Are there any nanny agencies that serve as the employer for part time nannies?

[Anonymous]

Would be willing to pay a higher rate to avoid the hassle of taxes/insurance, etc.

[Anonymous]

They can't. Nannies are classified as domestic employees by the IRS. The only time this happens is for agencies that exclusively do back up babysitting or overnight care for newborns as both are temporary/short term gigs and the nannies are independent contractors because they choose their own schedule and when they pick up the jobs. There used to be some agencies that tried to do this under the radar an they were basically scams getting nannies from other countries to come here and work very cheaply so the agency would charge the family $30hr and pay the nanny minimum wage. Those have mostly been done away with over the last couple decades with major domestic workers rights movements and legislation. Hope that helps.

[Anonymous]

The higher rate you’d pay would only benefit the company. In most cases, “agencies” that do this will charge you $30+ per hour, then pay the “nanny” about $15/hour. The “agencies” then give their employees 1099’s in January. That screws the “nannies” over and forces them to pay self-employment taxes. So they lose 15.3% of the $15/hour they earned off the top before paying federal/state/local taxes.

As a nanny employer, the easiest way to handle taxes is to hire a payroll company. You can choose a package that has them do everything for you. Then the person you hire is paid legally with a W4/W2.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thank you for that insight. That makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Hush Hush Little Baby has independent contractors and can help during day or night. Not sure if it matters how old your child is. My neighbor used them long term for her toddler’s daytime care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They can't. Nannies are classified as domestic employees by the IRS. The only time this happens is for agencies that exclusively do back up babysitting or overnight care for newborns as both are temporary/short term gigs and the nannies are independent contractors because they choose their own schedule and when they pick up the jobs. There used to be some agencies that tried to do this under the radar an they were basically scams getting nannies from other countries to come here and work very cheaply so the agency would charge the family $30hr and pay the nanny minimum wage. Those have mostly been done away with over the last couple decades with major domestic workers rights movements and legislation. Hope that helps.

The only way that this works is if the agency has the right to send whichever caregiver they want to your home. In that case, they are the employer and you are the client.