Anonymous wrote:OP, here's the breakdown:
Every person employed in the US is required to pay taxes on their earnings. Part goes to Medicare, part to Social Security. Those are the two that employers match, and the employer is legally required to withhold those percentages from salary (I believe that it's about 7.5% combined for the nanny, and the employer matches with another 7.5%, so effectively is requires to send 15% of nanny's gross salary to the IRS). Additionally, there are federal taxes, most states have an income tax, and some cities have an income tax, but the employer is *not* legally required to withhold those taxes for a domestic employee. Whether or not federal, state and local taxes are withheld, the employer must give a W-2 (if they haven't provided it by Jan 31, nanny confirms with them that they have a way to get it to her, and if nanny still hasn't received it by Feb 14, she is supposed to notify the IRS). The nanny uses the information on the W2 to file a federal tax return, and state and/or local as needed. I can't tell you what the percentages that are withheld for federal, state and local are, as they depend on a number of factors.
Does that help?
I just realized you asked about employer taxes as well. Ok, employers match the nanny's Medicare and Social Security. But they also should be paying unemployment insurance, workman's comp, and possibly an extra amount for their auto insurance, if nanny drives an employer-provided vehicle. Some employers pay nanny's health insurance.