A lesser known perk which can help save money in taxes for both a household employer and nanny is to provide or reimburse for health insurance.
Given the same amount of money paid to a nanny, allocating a portion toward health costs (which your nanny would be paying anyway), will result in these tax saving benefits, saving you both money!
- lower Medicare and Social Security taxes owed by nanny
- lower income taxes owed by the nanny
- lower Medicare and Social Security taxes owed by employer
- lower Unemployment taxes owed by employer
Household employers are not required to pay for a nanny’s health insurance. However, you should consider this perk to benefit you both.
There are 2 ways to offer this benefit:
Option 1: Reimbursing for a nanny purchased Health Insurance plan
One option where the nanny purchases their own health insurance and is reimbursed for some or all expenses by you.
With QSEHRA (Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement), the tax-exempt limit is $6,150 annually for 2024 for individual coverage and $12,450 for a family plan, prorated for partial year employment.
This is an appealing option for a few reasons. If she chooses her plan, she can pick the one that best matches her needs. Additionally, after her employment with you ends, she can continue with the same health insurance and not have to change plans.
With reimbursement method, ask your nanny for initial proof and monthly statements. You do not need to submit these anywhere, but retain these in case of an audit.
Option 2: Purchasing Health insurance
An alternate strategy is to purchase health insurance as an employer and provide it as an option to your employees.
In this scenario, purchase the insurance via SHOP (Small Business Health Options Program) to become eligible for tax credits.
Setting up
When offering this benefit, detail it in writing, such as in an addition to her nanny contract.
To set up in the Paycheck Nanny iOS app, use the ‘Health Insurance’ field on the Employee Setup to pre-populate this amount on the Time Card when ‘Extra pay’ is chosen.
Yearly tasks
When creating a W-2 for your nanny each year by January 31, you will enter the available benefits into Box 12 with code FF. This amount is not taxable, but is provided for informational purposes.
The limits for reimbursement have grown each year. So review your benefit amount offered each calendar year if you wish to increase the benefits.