Free nanny paycheck tool

Free Nanny Paycheck Calculator

A free nanny paycheck calculator estimates a nanny's take-home pay after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state withholdings. Enter hourly pay or salary, pay frequency, filing status, and state to see a detailed pay stub showing exactly what the nanny will deposit each pay period.

What will my nanny actually take home each paycheck? Enter the wage, hours, and state below to see a pay-stub breakdown of gross pay, taxes withheld, and net pay.

Real pay-stub view

See gross pay, every tax line, and net pay laid out the way a nanny's pay stub would be printed.

Hourly or salary

Works for hourly nannies on a weekly schedule and for nannies with a fixed annual salary.

Federal, FICA, and state

Estimates federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state withholding across all 50 states.

Pre-tax deductions

Add optional retirement or health insurance contributions to see a more accurate take-home estimate.

Estimate the nanny's paycheck

Enter the nanny's wage, schedule, filing status, and state to see what they actually take home each pay period.

Pay setup

Hourly gross payThe nanny's gross hourly wage before any withholding.Hours per weekUsed to convert hourly wage into a paycheck. Hours over 40 should generally be paid at 1.5x for live-out nannies.

Pay frequencyTwo workweeks combined into one paycheck (most common for nannies).Filing statusUses the simplified single-filer standard deduction and recent federal bracket structure for withholding.Work stateNew York uses a simplified flat withholding estimate of 5.80%.

Pre-tax deductions per paycheck (optional)Add 401(k), traditional IRA payroll deferrals, HSA, or health insurance premiums withheld before tax.

This is a planning calculator, not payroll or tax advice. It uses simplified federal brackets and a flat state withholding estimate, and does not include local taxes, additional Medicare tax, wage-base caps, or exact W-4 allowances.

Nanny take-home summary

Based on 40 hrs each week at $25.00 per hour. Two workweeks combined into one paycheck (most common for nannies).

Gross pay

$2,000.00

The nanny's wages each pay period before any withholding.

Total deductions

$430.54

21.5% of gross pay withheld in this estimate.

Net take-home pay

$1,569.46

78.5% of gross pay deposited to the nanny.

Annual take-home pay$40,806

That works out to about $19.62 per hour after taxes.

Filing status

Uses the simplified single-filer standard deduction and recent federal bracket structure for withholding.

Single

State withholding

New York uses a simplified flat withholding estimate of 5.80%.

5.80%

Hours per paycheck

Based on 40 hrs per week and the selected biweekly cycle.

80 hrs

Gross hourly equivalent

Useful when starting from salary but you still want an hourly comparison.

$25.00

Nanny pay stub breakdown

Each line item shown the way it would appear on a real nanny pay stub: earnings on top, deductions in the middle, and net pay at the bottom.

Pay stub line	This paycheck	Annualized
Gross pay 80 hrs at $25.00/hr.	$2,000.00	$52,000
Federal income tax Simplified withholding using single brackets and a $15,000 standard deduction.	-$161.54	-$4,200
Social Security (6.2%) Employee FICA share withheld from the nanny's wages.	-$124.00	-$3,224
Medicare (1.45%) Employee FICA share withheld from the nanny's wages.	-$29.00	-$754
New York state tax New York uses a simplified flat withholding estimate of 5.80%.	-$116.00	-$3,016
Total deductions 21.5% of gross pay in this estimate.	-$430.54	-$11,194
Net take-home pay What the nanny actually deposits each biweekly pay period.	$1,569.46	$40,806

Tax withholding mix per paycheck

Visual comparison of which taxes pull the most out of the nanny's paycheck.

Federal income tax$161.54
Social Security$124.00
Medicare$29.00
New York state tax$116.00

How the nanny paycheck calculator works

A quick walkthrough of the inputs and what the calculator does with them to estimate the nanny's net pay.

Step 1

Enter the nanny's gross pay

Start with the nanny's hourly wage and weekly schedule, or enter an annual salary. This sets the gross-pay baseline before any taxes are withheld.

Step 2

Pick the pay frequency

Choose weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly so the calculator can convert annual gross pay into the exact amount per paycheck the nanny will receive.

Step 3

Set filing status, state, and pre-tax deductions

Pick the nanny's federal filing status and the state where the work is performed, then add any optional pre-tax deductions like retirement or health insurance.

Step 4

Review the nanny's pay stub

See gross pay, federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state tax, total deductions, and net take-home pay laid out in a real pay-stub view.

What gets deducted from a nanny's paycheck

A nanny's gross pay is reduced by a stack of mandatory and optional withholdings before it becomes net take-home pay.

Federal income tax. Withheld based on the W-4 the nanny submits, with progressive brackets that depend on filing status and total annual wages.
Social Security (6.2%). Employee FICA share withheld from each paycheck up to the annual Social Security wage base.
Medicare (1.45%). Employee FICA share with no wage cap, plus an additional 0.9% for very high earners (not modeled here).
State income tax. Levied in most states; some states like Florida, Texas, and Washington withhold $0 from a nanny's paycheck.
Optional pre-tax deductions. 401(k), traditional IRA contributions, HSA, or health insurance premiums lower taxable wages and the nanny's paycheck.

Nanny vs. household employee: are they the same?

For tax purposes, yes. The IRS classifies a nanny as a household employee whenever the family controls what work is done and how it is done in their home, which is almost always the case for in-home nanny care.

That means the nanny gets a W-2 (not a 1099), the family pays employer Social Security and Medicare on top of wages, and the nanny does not pay self-employment tax. A nanny working through an agency that controls placements may instead be the agency's employee, which changes who runs payroll, but the paycheck math is otherwise identical to what this calculator shows.

Why net pay matters more than hourly rate

Two nanny offers at the same hourly rate can produce very different take-home pay once filing status, state taxes, and pay frequency are factored in. A $25/hr offer in Florida nets more than the same $25/hr offer in California, and a nanny contributing to a 401(k) sees a smaller paycheck even though their pay rate hasn't changed.

For the family, framing the offer in net-pay terms ("you will deposit about $X every Friday") is far more useful than a sticker hourly rate when the nanny is comparing offers. For the nanny, knowing the net number is what makes rent and budgeting work.

Common gross pay scenarios

A few realistic starting points for nanny pay across the United States.

Part-time after-school nanny. $20 to $25 per hour for 20 to 25 hours per week, paid weekly or biweekly.
Full-time nanny in a mid-cost market. $22 to $28 per hour for 40 to 45 hours per week.
Career nanny in a high-cost metro. $30 to $40+ per hour for 40 to 50 hours per week, often paid on a guaranteed weekly salary.
Live-in nanny. Salary plus housing; net pay is lower than a live-out at the same gross because lodging is not pre-tax.

Frequently asked questions

Answers to the questions families and nannies ask most often about nanny paychecks.

How is a nanny's paycheck calculated?

A nanny's paycheck starts with gross pay (hourly wage times hours worked, or salary divided by pay periods). The household employer then withholds federal income tax, Social Security at 6.2%, Medicare at 1.45%, and any applicable state income tax. Whatever is left after those withholdings is the nanny's net take-home pay.

What taxes are withheld from a nanny's paycheck?

Most nannies have four taxes withheld: federal income tax based on filing status and W-4, Social Security at 6.2% of gross wages, Medicare at 1.45% of gross wages, and state income tax in states that levy one. The household employer separately pays a matching 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare on top of the nanny's gross wages.

Does a nanny pay self-employment tax?

No. Nannies are household employees, not independent contractors, so they do not pay self-employment tax. The family pays the employer share of Social Security and Medicare while withholding the employee share from each paycheck. A nanny who is incorrectly issued a 1099 should ask the family to switch to W-2 payroll.

How does overtime affect a nanny's paycheck?

Live-out nannies are entitled to time-and-a-half pay for hours over 40 in a workweek under federal law. That overtime is added to gross pay and is taxed the same way as regular wages, so a nanny working overtime sees a larger paycheck and proportionally larger withholdings for federal, Social Security, Medicare, and state taxes.

What is the difference between gross and net pay for nannies?

Gross pay is the nanny's wages before any deductions, calculated from hourly rate and hours or annual salary. Net pay, also called take-home pay, is what the nanny actually deposits after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state tax, and any pre-tax deductions are subtracted. Most nannies take home roughly 75% to 85% of gross.