like to move in. They just had their first baby, and the mom wants to stay home with him, and take care of an additional child or two so she can earn an income.

However, they are finding that they can't find an apartment they can afford (they are currently renting a room from someone, and have to move out soon).

On the market, our apartment would command about $1,400. So in this case, we would rent our apartment to them at a reduced rate (we would charge them $1,000 max), then pay an hourly wage for childcare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about in situations where living in would be a perk for the nanny? For example, we have an apartment in our house, and we are considering asking a couple we know if they would like to move in. They just had their first baby, and the mom wants to stay home with him, and take care of an additional child or two so she can earn an income.

However, they are finding that they can't find an apartment they can afford (they are currently renting a room from someone, and have to move out soon).

On the market, our apartment would command about $1,400. So in this case, we would rent our apartment to them at a reduced rate (we would charge them $1,000 max), then pay an hourly wage for childcare.

This sounds shady.

[Anonymous]

You should just ask her and also be prepared to answer how the hours will differ, what about emergency hours, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about in situations where living in would be a perk for the nanny? For example, we have an apartment in our house, and we are considering asking a couple we know if they would like to move in. They just had their first baby, and the mom wants to stay home with him, and take care of an additional child or two so she can earn an income.

However, they are finding that they can't find an apartment they can afford (they are currently renting a room from someone, and have to move out soon).

On the market, our apartment would command about $1,400. So in this case, we would rent our apartment to them at a reduced rate (we would charge them $1,000 max), then pay an hourly wage for childcare.

This sounds shady.

Two separate contracts. One for work, one for rent. Because otherwise you’ll run into major issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about in situations where living in would be a perk for the nanny? For example, we have an apartment in our house, and we are considering asking a couple we know if they would like to move in. They just had their first baby, and the mom wants to stay home with him, and take care of an additional child or two so she can earn an income.

However, they are finding that they can't find an apartment they can afford (they are currently renting a room from someone, and have to move out soon).

On the market, our apartment would command about $1,400. So in this case, we would rent our apartment to them at a reduced rate (we would charge them $1,000 max), then pay an hourly wage for childcare.

This sounds shady.

Why does it sound shady? The PP is looking to pay part of the potential employee's wages in the form of housing, which is something that the potential employee is in need of, and cannot otherwise afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about in situations where living in would be a perk for the nanny? For example, we have an apartment in our house, and we are considering asking a couple we know if they would like to move in. They just had their first baby, and the mom wants to stay home with him, and take care of an additional child or two so she can earn an income.

However, they are finding that they can't find an apartment they can afford (they are currently renting a room from someone, and have to move out soon).

On the market, our apartment would command about $1,400. So in this case, we would rent our apartment to them at a reduced rate (we would charge them $1,000 max), then pay an hourly wage for childcare.

This sounds shady.

Why does it sound shady? The PP is looking to pay part of the potential employee's wages in the form of housing, which is something that the potential employee is in need of, and cannot otherwise afford.

How is it reported to the irs? Two separate contracts, people!