Has any moms “hired” a family member to watch their kids full time? My sister in law suggested that she become our nanny for my 3 year old and newborn when I go back to work. My questions are regarding paying and taxes. How does that all work? Any tips and positives/ negatives are greatly appreciated.
I watched my 3 grands full time. No pay involved. I did it because it’s the right thing to do.
Never hire family for ANYTHING
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Talk about pay. If you and your sister in law have like opinions how to care for children, having her care for your kids would be a blessing.
My kids are adopted (hence the age gap)… I paid my 19 year old daughter to watch my 3 year old son during the day. Because she was my daughter and my name was on her bank acct, I just transferred her pay into her acct. As far as taxes go, you can probably get away without her paying taxes so long as you don’t try to claim a child care tax credit on your return- that would be a win for both of you in a sense because she wouldn’t pay taxes on her income from you and you could possibly pay her a little less because of that (like cash under the table means more $ than a taxed check type of deal). If you’re asking how much to pay her- I can’t really recommend an exact amount. There’s a lot of factors that go into that. Like will she watch the kids at her house or yours? Depending on that, will she be responsible for providing meals/snacks or will you? If at your house, will she be responsible for doing other chores like dishes/sweeping/laundry? Not necessarily cleaning your whole house top to bottom but maintaining the house you left in the am for when you come home in the pm.
Hiring a nanny can be extremely expensive, hiring a nanny that is a family member with special pricing can definitely be a bonus. But you are also committing to have that family member raise your kids for 40+ hours a week. And adding that employer/employee dynamic to a family relationship. It’s absolutely possible! But just make sure you think it through entirely before committing.