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[quote=Anonymous][quote=nannydebsays][quote=Anonymous]OP here, thanks everyone. How much do you end up spending annually on your nanny (incl. taxes, etc)? This is one of my big worries.[/quote]

OP, you need to come up with a list of "must have" "would be nice" and "not important" qualities your perfect nanny would have. If an early childhood education degree is a [i]must have[/i], you'll pay more. If it's [i]not important[/i] you'll likely pay less.

Then you need to determine your childcare budget. If you want to keep a nanny for several years, [b]be sure to start with an hourly rate low enough to allow for COL and performance raises each year.[/b] Nanny taxes for employers usually add about 10% to the nanny's yearly pay, so factor that in as well.

Let's say you can afford 32K per year for nanny care. That means you MUST have a share partner. You decide to leave room for raises/bonuses, and that means your max $$ toward nanny's wages is now 26K. Your tax obligations will be about $2600, leaving about $3400 for raises and bonuses through the year.

{If your budget is less than 24K, or 18K per year to nanny, that equals an hourly rate of $6.25 per share family. $12.50/hour for a share is not going to get you really good experienced candidates.}

Say you need a nanny 50 hours a week. That means you will be paying 10 hours of OT each week, since nannies are hourly workers. Your budget is $500/week, meaning you are able to afford $9/hour or less. With a share partner whose hourly needs match yours, you can find a nanny for $16 - $18/hour.

Then you advertise the job and evaluate the candidates you are getting. Are the best candidates checking off all of your "must have" items? Then you are able to afford a nanny of the quality you want. If candidates you see are NOT adequate, that means you will need to bump the hourly rate up a bit and see if quality improves.[/quote]

OK advice, but I suggest one change. There is negligible benefit to keeping the same nanny for years, in fact I see it as a negative since it is best for your children to get used to multiple people and styles to prepare them for school and life. Instead of hiring a cheap nanny and training her over the years and paying her more and more you can just find a much better and experienced nanny now and skip the raises and bonuses and replace her every 1.5-2 years. That is what I have done for the last almost 8 years and I couldn't be happier.[/quote]

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