Nanny Shares - What Works?

Families considering sharing a nanny - known as a Nanny Share - are on the rise as family struggle to contain their childcare expenses. These arrangements, while financially attractive, come with their own set of complications.

HomeWork Solutions has published a new tips sheet titled Ten Tips: Nanny Share Agreements to highlight important considerations for the nanny share agreement.

The tip sheet addresses the sticky wicket areas that so often cause a share to fall apart, including compensation issues, nanny tax concerns, vacation and sick time concerns, overtime compensation, and planning for the end of the nanny share.

Do you have advice or lessons learned to share with families and nannies considering these nanny share arrangements? I invite you to leave your comments below.

New Tax Amnesty Programs

We have reported on several state tax amnesty programs this year. Add Delaware, Vermont and Oregon to the list of states offering tax amnesty programs hoping to bring in desperately needed tax revenue with the promises of penalty and/or interest forgiveness.

The Delaware amnesty program runs September 1, 2009 to October 30, 2009 and does not appear to include delinquent employer withholding taxes or unemployment insurance tax and does include personal income tax. Oregon's tax amnesty program also excludes employer withholding and unemployment insurance taxes. Oregon's program runs October 1, 2009 through November 19, 2009 and does not include the 2008 or 2009 tax years.

Vermont's tax amnesty program does include personal income and employer withholding taxes, and excluded unemployment insurance taxes. Vermont's program runs July 20, 2009 through August 31, 2009.

Advice When You Need to Let the Nanny Go

Nanny jobs are not forever. The reasons for letting the nanny go vary. The children grow up and your beloved family nanny is no longer needed. Perhaps the nanny has horrible work habits - always late or a frequent 'no show.' Your family and the nanny simply may not 'click.' The nanny who was a wonderful nurturer of your infant does not have the energy to deal with your demanding toddler. Whatever the reason, firing a nanny can be an uncomfortable experience for both family and nanny.

Below are some tips and best practices when letting the nanny go.

1. Be compassionate: The golden rule is in full force here. So long as the nanny is not being fired for willful disregard for the work agreement (absenteeism, failure to follow household rules), consider that this news is going to come as a blow to the nanny. It is best to break the news at the end of a work day and away from the children.
   
   


2. Don't draw out the conversation: Short and simple are the best way to deliver the news. Nanny may react emotionally - tears, harsh words, or stunned shock. Don't let yourself become engaged. Use "I" statements ("I am convinced we cannot make this work.") instead of "You" statements ("You caused this to happen because you never [fill in the blank].") If the parting is amicable, assure her of the actions you are willing to take - provide a reference, pay severance, post a Nanny Available notice at your workplace, or the like. If unpleasant, don't rehash the offenses.
   
   


3. Notice: : If you have a written work agreement, you will most likely have a notice provision already agreed to. Adhere to it. If you require x weeks of notice from the nanny, be sure you return the courtesy, or provide pay in lieu of the notice.
   
   Sometimes the nanny is being fired for gross negligence or willful disregard for the terms/conditions of employment. In these cases, you have to use your best judgment (try not to be overly emotional) and AT A MINIMUM provide pay at the time of dismissal for all work performed to date. NEVER fail to pay the nanny, no matter how horrible, for the work performed. You could open your family to a world of trouble with your state's Wage and Hour Board should the nanny (who probably doesn't like YOU too much at this time either) files a dispute for unpaid wages.
   
   


4. Severance: This is truly decided on an individual case basis. A family relocating out of the area for example may provide "notice" when the "For Sale" sign goes up in front of the house. They may consider offering severance - perhaps 2 weeks pay - IF the nanny stays with the family until the move date. This type of severance is also known as a retention bonus. This helps insure the family against dealing with relocation and job issues and having the nanny leave prematurely because she, naturally, is most concerned with her own continuity of income.
   
   


5. Letter of Recommendation: When you are separating on amicable terms, please consider writing a letter of recommendation, and making yourself reasonably available for telephoned reference checks.
   
   


6. Documentation: When your nanny is in violation of your work agreement and it DOES NOT endanger the children, providing nanny a written warning that documents the behavior, restates the work agreement, and advises that future offenses may result in termination can protect you from unemployment claims that adversely impact your tax rate. Make sure you have two copies, nanny signs one and gives it back to you. This is common for tardiness, absenteeism, etc. Keep daily time records (you should anyway for myriad reasons) so you can demonstrate, if needed, the dates and nature of the problem. If the nanny's offense endangers your children - forget the paperwork and let her go immediately. Write down as many specifics that day as possible so you have a contemporaneous record to back up your protest of an unemployment compensation claim.
   
   


7. Taxes: You nanny may be eligible for unemployment compensation from your state fund. This is true even if you were not properly reporting her wages to the state! Presuming you have your employment taxes in order, your responsibility is to respond to the state's inquiry about the terms of dismissal in a timely basis. Failure to respond on time will result in a ruling on the nanny's behalf. If the nanny is awarded benefits, the charges are applied to your account in much the same way an at-fault auto accident is applied to your auto insurance. The total amount of the benefits paid will be part of your tax rate calculation in future years - you have no out of pocket obligation.
   
   
   
   But what if you were paying under the table? The state unemployment agency will look back at the last one - two years of the nanny's employment. If you did not report/pay your unemployment taxes, you will be subject to administrative action, including reporting to the IRS, and may be charged with the entirety of the nanny's unemployment benefits. Unemployment insurance (tax) for the full time nanny averages $300- 400 a year - when paid on time. A nanny's benefits may be $200 - 300 per week for up to 39 weeks. That could be $8000- 12000 directly charged to you for failure to pay the requisite employment taxes.
   
   
   


8. Security & Family Property: Request that nanny at the time of separation return all house and car keys, as well as any remote devices. Consider changing the alarm or garage door codes if the separation is not amicable. Notify school and medical personnel that the nanny is no longer authorized for pickups, etc. If the nanny had a family credit card for groceries and the like, cancel that card too. Car seats, if provided for the nanny's car, should be returned then too.
   
   


9. What about the live in nanny? Family options here vary. For even the most egregious offenses, the nanny needs to sleep some place tonight. Consider getting her a room at a nearby Motel-6 and driving her there with her possessions. If the nanny didn't meet your expectations, consider giving her a bus ticket or plane fare back to family. Make sure you have a forwarding address for the nanny so you can provide her W-2 form at year end.
   
   


10. Telling the children: You will need to explain to your child that the nanny is leaving separately. If the separation is amicable, you will want to allow the nanny and the child to say their good-byes and share their last moments. Be careful that it doesn't turn into a melodrama. Consider planning a future visit if possible - perhaps you can arrange for nanny to baby-sit one evening a few weeks down the road.
    
    
    
    The nanny who was fired for unacceptable job performance should not be left alone with your child, and probably should not engage in good-byes. Take a deep breath and try to calm yourself before you talk to your child. Let your child know why the nanny was fired if possible and if the child is old enough to comprehend. Keep it positive to the extent possible. "Suzie was a lot of fun but she knows you need to be strapped in your car seat to keep you safe and she broke the rules. Daddy and I need to keep you safe and we cannot let Suzie stay with you anymore." is far better than "I just fired Suzie and she won't be watching you any more. I cannot believe she put you in the car without your car seat. That was a terrible thing to do! She is a horrible nanny!"
    
    
    
    Your child may have become attached to the nanny who let her sit in the front seat of your car without a seatbelt. Be prepared for your child to be angry with you for a while too. Reinforce to your child (and the fired nanny) that your number one job as a parent is to keep your children safe. This will pass, and months from now the child may not even remember who that nanny was - honestly!
    

Other helpful information:

 10 Common Nanny Hiring Mistakes PDF Version

 10 Tips to Hiring the Best Nanny

 Article: So What is a Nanny Anyway?

US Minimum Wage Increases to $7.25 an Hour July 24

The federal minimum wage increases to $7.25 an hour, effective July 24, marking the third and final increase scheduled from legislation signed by President George Bush in 2007.

More than a dozen states will increase minimum wages July 24 to match the federal minimum wage increase: Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The District of Columbia sets its minimum wage at the federal minimum rate plus $1, bringing the rate to $8.25, effective July 24. Ohio's minimum wage for nanny employers will remain at $7.30 an hour - there are statewide increases for larger employers only.

The state minimum wage increased in Illinois, Kentucky, and Nevada effective July 1, 2009:

• Illinois, $8 an hour, from $7.75.


• Kentucky, $7.25 an hour, from $6.55.


• Nevada, $6.55 an hour for employees with qualifying health benefits, from $5.85; and $7.55 an hour for all other employees, from $6.85.

The weekly stipend for a typical au pair will also increase July 24 to $195.75. Specialty classes of au pairs may increase more - refer to your contract. Remember, while no employment taxes (Social Security, Medicare, or Unemployment) are due on the au pair stipend, it is subject to Federal Income Tax and most au pairs do have a Federal income tax obligation.

IRS Warning: Check Your Withholding Satus

Nannies who are married, in a nanny share, or have more than one job take note: The Internal Revenue Service is reminding individual taxpayers to check their 2009 federal income tax withholding levels to ensure there are no surprises when filing returns next spring. Because the Making Work Pay credit lowered tax withholding rates this year for 120 million American households, taxpayers should ensure that enough tax is withheld if they are among these groups: multiple job holders, families with both spouses working, workers who can be claimed as dependents by other taxpayers, and pensioners. Failure to adjust withholding could result in taxes owed or smaller refunds, IRS said.

If a nanny is married and both spouses work and both spouses had their withholding tax adjusted, they are being credited for 150% of the available credit - and may be surprised to owe several hundred dollars at the end of the year. If you work two or more jobs and have withholding from each, you may be being under-withheld because each job treats your withholding tax calculation as if you are working only for them. Nannies in a nanny share have to be particularly vigilant that both jobs are taking into account your TOTAL income, not just the portion they pay individually, when calculating your withholding.

Remember, withholding tax calculations are simply estimates. You true tax calculations depend on many factors other than your income and marital status.

The IRS withholding calculator at IRS.gov and Publication 919, How Do I Adjust My Withholding?, can help a taxpayer compute the proper tax withholding.