Do You Need to Complete Schedule H?
The Schedule H is used for reporting wages you pay household employees and figuring out how much tax you must pay as the employer. The amount you owe in “nanny taxes,” as these taxes are often referred to, will be calculated in two parts:
- Part I is where you figure and report the Medicare and Social Security Tax you owe for your employee(s).
- Part II is where you figure and report Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) for your employee(s).
Who has to file Schedule H?
You need to complete this if any of the following statements is true:
- You paid cash wages of $2,200 or more during 2020 to any one household employee.
- You paid total wages of $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter of 2020 or 2019 to all of your household employees combined.
- A household employee asks you to withhold federal income tax from the wages you pay them.
If you are required to file a Schedule H then you should submit it to the IRS along with your tax return. You will use this to figure out how much tax you owe, and the amount due will be included on your individual tax return.
Who counts as a household employee?
Anyone you pay regular wages to perform specific tasks at your home can be considered a household employee. This often includes maids, housekeepers, gardeners, personal assistants, cooks, nannies, nurses and others who provide personal care for someone at your home. These roles often qualify as household employees, but the list is not inclusive. Other people you employ to do work at your home can also be considered household employees in some cases.
Service professionals who work for you only occasionally are not usually considered household employees. Repairmen, roofers, plumbers, HVAC and electrical workers, for example, are not household employees and do not trigger a requirement to file.
Important: You do not need to file this if you file Form 941, 943 or 944.
How are nanny taxes calculated?
If you must pay nanny taxes for one or more household employees, you'll owe this amount as the employer's share:
- 6.2% of wages for employer Social Security tax
- 1.45% of wages for Medicare tax
- 6% in FUTA. However, if you must pay unemployment taxes to your state, you'll pay a reduced FUTA rate.
Important: The amount you must submit to the IRS includes both the employer and employee shares of Medicare and Social Security taxes. You should withhold 6.2% of wages for the employee's portion of Social Security tax and 1.45% of wages for the employee's portion of Medicare taxes. When you pay your taxes, you will need to submit both portions to the IRS.