Nanny Tax Calculator 2026: Employer FICA, FUTA & State Unemployment
General information, not advice: this page covers tax and employment topics in general terms. It is not tax or legal advice, and reading it does not create a CPA–client relationship. Tax and labor rules vary by state and situation — consult a qualified professional for your circumstances.
Most nanny tax calculators on the internet are running on stale numbers — 2025 thresholds, generic SUTA rates, and no mention of the state-specific details that actually change your bill. This one is built on 2026 IRS figures, ships with Georgia-specific unemployment defaults (the SUTA wage base and new-employer rate that trip up first-time household employers), and shows every line of math so you can check it against IRS Publication 926 yourself.
The thing most calculators get wrong: the $3,000 FICA threshold. Below $3,000 in cash wages to a single worker in 2026, neither you nor the worker owes Social Security or Medicare tax. Cross it, and FICA applies to the full $3,000 — not just the amount over it. This calculator applies the threshold correctly.
Step 1 — Annual cash wages
Step 2 — State unemployment (SUTA)
Defaults are Georgia 2026: 2.64% new-employer rate on the first $9,500 of wages. Change both fields for your state — experienced Georgia employers range from 0.04% to 8.1%.
Step 3 — Fixed 2026 federal figures (no input needed)
FICA threshold $3,000/yr per worker · Social Security 6.2% to the $184,500 wage base · Medicare 1.45% (no cap) · FUTA 0.6% effective rate on the first $7,000 (applies if you pay $1,000+ in cash wages in any calendar quarter).
Taxes are only part of the picture. The Base Case Co. Nanny True Cost Model ($29) builds your full 12-month employer budget — wages, overtime, PTO, holidays, bonus, mileage, payroll-service fees, workers' comp, and FICA/FUTA/SUTA — with what-if scenarios for raises and hour changes, in a pre-formatted Excel/Google Sheets workbook. → Get it at basecase.gumroad.com
How to read the result
- Total employer taxes is what you pay on top of wages: your share of FICA plus federal and state unemployment. Budget wages + this number.
- Effective tax rate answers “for every $1 of nanny wages, how many cents go to employer taxes?” For most families it’s 8–11%.
- Employee net pay shows what the worker keeps after their 7.65% FICA share is withheld (federal/state income tax not included — that depends on their W-4).
- If wages are under $3,000, you’ll see $0 for FICA — that’s correct, not a bug. FUTA and SUTA may still apply.
Once you know the cost, the next question is how to pay less of it legally: nanny wages are qualifying expenses for both the dependent care FSA and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. Run the numbers in our FSA vs. tax credit chooser.
Related: nanny gross-up calculator (start from a take-home target instead) · household employer tax guide (Schedule H, W-2s, and the DIY filing path).