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GGMG moms have responded to many requests regarding nanny pay:
Nanny Pay
Pay for Mother's Helper
Live-In Nanny Pay
Nanny versus Babysitter Pay
Overnight/Vacation Nanny Pay
Nanny Pay When One Child In School Part-Time
Paying Legally
Nanny Pay
- From what I have gathered over the last few years is there is no real norm. High school teenagers charge about $7-$12, college students charge about $10-$15 and adults charge more like $12-$20/hr.
- We pay both of our sitters (who are also preschool teachers) $17/hour. I pay this rate whether the kids are awake or asleep. I also pay this when it's only one of the kids. I've found that it creates loyalty when they can count on a rate and it doesn't change because one child is at a playdate, etc. We hate that it costs so much but we also found two people we really trust and don't want to lose them.
- I pay our nanny $15 per hour for my 2 children, which I believe is really below the going rate--my last person charged $20 per hour for 2.
- Our nanny charges $15 per hour (for one child) and would like to be paid holidays when they fall on her regular workdays.
- We pay $20 per hour for one child, and she'll occasionally take on another child for more (we haven't done it, so I don't know how much more). She's fabulous, and we've never left our child alone with ANYONE before she came along, so it's worth it. It's definitely high, but she has worked for less than $20/hr on an occasional or short-term basis.
- $16 per hour for one child is what we pay, but we guarantee 35 hours per week, pay her for her 2 weeks vacation (it's usually around Christmas) and pay her when we're on vacation, too. We give her her birthday off, and because she's Irish, we give her the day after St. Patrick's Day off, too!
- $18 per hour is what we're paying now--it seems high for one child, but she does so much around the house that it's worth it. I've heard of nannies charging $24 per hour (we interviewed one).
- Our nanny charges $20 per hour for two--we're in a share, so it's $10 per hour per family--and $15 per hour for a single child.
- We are in a nanny share where we currently pay our nanny $18 for 2 kids, $15 when there is only 1 child.
(Updated June 2007)
Pay for Mother's Helper
- The average rate for a Nanny/ Mother's Helper were still in the $15-18 range, depending on the number of children. (The range was between $10-20.)
- Our Mother's Helper does things I need a break from doing--laundry (including mine) making the beds, going to the grocery store, bringing the groceries up from the car if I go, sweeping the front steps. We pay $18 per hour.
- We run a small family business and have to work a lot, so we have two personal assistants. They help with everything in our lives, from getting groceries to ordering invites to shopping, etc. We pay one of them $17.50 per hour (she just asked for a raise) and we pay one, who does a lot more professional stuff (interfaces with a lot of people on the phone, etc.) $30 per hour.
- For a Mother's Helper, the rates are between $10 and $16, but most commonly $12. Look into USF students.
(Updated April 2007)
Live-In Nanny Pay
- We pay our current nanny $18/hour for one child; she's been with us for two years. We just hired a new nanny (because the first one is leaving us to return to school). We will pay the new nanny $19/hour for two children plus $140 / month healthcare plus two weeks vacation. If she were live-in we would deduct $600 per month from her gross pay.
- We pay $800 every two weeks for an 11 month old and a 2 years old.
- Other sources I looked at include the Berkeley Parents Network, which conducted a very detailed live-out nanny pay survey in 2003, and agency ads, for a general estimate of pay ranges.
(Updated May 2007)
Nanny versus Babysitter Pay
What's the going rate to pay your nanny to babysit in the evenings? I didn't prenegotiate this with my nanny, and just wanted to find out if it is the same or maybe cheaper since my son will be asleep for most of the time.
Almost veryone responded that they pay the same regular hourly rate for extra babysitting hours with their nannies. Sometimes, the nannies will also do a little cleaning while the baby is asleep. If overtime is required, that is paid also. A couple of moms responded that they got a college student as a babysitter who they paid a lower rate to:
- We paid $15 for two for evening babysitting. Our sitter had tons of experience and we trusted that she would take excellent (and firm) care of our children. Previously we paid $10 and hour and often came home to find our 3YO (her 18-month-old brother didn't have the same stamina) sitting on the couch at 11 p.m. saying, "Hi Mommy and Daddy!" Not what we wanted in a sitter...
- While there was someone likely very acceptable at a price in between, we felt that $15 an hour with no tip and a ride home across town was worth every nickel.
(Updated May 2007)
Overnight/Vacation Nanny Pay
- Several nannies have quoted $100 for the day, and $100 for the night for taking care of one child as a baseline. I've ended up paying more with my full-time nanny, as she earns more during the day.
- Our nanny did it for free as help to us, but I did offer an extra $50 per night for the overnight
- I have heard a good 'rule of thumb' is to pay them 1/3 of their daily rate for sleep overs.
- I was told by Town and Country that it is $50-$75 as a flat rate when the child is asleep.
- We've had our regular nanny stay with our son for a weekend. She charged a flat 12 hours for a 24 hour period, since she said that's what it usually works out to anyway. I thought that was more than fair. (We pay her $15/hr for one child.)
- I paid $20/hour for a night nanny that I hired through an agency. In addition, I had to pay $5/hour to the agency.
- I normally pay a flat $30 for the sleeping hours
- We took our young babysitter (21) we use for weekends to Hawaii. We paid her expenses, nothing else (hey, she got to go to Hawaii and out to dinner with us, etc.) and she told us she would go with us anytime, anywhere after the trip, so it must have been okay with her.
- We have taken our nanny of 3 1/2 years with us a few times and have also had her stay at our house overnight. With her we have allowed her to bring her daughter (like when we go to the snow) and I pay for her daughter to ski, all meals, etc. and she helps with our little guy while we ski. We paid just her regular 8 hour a day pay (she gets to go on trips she would not have gone on otherwise and give her daughter an opportunity, too). If we go over a weekend, we give her days off to swap the days out so there is not too much extra cost. We took her to a family camp we go on last summer and offered her a cabin for her family (we paid) in exchange for morning babysitting. It worked out well, they got a paid vacation, we got some help so we could go hiking, and again just regular pay that I give her each week.
- When she has stayed with us overnight, we paid her $100 extra on top of her 8 hour a day hourly rate. A couple of other times, we did not pay her extra, but gave her a day off with pay (so it didn't cost us any more than usual). Again, we also allowed her to bring her daughter and offered for her husband to stay over, too (but he did not).
- But, our favorite babysitter to take has been my mom. We pay for her airfare and get a suite (she sleeps on the fold-out couch). It's great for everyone...time with Grandma, an extra set of eyes on the kids, and we are able to get away a few nights.
(Updated March 2006)
Nanny Pay When ONE Child in School Part-Time
- I pay $10/hr when my daughter is in school and the nanny is just watching one child. I pay $15 when she is watching both. ie, 8:30- 12:00 she gets $10, and after 12:00, she gets $15. Whether my daughter is at home or on a playdate or at a ballet class, I still pay $15 so it does not get complicated and nit picky. My friend just pays a flat rate of $12 so she does not have to calculate school and non- school hours.
- We pay ours $15 an hour for 1 or 2, my past two nannies don't seem to
like to nickle and dime for the random hours here and there that
there are 1 or 2 children.
- I am a stay at home mom with a nanny two days a week to help me with my two kids (4 and 2). I pay her a flat rate of $15 an hour regardless of whether she is watching one child or two.
- We pay $16/hour for two children, one of which goes part-time to school. Nanny drives, and she is responsible for the commuting to preschool. (Nanny works full-time.)
(Updated November 2005)
Paying Legally
Regardless of the employee's work status, the IRS expects employers to withhold taxes and employees to file tax returns. Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN) are issued regardless of immigration status. The IRS will not share any information with the INS and/or SSA--ITINs are strictly for tax processing.
Here are more resources for paying legally, but the most comprehensive and clear summary is the first:
Typically, 10% of gross pay is the estimated withholding. Breedlove.com has a calculator (as do other sites) so that you can get an estimate of what you might pay in taxes for a nanny. Other resources for paying legally:
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