All states · Updated for 2026
How to pay a nanny in Illinois
Everything a Illinois family has to do to pay a nanny, housekeeper or caregiver legally: the taxes, the registrations, the forms, and the deadlines. CareTab does the math and reminds you; you keep paying them the way you already do.
The short version
- Federal: withhold 7.65% Social Security and Medicare from their pay and match it; pay FUTA (0.6% of the first $7,000.00); file Schedule H with your 1040; give them a W-2 by Jan 31.
- Illinois unemployment tax: register with Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) after $1,000 or more in cash wages to household workers in any calendar quarter of the current or preceding calendar year; new employers pay 3.35% on the first $14,250.00 of wages; file UI-HA Report for Household Employers (annual) — or UI-3/40 quarterly annual.
- Illinois income tax: withholding is voluntary for household employers (form IL-W-4).
- New hire report: within 20 days of their start date.
- Minimum wage: $15.00/hour. Overtime: 1.5× over 40 h/week for live-out nannies.
- Paid sick leave: required (Paid Leave for All Workers Act (effective 2024): 1 hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours per 12-month period, usable for any reason after 90 days; household employees are covered. Employers in Chicago and Cook County follow those local paid leave ordinances instead.).
- Workers' compensation: Required for any household employing domestic workers for a total of 40 or more hours per week for 13 or more weeks during a calendar year (820 ILCS 305/3(18)); optional below that.
Step by step
- Get an EIN from the IRS (free, online, 10 minutes).
- Have your nanny complete Form I-9 and, if they want federal income tax withheld, a W-4 and IL-W-4.
- File the Illinois new-hire report within 20 days at the state site.
- Register with Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) once you cross $1,000 or more in cash wages to household workers in any calendar quarter of the current or preceding calendar year (registration).
- Each payday: track hours, pay at least minimum wage and overtime, withhold 7.65%, give a pay stub.
- Each year: file UI-HA Report for Household Employers (annual) — or UI-3/40 quarterly. Household employers may file and pay annually on Form UI-HA by April 15 of the following year (otherwise quarterly UI-3/40 reports are due the last day of the month after each quarter). Register with Form REG-UI-1 through MyTax Illinois. 2026 new-employer (standard) rate 3.350% including the 0.550% fund builder, on the first $14,250 per employee; use the rate on your IDES Notice of Contribution Rate.
- January: W-2 to your nanny, W-2/W-3 to the SSA. April: Schedule H with your 1040.
Run your numbers
Use the free Illinois nanny tax calculator: take-home pay, what you withhold, and your total cost including employer taxes.
Frequently asked
Do I have to pay nanny taxes in Illinois?
Yes. Once you pay a household employee $3,000.00 or more in a year you owe Social Security and Medicare (7.65% withheld from your nanny and 7.65% from you), and FUTA once you pay $1,000.00 in any quarter. Illinois unemployment tax applies after $1,000 or more in cash wages to household workers in any calendar quarter of the current or preceding calendar year.
Do I withhold Illinois income tax from my nanny?
Illinois does not require household employers to withhold state income tax; you can withhold voluntarily using IL-W-4 if your nanny asks.
What forms do I file in Illinois?
UI-HA Report for Household Employers (annual) — or UI-3/40 quarterly annual with Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), a W-2 for your nanny and W-3 to the SSA by Jan 31, and Schedule H with your federal return.
Does my nanny get overtime in Illinois?
Live-out nannies get 1.5× over 40 hours a week. Live-in nannies are also owed overtime in Illinois. Since the Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights (2017), the Illinois Minimum Wage Law covers domestic workers regardless of employer size (820 ILCS 105/3(d)) and requires time-and-a-half after 40 hours; the state overtime exemptions in 105/4a(2) do not include live-in domestic workers, so Illinois live-in workers are treated as owed overtime (the federal live-in exemption does not relieve the state obligation). Chicago and Cook County set higher local minimum wages.
What is the minimum wage for a nanny in Illinois?
$15.00 per hour in 2026.
Pay your Illinois nanny legally for $14.99/month
Hours, paychecks with every tax computed, pay stubs, PTO, and a filing calendar with UI-HA Report for Household Employers (annual) — or UI-3/40 quarterly pre-filled. 14-day free trial, no card needed.
Start free trialSources: Booklet IL-700-T (R-12/25) — Illinois Withholding Tax Tables, effective January 1, 2026: 4.95%, $2,925 Line 1 allowance, $1,000 Line 2 allowance, automated payroll method; Illinois Department of Revenue — Publication 130, Who is Required to Withhold Illinois Income Tax (household employees; voluntary withholding; annual reporting on IL-1040); Illinois Department of Revenue — Publication 131, Withholding Income Tax Payment and Filing Requirements (no annual reconciliation return); IDES — Historical Rate Chart (2016–2026): 2026 wage base $14,250; standard (new employer) rate 3.350% incl. fund builder; IDES — Household Employer Responsibilities ($1,000 cash wages in any calendar quarter); IDES — Household Workers (annual UI-HA filing due April 15; REG-UI-1 registration via MyTax Illinois); Illinois Department of Labor — Minimum Wage Law ($15.00; overtime after 40 hours); 820 ILCS 105/3 and 105/4a — Minimum Wage Law definitions (domestic workers included regardless of employer size) and overtime exemptions; Illinois Department of Labor — Paid Leave for All Workers Act (1 hour per 40 hours, up to 40 hours); 820 ILCS 305/3(18) — Workers' Compensation Act: households employing domestic workers 40+ hours/week for 13+ weeks; IDES — New Hire Reporting (within 20 days). Rules for 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice.