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You chose a nanny share for a reason.
It's an excellent way to give your children access to a fantastic caregiver and develop social skills, all while reducing the cost of childcare by a significant amount.
Keep the savings coming!
We created Nanny Files to give parents a truly affordable alternative to traditional nanny payroll firms - starting at just $23/month.
Easy, guided setup
Set up your nanny in our payroll platform and use our simple guides (with pictures!) to sign up for tax accounts. Each family in the nanny share will need their own tax accounts and subscription, since each is a standalone employer.
A friend at tax time
When taxes are due, we'll send you reminders so you'll never get behind. We'll show you exactly where to go, what to click, and how much to pay. Need a W-2? Download it for free from your payroll portal.
Nanny Share FAQs
How Do Nanny Shares Work?
The trickiest part of setting up a nanny share is finding the right family to work with and hiring the right nanny for all involved. Nanny shares can be set up in such a way that one nanny works part time for two families at different times (with or without overlapping hours) or that one nanny works a consistent schedule and watches both families' children at the same time. (A quick note about pay - typically, you must pay a nanny willing to work with two different families and split their time according to your wishes a higher than standard hourly rate. You get to split the cost with another family and the nanny gets paid more - a win win!) It's important to be very clear about expectations and schedules - not just with your nanny, but with the other family in the share. We recommend putting all expectations and conditions of employment down in a contract - we have a free contract you can download here! Once you have those important details ironed out, there are some important, yet relatively simple, tax and payroll logistics to work through.
How Do We Handle Payroll & Taxes in a Nanny Share?
We try to make this part of the process as easy as possible for our nanny share families. Even though the same nanny works for both families, each family is a separate employer for tax purposes. That means that each family will need to apply for tax accounts, run its own payroll, pay its own taxes, and supply its own W-2. With Nanny Files, each family signs up for a subscription and we walk you through the rest.
When We Run Payroll, Do We Just Split the Hourly Rate in Half?
This is a common misconception many nanny share families have when they pay their nannies! Let's say your nanny makes $26/hr for 40 hours/week. The intuitive way to think about this is that each family pays $13/hr for those 40 hours. This is a helpful way to think about it when coming up with a childcare budget or when comparing various childcare options. But when it comes to reporting payroll and filing taxes, each family should report paying their nanny the full $26/hr but for half the hours. In other words, split the hours, not the rate. The main reason for this? In some states or cities, $13/hr could fall below minimum wage and your family could get in trouble for not paying your nanny enough.
Want to Learn More?
Check out our plans and pricing here.
Get answers to other frequently asked questions here.
Want to ask questions specific to your situation? Contact us or send an email to hello@nannyfiles.com.