Household payroll comes with a small, predictable stack of forms. Once you see what each one does and when it's due, the paperwork stops feeling like a maze. Here's the whole map.

At hire: Form I-9

Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) confirms your nanny is authorized to work in the U.S. Your nanny completes their section, and you review their identification documents. Complete it on or before the first day of work and keep it in your records — you don't file it with any agency, but you must be able to produce it if asked.

At hire: Form W-4

Form W-4 (Employee's Withholding Certificate) is how your nanny tells you how much federal income tax to withhold from each paycheck. Withholding income tax is technically optional for household employers, but doing it spares your nanny a surprise bill. Many states have their own W-4 equivalent, too.

Keep the I-9 and W-4 on file from day one. They don't get sent in, but they're the foundation for every paycheck that follows.

Every pay period: the pay stub

Not a government form, but the most important running record you'll keep. A pay stub shows gross pay, each tax withheld, and net pay for the period. Many states require you to provide one, and it's what makes your year-end totals trustworthy.

At year-end: Forms W-2 and W-3

After the year closes you give your nanny a Form W-2 summarizing their wages and everything withheld — they need it to file their own return. You then send Form W-3 (a transmittal that totals the W-2) to the Social Security Administration. These are generally due in late January.

  • W-2 → your nanny (a copy also goes to the SSA).
  • W-3 → the Social Security Administration, summarizing the W-2.
  • Deadline: typically January 31 for the prior year.

At tax time: Schedule H

Schedule H (Household Employment Taxes) is where it all comes together. You attach it to your personal Form 1040 to report the Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment taxes for the year and settle up what you owe. Because it rides along with your own return, setting money aside quarterly keeps April calm.

House generates the figures for your W-2, W-3, and Schedule H automatically from the payroll you've already run — no re-keying, no spreadsheets.

See it in action

The whole year on one page

  • Day one: I-9 and W-4.
  • Every payday: a pay stub.
  • January: W-2 to your nanny, W-3 to the SSA.
  • Tax time: Schedule H with your 1040.