If your nanny is insistent on being dishonest and breaking the law, what other laws/rules is she going to be dishonest about? How can you be sure you can trust her--she's already shown she doesn't think rules apply to her?

MY nanny from when I was a child had a stroke in her 50s & became disabled/unable to work - and the only reason she qualified for all sorts of social services was b/c my parents paid her taxes.

Agree with PP tho - that it is mostly a DC thing for mostly only people who work in gov't jobs and/or big law, etc, where someone may eventually check on them. This is similar with particular areas (chevy chase, NW, some bethesda, etc) where contracts & benefits are common.

nannydebsays wrote:Because it's the legal thing to do, and because you don't want a pissed off nanny exposing your illegal pay arrangement to anyone. Yep, she might have to pay penalties, but you would pay a hell of a lot to the tax man.

Paying nanny legally saves you grief in the long run.

Your nanny would have to be pretty stupid to do this. Whatever amount nanny has to pay I am sure it will be a much bigger burden to her than whatever the NF would end up needing to pay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My personal experience in interviewing nannies is that the rate they quote is an "after tax" rate, rather than a "before tax" rate. So, if you can offer $20/hr, figure out what that would be after taxes (probably about $16/hr), and offer that rate. If you say that you are going to offer $20/hr, and people find out at the interview that is before taxes, on the books, you are going to find a lot of people shutting you down quickly.

I did not have this experience but I have in my ad that you must be legal to work in the US. And I'm in the DC area where I'm told, all of the government and government related jobs give people motivation to keep it all legal.

Anyway, when I talk to nannies on interview, everyone talks before tax.

PP here.

strangely, though, despite what I hear on DCUM, I have yet to meet a nanny who had an official contract from her previous job or official vacation policies.

NP here, but maybe you're simply dealing with a different caliber of nanny? I don't mean that to be inflammatory, but every English speaking experienced nanny I know uses a contract and has at least basic benefits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My personal experience in interviewing nannies is that the rate they quote is an "after tax" rate, rather than a "before tax" rate. So, if you can offer $20/hr, figure out what that would be after taxes (probably about $16/hr), and offer that rate. If you say that you are going to offer $20/hr, and people find out at the interview that is before taxes, on the books, you are going to find a lot of people shutting you down quickly.

I did not have this experience but I have in my ad that you must be legal to work in the US. And I'm in the DC area where I'm told, all of the government and government related jobs give people motivation to keep it all legal.

Anyway, when I talk to nannies on interview, everyone talks before tax.

PP here.

strangely, though, despite what I hear on DCUM, I have yet to meet a nanny who had an official contract from her previous job or official vacation policies.

Anonymous wrote:My personal experience in interviewing nannies is that the rate they quote is an "after tax" rate, rather than a "before tax" rate. So, if you can offer $20/hr, figure out what that would be after taxes (probably about $16/hr), and offer that rate. If you say that you are going to offer $20/hr, and people find out at the interview that is before taxes, on the books, you are going to find a lot of people shutting you down quickly.

I did not have this experience but I have in my ad that you must be legal to work in the US. And I'm in the DC area where I'm told, all of the government and government related jobs give people motivation to keep it all legal.

Anyway, when I talk to nannies on interview, everyone talks before tax.

All of the above. Paying illegally can be career ending for some professions (or future aspirations).

Also, a nanny who is paid legally reaps the benefits of social security.

My personal experience in interviewing nannies is that the rate they quote is an "after tax" rate, rather than a "before tax" rate. So, if you can offer $20/hr, figure out what that would be after taxes (probably about $16/hr), and offer that rate. If you say that you are going to offer $20/hr, and people find out at the interview that is before taxes, on the books, you are going to find a lot of people shutting you down quickly.

Same experience here. Despite the loud voices on dcum, the majority of nannies I've interviewed want to be paid off the books. For some they start asking about that out the gate and I get shut down without even getting an interview. It seems to be a non-starter.

Because it's the legal thing to do, and because you don't want a pissed off nanny exposing your illegal pay arrangement to anyone. Yep, she might have to pay penalties, but you would pay a hell of a lot to the tax man.

Paying nanny legally saves you grief in the long run.

Because it's the law. And if you get caught (audit, nanny files for unemployment), the back taxes and penalties are going to be a bitch.

When you pay "off the books" you are encouraging all sorts of fraud. People will often not report income so they can receive housing assistance as well as SNAP benefits.

I feel like a chump paying taxes when I know people are under reporting and then getting a huge check at tax time.

I'm honest, and will continue to pay.

No one in nyc does, and if you do you're paying waaayyyy more than anyone else. Plus nanny is getting less net. No way you can make her whole, unless you're ms moneybags.

Because it's illigal not to.

I'm having a hard time finding a nanny who will willingly be paid on the books. Why do I have to do this again?