Household employment taxes get reported once a year on Schedule H, attached to your 1040. But there's a catch that surprises a lot of families: the IRS expects you to pay those taxes throughout the year, not in one lump at filing. Miss that and you can owe an underpayment penalty on top of the tax. The fix is simple — pay quarterly.

Why quarterly at all?

The U.S. tax system is pay-as-you-go. Employees have tax withheld from each paycheck; the self-employed and household employers send it in themselves. If you'll owe $1,000 or more when you file, the IRS generally wants it paid across the year — and your nanny taxes (both the FICA halves and any income tax you withhold) count toward that.

You're paying YOUR tax bill early. The quarterly payment covers the household employment taxes that will land on your Schedule H — you're just prepaying them so April isn't a shock.

The two ways to pay as you go

  • Form 1040-ES estimated payments — send the IRS a quarterly payment that includes your expected household employment taxes.
  • Extra withholding from your own job — if you or a spouse is a W-2 employee, bumping up your own withholding can cover the household taxes without separate payments.
The withholding route is the easiest for many families: adjust your own W-4 at work so a little more comes out of each paycheck, and the household taxes are effectively prepaid with zero quarterly filing.

The 2026 due dates

Estimated payments follow four (uneven) quarters. For income earned in 2026, payments are generally due:

  • Q1 (Jan–Mar): April 15, 2026
  • Q2 (Apr–May): June 15, 2026
  • Q3 (Jun–Aug): September 15, 2026
  • Q4 (Sep–Dec): January 15, 2027

How much to set aside

A clean rule of thumb: every pay period, move the taxes into savings so the cash is ready. That's the employee FICA you withheld (7.65%), your matching employer FICA (7.65%), any income tax you withheld, plus a bit for FUTA/SUTA. Set that aside as you go and each quarterly payment is already funded.

Rules on who must pay estimates — and the 'safe harbor' amounts that avoid a penalty — have nuances. This isn't tax advice; the IRS instructions for Form 1040-ES and a tax pro can confirm your situation.

House totals what to set aside each quarter from the payroll you've already run, so your estimated payment is a number you can just copy.

See my quarterly total

The bottom line

Pay your household taxes as you go — either with quarterly 1040-ES payments or extra withholding from your own paycheck — and Schedule H in April becomes a formality instead of a bill. Set the money aside each pay period and you'll never scramble.