The Babysitters & Nannies Fix Kit
Built for babysitters and nannies.
Most of the money that slips away from babysitters and nannies never shows up as a missing paycheck. It shows up as hours nobody wrote down, a family that cancels and pays nothing, miles driven in your own car, overtime paid at the straight rate, and cash pay that leaves no record when you need one for a loan, an apartment or unemployment. I wrote this kit so you can find each of those, put it in writing, and ask for it plainly.
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The 7 leaks it covers
3 you can close it · 3 the other side owes it · 1 a pro decides
- Paid in cash with no W-2, so no record and no Social Security creditWhere to look first: Add up what one family paid you in cash this calendar year. Use your texts, Venmo or Zelle history, or a simple calendar.Keep it from coming back: Before you start with a new family, ask in the first week: will I be paid on the books, and will I get a W-2 or a 1099?The other side owes it
- Hours over 40 paid at the straight rateWhere to look first: Pull your hours for the last few weeks from your own log, texts or the family's app.Keep it from coming back: Keep a daily start and stop time, even if the family keeps one too. The DOL says the worker may record her own hours and hand them in.The other side owes it
- Family cancels or goes on vacation, and you get nothingWhere to look first: Count the days in the last six months that a family cancelled on short notice or left town and did not pay you.Keep it from coming back: No new family without a signed agreement that covers cancellations and family vacations.You can close it
- Driving the kids in your own car with no mileage payWhere to look first: Keep a mileage log for two weeks: school runs, practices, errands for the family. Write the date, from, to and miles.Keep it from coming back: Log miles the same day, every day you drive for the family. A note on your phone is enough.The other side owes it
- More kids, more chores, same rateWhere to look first: Write down what you were hired to do and what you do now: number of children, homework help, meals, laundry, pet care, house tasks.Keep it from coming back: Every time a new duty or child is added, ask about the rate that same week, not months later.You can close it
- Late pickups and stay-overs never billedWhere to look first: Check the last month: how many times did a parent come home late, or ask you to stay past your end time?Keep it from coming back: Log the real end time every day, not the scheduled one.You can close it
- Sitting for many families with nothing set aside for taxWhere to look first: This leak is for sitters who work for many families or through apps and are not on any family's payroll.Keep it from coming back: Move the set-aside the same day each payment lands, and calendar all four dates in January.A pro decides
Free: one full leak from this kit
No sign-up, no email. Here is leak 1 of 7 exactly as it appears in the kit, so you can see what you get before you buy.
Paid in cash with no W-2, so no record and no Social Security credit
The other side owes it- Add up what one family paid you in cash this calendar year. Use your texts, Venmo or Zelle history, or a simple calendar.
- The IRS says a family that pays one household employee $3,000 or more in cash wages in 2026 must withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare tax and give that worker a W-2 (VERIFIED: IRS Tax Topic 756). The line can change each year.
- The IRS treats a nanny as the family's employee when the family controls what you do and how you do it. A sitter who runs her own business for many families can be different.
- If you are under 18 and childcare is not your main job, Social Security and Medicare tax do not apply to those wages (VERIFIED: IRS Tax Topic 756).
- Ask the family in writing, before January, whether they will issue a W-2. A W-2 is proof of income for leases, loans and unemployment claims.
Your part: Track what you were paid and send the request.
Text or email to the family: Hi [PARENT NAME], I'm keeping my records in order for the year. Through [DATE] I've been paid about [AMOUNT] for childcare. I read on the IRS household employer page (Tax Topic 756) that families paying a nanny over the yearly limit give a W-2. Can you tell me whether you'll be issuing one for [YEAR], and when I should expect it? Happy to send my hours log if it helps. Thank you, [YOUR NAME]
Before you start with a new family, ask in the first week: will I be paid on the books, and will I get a W-2 or a 1099?
What this kit can't decide for you: Whether you are an employee or self-employed, and what either side owes the IRS, is for a tax preparer or the IRS to decide. This kit does not file anything for you or the family.
That's 1 of 7. The other 6 come the same way in the kit: steps, words to send, a habit to keep each one closed.
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What people in this work look up
When babysitters and nannies go looking for answers, they search things like “nanny pay”, “babysitting rates”, “nanny taxes” and “nanny contract”. Those searches turn up forms, averages and other people's numbers. This kit starts from your own records instead: the 7 places money leaks in this work, where to look first and the words to send to close each one.
What you get for each leak
- Numbered steps to close each leak
- Your part, spelled out
- Words you can use: letters and scripts, ready to send (fill in the brackets)
- A habit that keeps each leak from coming back
- An honest line on what the kit can't decide for you
A page from the kit
Questions people ask
Paid in cash with no W-2, so no record and no Social Security credit: where do I start?
Start here: Add up what one family paid you in cash this calendar year. Use your texts, Venmo or Zelle history, or a simple calendar. To keep it from coming back: Before you start with a new family, ask in the first week: will I be paid on the books, and will I get a W-2 or a 1099?
Hours over 40 paid at the straight rate: where do I start?
Start here: Pull your hours for the last few weeks from your own log, texts or the family's app. To keep it from coming back: Keep a daily start and stop time, even if the family keeps one too. The DOL says the worker may record her own hours and hand them in.
Family cancels or goes on vacation, and you get nothing: where do I start?
Start here: Count the days in the last six months that a family cancelled on short notice or left town and did not pay you. To keep it from coming back: No new family without a signed agreement that covers cancellations and family vacations.
What it can't decide for you
This kit works from your own records. It doesn't give legal, tax, licensing or financial advice, and it never tells you what to charge. Where a CPA, attorney, insurer or state board makes the call, the kit says so and gets your records ready for them.
13-page PDF · instant download after payment · Code VYR-KIT-BABYSITTER-01
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
Next step
- Run your free LeakReceipts check — it reads your own receipts and records and shows where money is leaking out, line by line.
- TrueNET — the whole-picture money truth: what you actually keep after every cost, across everything you earn and spend.
Use Jobber or Housecall Pro? Run the free leak check — it reads your job export in your browser and shows the money leaks the software doesn't flag. Nothing is uploaded.