Spill! Nannies, what did you get for Christmas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am really surprised reading this thread as a new mom who is just starting to look for a nanny. Hiring a nanny already takes a large chunk out of my salary, so adding another week or two week's pay as a bonus seems a lot to ask. Neither my husband nor I gets a year-end bonus, and that amount is more than we spend on gifts for family members. Is this de rigueur or what?

It depends. If the nanny knows going in that there won't be a holiday bonus, but you intend to do a yearly review and raise, and you show appreciation in other ways? You'll be fine. If you don't do a holiday bonus and the nanny doesn't know that it would make your budget too tight, yes, many would look for another position, assuming that performance was subpar in your eyes, and that termination might be on the horizon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am really surprised reading this thread as a new mom who is just starting to look for a nanny. Hiring a nanny already takes a large chunk out of my salary, so adding another week or two week's pay as a bonus seems a lot to ask. Neither my husband nor I gets a year-end bonus, and that amount is more than we spend on gifts for family members. Is this de rigueur or what?

It's really not de rigeur...the nannies who get nothing or who get $150 aren't posting. The ones who get a weeks pay are the ones bragging about it. I've never gotten a full weeks pay and while I'd love it if I did, I know better than to expect it because I tend to work for middle class families and I know my salary is a huge chunk of their income. I'd feel really really bad if I knew they had to make major sacrifices to give me a huge bonus just because they thought I expected it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those who received bonuses: Was your bonus taxed? Mine gets taxed at the tax rate for bonuses, @33%.

There is no "tax rate for bonuses."

Your income is all taxed at the applicable rate(s) for your income More gets taken out of a lump sum payment like a bonus because it appears to be a larger check knocking you into a higher tax bracket. It will even itself out when you do your taxes.

[Anonymous]

Baby stuff for my baby on the way. I stopped working months ago so this was a parting gift. Mb also offered to babysit for me. Lol

[Nanny4u]

A box of chocolates, $100 and a card!

[Anonymous]

We gave our nanny $900 cash (more than her weekly pre-taxed salary) and a personal gift (about $100).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many jobs give bonuses every year pp.... some people depend on it as part of their salary

LOL! Have you seen Christmas Vacation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many jobs give bonuses every year pp.... some people depend on it as part of their salary

LOL! Have you seen Christmas Vacation?

No, I haven't. I'm not sure why my post was funny. I was talking to a mom at one of my charges school 2 yrs ago. She was upset that her husband didn't get a bonus that year she said it was a huge part of his salary and they depend on it. My long term boyfriend has a white collar job. He said it was true for some it's can be devastating not to get those bonuses. He gets a bonus every year, bit it's only 10% of his salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who received bonuses: Was your bonus taxed? Mine gets taxed at the tax rate for bonuses, @33%.

There is no "tax rate for bonuses."

Your income is all taxed at the applicable rate(s) for your income More gets taken out of a lump sum payment like a bonus because it appears to be a larger check knocking you into a higher tax bracket. It will even itself out when you do your taxes.

You don't get "knocked into a higher tax bracket " bc you received an extra or larger check one single time. That's a ridiculous thought. Bonuses are indeed taxed at a higher rate. Mine as a nanny are, as are my DH's much larger bonuses.

Some people are given cash, which is not taxed at all.

[Anonymous]

$2000 cash, I am happy. 3 years with the family, love the kids to the moon and back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who received bonuses: Was your bonus taxed? Mine gets taxed at the tax rate for bonuses, @33%.

There is no "tax rate for bonuses."

Your income is all taxed at the applicable rate(s) for your income More gets taken out of a lump sum payment like a bonus because it appears to be a larger check knocking you into a higher tax bracket. It will even itself out when you do your taxes.

You don't get "knocked into a higher tax bracket " bc you received an extra or larger check one single time. That's a ridiculous thought. Bonuses are indeed taxed at a higher rate. Mine as a nanny are, as are my DH's much larger bonuses.

Some people are given cash, which is not taxed at all.

Seems you are a little naive to accounting. There are tables/charts / computer programs that are used - the dollar amount of the cheque is what is taxed. So it's taxed at whatever bracket it falls should you make that amount all year. It will even out when you do your taxes and you'll likely get some of that money back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many jobs give bonuses every year pp.... some people depend on it as part of their salary

LOL! Have you seen Christmas Vacation?

No, I haven't. I'm not sure why my post was funny. I was talking to a mom at one of my charges school 2 yrs ago. She was upset that her husband didn't get a bonus that year she said it was a huge part of his salary and they depend on it. My long term boyfriend has a white collar job. He said it was true for some it's can be devastating not to get those bonuses. He gets a bonus every year, bit it's only 10% of his salary.

Bonuses aren't part of your salary. That's why they call them bonuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who received bonuses: Was your bonus taxed? Mine gets taxed at the tax rate for bonuses, @33%.

There is no "tax rate for bonuses."

Your income is all taxed at the applicable rate(s) for your income More gets taken out of a lump sum payment like a bonus because it appears to be a larger check knocking you into a higher tax bracket. It will even itself out when you do your taxes.

You don't get "knocked into a higher tax bracket " bc you received an extra or larger check one single time. That's a ridiculous thought. Bonuses are indeed taxed at a higher rate. Mine as a nanny are, as are my DH's much larger bonuses.

Some people are given cash, which is not taxed at all.

Seems you are a little naive to accounting. There are tables/charts / computer programs that are used - the dollar amount of the cheque is what is taxed. So it's taxed at whatever bracket it falls should you make that amount all year. It will even out when you do your taxes and you'll likely get some of that money back.

Bonuses are taxed at the same rate as lottery jackpots, game show earnings, etc. 33%.

[Anonymous]

Our old nanny sulked when we gave her a one week bonus last christmas and stopped taking our daughter to her classes and only fed her toast. We fired her.
But her replacement has shown us what a great nanny should be and we gave her just over 2 weeks pay as a bonus at christmas and a small gift.
If you find a gem in the nanny world it's a godsend and giving as much as you can reasonably afford up to 2 weeks is worth the peace of mind in my experience.

[Anonymous]

I agree she needed to be fired, but how
do you know she only feed her toast?